So, this is the time of year when everyone is starting new projects. Welcome! I'm not the first to post one of these this year, but thought I would go ahead and do it anyway.
This was one of the best posts I read during my first year, last year. These tips just really stuck with me and helped me to continue the project. They are sage advice :
And also, this is another post that just had TONS of great links to groups and information inside 365. I wish I had it when I first started. So, now, I repost it for you!
@adambralston Thank you. I have been having a discussion on another photo site (Aussie Photography on Facebook about post shot editing. Your tips have been very helpful. I want to use this challenge to get to know my camera better, rather than what I can do with the photos in photoshop. I hope that people on this site will not judge me for that.
@mcboudreau Some people leave them unedited, others edit them...it's all up to you :)
I almost never show anyone an unedited picture, so I'm thankful for the freedom to do it in the way that feels "right" to you :D
@adambralston , as the author of the 21 tips you linked to above, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I took a year off, but now I'm back. And I came to the forums just now planning to write a post linking to those tips, thinking they'd be long forgotten. :^)
It's a heartwarming "welcome back" to see I left a mark .
@mcboudreau They key to your project is to set your own expectations. Everyone here is doing something a little bit different. Many people do the SOOTC (straight out of the camera) thing, while others embrace the editing process, and everything thing in between. I love watching the different styles that emerge from the people I watch. You can begin to tell who's picture you're looking at before you see their name. Just ask yourself what you want to learn from this project and set your own goals. Also don't be afraid to change them too as you go along with your project. Most of all have fun. Welcome.
Thanks for posting this. I'm new to the site and found it very helpful. My current plan is to at least take a photo every day. Not sure if they will all get posted here, but I'll do what I can. Looking forward to creating a new habit and starting a new hobby.
Thank you so much for this post, especially for @squamloon link. I'm a newbie and I'm feeling very nervous about the whole project. I have no decent camera - just my dinky iPhone - and I'm so worried about doing something wrong! This post made me smile and gave me some confidence to forge ahead - thank you! :)
@stephomy thank you for the advice. I think I will SOOTC to start with. My first goal is to get comfortable shooting in front of other people without feeling out of place.
@mcboudreau Yes, that took me a while, even now I get nervous from time to time about pulling out my camera. Sometimes I just tell myself to go for it. What you don't want to do is not take a shot you wished you had.
Thankyou for this post - it will be great to refer back to this. It's a bit daunting but this is a real boost to the confidence. It's a journey and it's just a matter of starting and keeping going.
@squamloon HEY! Welcome back. Yep. That message link you made was extremely important to me. You don't know how many times I would drive past something and think "Man that would make a good photo" before I started the project. Then, I read your message when I started the project. Now, every time I see something, I stop, go back, and take the shot hearing your "message voice" in my head. You were totally correct. Thank you!
And they are all good tips too. I often think of your photo of the empty toilet paper roll. It's not 365 masterpieces, just 365 photos. Yep. Sometimes, you have to take things in perspective.
@weebindi2 Helen, absolutely post what you want to post. Never worry about that. Some of my most popular photos were photos I wasn't going to post, and then just did. And some of my favorite personal photos didn't get a second look. 365 days is not that long a time, and 365 photos isn't a lot of photos, but you will take 36,000 photos to post those 365 probably. ;) There is always lively discussion on this site about editing photos. Nobody will judge you for doing in camera shots only. In fact, you might want to tag them "SOOC" in the tag section of your photos for "straight out of the camera". That's impressive.
Here is my statement on editing - if you are adding or removing large elements of the subject or scene, that is editing. If you are correcting white balance, cropping, and maybe minor edits like dust spots on the shot - that is just correcting the image to what you actually saw. Your eye is better than your camera. If you don't correct things like white balance, your camera will try to do it for you. Unless you are shooting on film, your camera is already editing all your shots. Don't be afraid to explore things like Lightroom and even Picasa (free). But, the number one thing to remember is that it is YOUR project. Enjoy it.
@mcboudreau Totally doesn't matter if you post edited or unedited photos. It's up to you. Don't be intimidated by some of the talent you see here either. Some folks are darn near close to professional. Even some people I have followed over the past year have made that next step to shooting professionally once their courage caught up with their talent. And then, there are those that are just here to document their lives day to day, kind of like a diary so they can remember their year and get better at the same time. I even follow one person that almost exclusively posts edited photos in artistic styles. So, nope. Post the photos you want to post. Focus on what you want to do and you will get more out of it.
@librarian4him02 Great Juli! Listen, the first month is one of the weirdest. You are carrying the camera everywhere, and start thinking about shooting EVERYTHING. The second month it feels natural and you feel naked without your gear. But, just keep shooting. If you miss a day, don't quit, just pick up the next day. It is a good habit to develop. You'll be surprised at how many photos will just "happen" because you have your camera with you when you normally wouldn't have had it.
@urban4ngel Rock it! Don't be nervous. Just work on your technique eveyday. Thinking about composition of your shot, subject matter, lighting, all that stuff, just piece by piece day by day. There are several other users here that use only their I-phones. And, National Geographic has even had several I-phone photos posted in the past year! One Nat Geo reporter is doing a complete phone only project. So, don't be intimidated by gear. Phones can take some amazing photos, and are easy to carry everywhere! You will get better day by day. Get three months out then look back, and you will already feel more confident. It works.
@mcboudreau Oh yeah, about being nervous in public. That's hard when you are taking photos directly of people. I get nervous too. I read some tips on that too! One thing you can do is shoot from the hip, or act like you are just adjusting your settings or going through the menu and then shoot. If you are just taking pictures in public, don't worry about what others are thinking. They probably just think you are taking pictures. They will think you are a photographer. I was nervous at first, and then about 6 months in I was laying on my belly in a public flower bed in front of a library taking photos of the blooms.
@barb_b Everyone is nervous at first. Just keep shooting and posting, just like you said. Not everyday will be a masterpiece like @squamloon says. But post anyway. And seriously, some days, nobody will like your shot it feels like. Don't worry about it. Post and move on. Work on improving your opinion of your own shots and make them better. Read a lot of stuff on here and never be afraid to ask for help or advice. I have never had somebody not help me here. Everyone is willing.
@adambralston Thank you so much for your advice, encouragement, and words of wisdom. Feeling a bit more confident now after my first few posts - it helps that everyone is so nice and friendly here! I will check out National Geographic and those iPhone pics. Feeling inspired now and definitely ready to rock it out! Thanks again :)
@adambralston Thankyou so much. It is daunting to start out (and some unexpected family stuff means that I'm not even posting every day at present so i feel even more at sixes and sevens!) but everyone is so friendly and welcoming and that makes it so much easier. Thanks.
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I almost never show anyone an unedited picture, so I'm thankful for the freedom to do it in the way that feels "right" to you :D
It's a heartwarming "welcome back" to see I left a mark .
Happy 2015, everyone!!
And they are all good tips too. I often think of your photo of the empty toilet paper roll. It's not 365 masterpieces, just 365 photos. Yep. Sometimes, you have to take things in perspective.
Here is my statement on editing - if you are adding or removing large elements of the subject or scene, that is editing. If you are correcting white balance, cropping, and maybe minor edits like dust spots on the shot - that is just correcting the image to what you actually saw. Your eye is better than your camera. If you don't correct things like white balance, your camera will try to do it for you. Unless you are shooting on film, your camera is already editing all your shots. Don't be afraid to explore things like Lightroom and even Picasa (free). But, the number one thing to remember is that it is YOUR project. Enjoy it.