Looking Ahead but Looking Back and Taking Stock

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This is the time of year that some of us get nostalgic about what the past year has meant to each of us, what great experiences we have had, where we have traveled, what we have done and what we may have accomplished while others only look forward as the past year may have been painful to them.  I think, photographically speaking, we need to look forward but also look back and take stock on our photographic life over the past 12 months.  I will.  I do it each year.

By looking back and taking stock, I mean that we should take some time to analyze our photographic lives.  We need to look at our images and see what we did well, what mistakes we made and analyze how we can improve and avoid those mistakes in the upcoming year.  Ask yourself, "what should I or could I have done differently for that image to have been better?"  Looking critically at all of your images over a period of time is an invaluable tool to help you improve.

If you have a program such as Lightroom, use it to analyze what focal lengths you used most, what lenses you used most and what cameras you used most.  Take a look at your keeper images and see which lenses and focal lengths you used most.  That may give you an idea of what to pack for that next trip and what you possibly could leave at home.  Not having to carry all your gear when you travel is a huge benefit. 

If you find you are almost never using a certain lens or camera body, you may want to sell it to invest in other gear or just put the money in the bank for future use.  An expensive lens or two sitting around could be used by another photographer who needs one like it.

Do you want to your photography to continue in the same direction?  Do you want to just increase your skills?  Or, do you want to learn something new and expand your skills or possibly go in an entirely different direction?  If you are a street photographer do you maybe want to be a better travel and landscape photographer, for example.  If you do want to change direction, ask yourself why and understand your motives.  Ask yourself what do you need to do to accomplish that goal?

How about gear?  Is your current gear serving you well?  Do you have what you need to accomplish your style of photography?  Don't let the desire for new gear burn a hole in your wallet if your current gear serves you perfectly well.  But, if you are changing direction or want to increase your skills and need additional gear, buy it because you need it, not because it is the latest thing.  

Now, I can't totally condemn buying something out of lust because you really want it but don't really need it!  I'm guilty of that and that is sometimes what makes a pursuit fun. It happens in every hobby or pursuit.  Once in a while I think it is okay to indulge yourself and buy something you really want just to increase your enthusiasm and excitement or reward yourself for a getting better at what you love to do.

For the future, what do you want to photographically accomplish in this upcoming year? First, you need to have clarity of mind to understand and decide what it is you want to accomplish then you need a plan to do so.  Set goals.  Set each goal, then think backwards in steps what you need to do to accomplish that final goal.  Then set times to accomplish each step and the overall goal.  Working backwards from your desired goal to where you are now, in steps, can make it easier to accomplish.  When you are done, your path is pretty clearly laid out for you.  Then it is up to you to successfully execute your plan.

All this doesn't need to take a lot of time.  You should be able to go through and figure things out in a morning of introspection and analysis.

Personally, an exercise like this helps me get better.  It allows me to see where I have been and where I think I want or even need to go with my photography.  I try to understand the mistakes I may have made and avoid disappointment in the future. (Believe me, even after 45 years of seriously photographing, I still make stupid mistakes on occasion because I hurry, don't pay attention, etc.)  Also, I try to see what gear I really use and divest myself of gear that is no longer worthwhile to keep, freeing up money for gear I may now need that I didn't need in the past or just putting in the bank for future use.

Try this each year and see if you don't get tangible benefit out of it.  You may surprise yourself that a little investment in time and thought pays dividends to better personal photography.

Thanks for looking.  Enjoy!

Dennis Mook

Many of my images can be found at www.dennismook.com.  Please pay it a visit.  I add new images regularly.  Thank you.


All content on this blog is © 2014 Dennis A. Mook.  All Rights Reserved.  Feel free to point to this blog from your website with full attribution.  Permission may be granted for commercial use.  Please contact Mr. Mook to discuss permission to reproduce the blog posts and/or images.