A Photographer’s New Years Resolutions
As I sit down to write this with a warm cup of tea in hand (or, should I say, on coaster), it really hits me that the year is coming to an end. It’s truly been a joyous year for me both personally and professionally. I went on so many adventures, acquired so many interns, made so many new connections, watched my plant babies bloom, and, of course, got engaged to my love.
I’m so grateful for all that has been accomplished in 2024, and it has me thinking a lot about the upcoming year (more about those 2025 projects coming soon *wink wink*), so I want to really think about some goals I have for the new year and share with you my new year’s resolutions as your friendly neighborhood photographer.
1. Update my website more often.
I do not showcase my website enough, which is a crime because it was designed by my lovely friend Anna Katherine Creative. I want to be better about making my website current so that all my future clients can see more current work examples, and so I can share my lovely past clients!
2. Get organized (for real, for real).
Sometimes, my inbox has emails just sitting in it. And while I can accept that as a creative’s reality (I don’t want to say how many of these are B&H order confirmation emails), it doesn’t mean I shouldn’t try and create a better system for it. Time blocking is going to be a game changer for next year! I also want to finally sort and organize my business information like receipts, film, and gear.
3. Remember to eat lunch on wedding days. Or at least pack snacks other than saltines and oatmeal cream pies.
Along with spare batteries, cameras, flash, polaroids, and film cameras, my wedding day behemoth of a backpack is stuffed with snacks. Mainly, oatmeal cream pies (my intern who second shoots with me sometimes can confirm). I want to try and pack healthier snacks that will give me more energy on wedding days, instead of just going for a sugar rush as I crouch on the floor of a venue like a little wedding day gremlin.
4. Look up from my laptop for more than 15 minutes.
Speaking of being like a little gremlin, I tend to work with my eyes glued to my laptop screen. I barely look up until my partner tempts me with food (sometimes an oatmeal cream pie or ginger cookie) or my cat is trying to lick something he shouldn’t. I really am trying to be more present in the new year and take more breaks from my screen. We’ll look back in a year and see just how well that goes, though...
5. Resist the urge to climb dangerous ledges just for "the shot"… unless it’s really epic.
This is a “bad” habit of mine that I still don’t think is all that bad! Really! Clients and coworkers will know I am truly down to do anything for “the shot.” And maybe that’s dangerous sometimes and leads me to precarious places. So in 2025, I’m trying to be a little more “safe.”
6. Take more pictures of my own family and not just my clients.
I rarely take a photo of anything besides my clients unless it is my cat. I really want to broaden my horizons and use my many cameras to take photos of loved ones. Since they matter so much to me, I should really be spending more time with them behind and in front of the camera.
7. Only buy gear I truly need... unless there’s a sale.
It’s time I confess something. I have a shopping addiction to B&H. But is that really such a bad thing? They have so many sales, and I need more gear! Ok... maybe this resolution is still a work in progress.
8. Stop lying to myself that my SD cards are organized because I labeled one of them.
Every photographer knows the panic of at some point frantically trying to find that *one* SD card that you’ve misplaced but know is lying around here SOMEWHERE! Mine are nowhere near organized, despite my... medium rare efforts. I have different ceramic bowls of different categories of cards, and that’s as far as I’ve ever gotten. This year, I’m vowing to take the time to label them so I have one less thing to stress about in my life.
9. Finally learn what all those buttons do. Maybe.
Listen, I can take photos, not label every part of every camera. And that’s all we’re gonna say on that! I often get asked by mentees what a button does, and many times, I have to be like, “I don’t know, try it, let’s see what happens!”
10. Print more of my photos instead of letting them live forever in the digital void.
The physical, print medium is truly becoming a lost art. I’ve been trying to tap into that more and more, trying Polaroid emulsions and developing my own film. I want to continue this spirit in 2025 and bring printing my photos to display and cherish.