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| Just trying to get home! (click to enlarge) |
It is the end of 2022 and while things are normally more relaxed, laid back and not as busy in the week between Christmas and New Year's Day, I have some suggestions that may help you be better prepared for 2023's photographic adventures. I've posted these things before but sometimes a reminder is helpful.
1) Pull out all of your gear, make an inventory of it in case of loss or theft, check it for good working order and clean everything thoroughly. Examine each lens for internal cleanliness and ensure it is good working order. If you are the type of photographer that is rough on your gear, you may want to send off your camera(s) to a repair facility for a CLA (clean, lube, adjust) as well as all functions brought back to factory specs.
2) There might have been firmware updates for your cameras and/or lenses that you missed. It is a good time to complete those updates so you now have the best functionality.
4) If you have a good backup system in place for your image files, you may want to review when you put your hard drives in service. I replace mine every three to four years just to avoid increasing the odds for a failure. This year, during the holiday sales, I picked up at a 45% discount a new, larger hard drive on which I will keep all my data, documents, photos, family history, etc., i.e., everything electronic I have. This new one will go into service on January 1st and replace the existing hard drive that is now four years old. This is the hard drive I keep off premises, bring home once a month, back up everything, then return it off-site.
5) Check and reset the internal clocks in all of your cameras to synchronize them. With some cameras, using the manufacturer's app, you can sync your cameras' clocks with your phone's clock. I have found clocks on my digital cameras notoriously inaccurate, losing or gaining quite a bit of time over the period of a year. If you use more than one camera when out photographing and want to display during editing your images in the order in which they were taken, time wise, in Lightroom or another editing program, it makes it much easier if your clocks in your cameras are synchronized.
6) At this point, I also check my camera's settings and ensure they have been reset them to my default so the next time I pick it up, in my mind I know exactly how it is set. Changing settings for a particular circumstance under pressure then becomes a bit easier if you know exactly what your current settings are.
7) Change the copyright settings in your cameras if your cameras allow you to include copyright metadata and you use a specific year. I do. In all of my cameras I include the copyright symbol (©), the year and my name. I then make sure that the information is "enabled" or "attached" to each image file as they are created. Many cameras allow you to create a copyright but you also have to enable it or "attach" it in a different menu item.
8) Change your import metadata settings in Lightroom or your other editing software. For all of my imports into Lightroom, I include my name, address, website, email, telephone number and the year with the copyright symbol (©) so the information is baked into each file's metadata upon importation. I then no longer have to worry about whether or not my images can be identified. Since I include the year an image was made, I go in on January 1st and update that import preset with the new year. I also create a new export preset to reflect the new year. That way, I can include the date and copyright into the title of each photo I send to this blog, Instagram or otherwise publish. There then will be no question who is the owner and the image is copyright protected.
9) It is also a great time of the year to thoroughly check your computer, run a complete virus scan, clean the registry of obsolete items, clean the trash/recycle bin of items, optimize or defragment your hard drives, etc. A fast computer is a very nice thing to have and can save you a lot of time over the course of a year.
10) Do an analysis of your photography for 2022. Did you accomplish what you set out to accomplish? Did you produce the images you wanted to produce? Has there been a shift in the genres of photography you enjoy? Where do you need to improve? What focal lengths did you use most? What apertures? What shutter speeds? Has your vision changed, say, from wide angle to telephoto? Was your gear adequate? Ask yourself those types of questions so you can get a feel for what you have done to help you figure out what you may want or need to do in the future.
11) Something I think is important, take some time to thoroughly think through what you want to accomplish photographically for 2023. What is it that you want to photograph, where do you want to go, what new techniques do you want to learn, etc.? Set some photographic goals for yourself. Have you been meaning to start a new project or complete an old one? Now is the time to make plans and create a road map on how to accomplish your goals.
