In this episode we discuss personal photography projects what are they, their benefits, how I find inspiration and plan the project and what I do with the product afterward!
Whether you are a hobby photographer, professional or aspiring professional…whether you do landscape, travel, food, portrait…personal photography projects hold benefit and value for you!
What are Personal Photography Projects?
Personal photography projects are any kind of photography projects you do for yourself and for your own reasons! These projects can vary in length and complexity - they could be short and sweet that takes an afternoon to complete or they could be long and extensive taking months to months to finish.
These projects can also stand alone as a single photography project or they could be strung together as part of a series or collection.
When I was doing a lot of landscape photography in the summer some of my photography projects were visiting and documenting new locations around the Okanagan - this was a long and extensive photography project that strung together to create a collection.
Currently, I’ve been doing a lot of food-related photography projects involving stop motion. These have been short and sweet photography projects that stand alone.
Benefits
Create Your Own Opportunities
There are two main benefits to personal photography projects - the first is it creates your own opportunities. I am a huge believer in creating your own opportunities and through personal photography projects it could lead to being featured, a job offer, a future or bigger idea or project.
You never know who is watching you, following your work, etc.,
Practice, Learn and Grow
The second benefit is it allows you to practice your skill, learn and grow!
A few weeks ago I made my first ever stop motion animation with marshmallows forming the word 2021…it wasn’t the greatest. In-between then and now I have done a few more stop motions to practice and I created another one this week featuring a yogurt parfait.
Personally, when it comes to working on a personal photography project I want to make sure its fun for me, it interests me and if possible it can benefit another person.
Planning
Finding Inspiration
To find inspiration for a personal photography project I like to peruse on Instagram and Pinterest. If I’m on Instagram and I see something that interests me and want to refer back to later I’ll bookmark it. If I’m on Pinterest I’ll pin it to my photography board.
Inspiration is one of those things that sometimes I’ll look for directly and other times it will come to be in another way from another idea.
Tracking Ideas
I also like to keep a physical copy of my ideas and check them off as I complete them. If I’m on the go when an idea comes to me I’ll jot it down in my notes app and transfer it to my physical notebooks later.
Planning the Project
Once I have an idea for a personal project I like to flesh out the idea in my notebook - the supplies I’ll need, the concept for the shoot, composition ideas and tasks.
Sharing Afterward
After I’ve executed on the project I like to share behind-the-scenes on my Instagram stories and with the final product I’ll either create a post on Instagram, create a blog post or make a YouTube video on it (or a combination of the 3).
Back in December when I was reviewing my plans for 2021 I decided I wanted to not only create but document and share what I create (good or bad). On Instagram you see so often these perfectly curated feeds of branded colours, perfect images and I love seeing them but I also knew that it wasn’t me. So I decided to take a different direction. Posting my creations is a way for me to document my journey and my development as a photographer.
Final Thoughts
Personal photography projects are so important and valuable to me. It keeps my creativity alive and whenever possible it provides value to others.
Let me know on the YouTube video or Instagram if you’re working on any personal photography projects and what!