5) Check and reset the internal clocks in all of your cameras to synchronize them. With some cameras, using the manufacturer's app, you can sync your cameras' clocks with your phone's clock. I have found clocks on my digital cameras notoriously inaccurate, losing or gaining quite a bit of time over the period of a year. If you use more than one camera when out photographing and want to display during editing your images in the order in which they were taken, time wise, in Lightroom or another editing program, it makes it much easier if your clocks in your cameras are synchronized.
6) At this point, I also check my camera's settings and ensure they have been reset them to my default so the next time I pick it up, in my mind I know exactly how it is set. Changing settings for a particular circumstance under pressure then becomes a bit easier if you know exactly what your current settings are.
7) Change the copyright settings in your cameras if your cameras allow you to include copyright metadata and you use a specific year. I do. In all of my cameras I include the copyright symbol (©), the year and my name. I then make sure that the information is "enabled" or "attached" to each image file as they are created. Many cameras allow you to create a copyright but you also have to enable it or "attach" it in a different menu item.
8) Change your import metadata settings in Lightroom or your other editing software. For all of my imports into Lightroom, I include my name, address, website, email, telephone number and the year with the copyright symbol (©) so the information is baked into each file's metadata upon importation. I then no longer have to worry about whether or not my images can be identified. Since I include the year an image was made, I go in on January 1st and update that import preset with the new year. I also create a new export preset to reflect the new year. That way, I can include the date and copyright into the title of each photo I send to this blog, Instagram or otherwise publish. There then will be no question who is the owner and the image is copyright protected.
9) It is also a great time of the year to thoroughly check your computer, run a complete virus scan, clean the registry of obsolete items, clean the trash/recycle bin of items, optimize or defragment your hard drives, etc. A fast computer is a very nice thing to have and can save you a lot of time over the course of a year.
10) Do an analysis of your photography for 2022. Did you accomplish what you set out to accomplish? Did you produce the images you wanted to produce? Has there been a shift in the genres of photography you enjoy? Where do you need to improve? What focal lengths did you use most? What apertures? What shutter speeds? Has your vision changed, say, from wide angle to telephoto? Was your gear adequate? Ask yourself those types of questions so you can get a feel for what you have done to help you figure out what you may want or need to do in the future.
11) Something I think is important, take some time to thoroughly think through what you want to accomplish photographically for 2023. What is it that you want to photograph, where do you want to go, what new techniques do you want to learn, etc.? Set some photographic goals for yourself. Have you been meaning to start a new project or complete an old one? Now is the time to make plans and create a road map on how to accomplish your goals.
12) You may want to make a list of what gear you may need and don't already own to accomplish your photographic goals. You can save a bit of money if you know what you will need and wait until that gear is on sale. Most of the time different manufacturers put their gear on sale the same months year after year. That is when I buy mine. You may also have gear that you no longer use or want and it may be time to consider selling some of that. There are several reputable businesses where you can sell it outright if you don’t want to sell through the major auction sites or other online venues.
13) Just one more. Do everything you can to have fun with your photography next year. That may be my most important suggestion. If you aren't having fun with your photography, then you are doing something wrong.
If you have additional suggestions for things to do at the end of each year that can be helpful to others, please leave a comment so we all can benefit.
To each of you I hope 2023 is your best photography year ever!
13) Just one more. Do everything you can to have fun with your photography next year. That may be my most important suggestion. If you aren't having fun with your photography, then you are doing something wrong.
If you have additional suggestions for things to do at the end of each year that can be helpful to others, please leave a comment so we all can benefit.
To each of you I hope 2023 is your best photography year ever!
Stay safe.
Join me over at my website, https://www.dennismook.com.
Thanks for looking. Enjoy!
Dennis A. Mook
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Excellent reminders. I need to get busy. For me, I would add to #10, What mistakes did I make repeatedly in 2022? and What equipment best assisted my favorite images of 2022?
ReplyDeleteI'll try to keep my wife away from #12. I am already hearing the loud call to downsize everything.
Good points. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
DeleteHi Dennis. You might want to change the year at the end of the first sentence for item 11.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Being one’s own editor is difficult. My brain sometimes doesn’t register what my eyes see! Lol.
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