Dear friend,
As the new year is coming up, here are some new years resolutions we can apply to our photography:
London, NYC, Kyoto, Tokyo:
- Don’t compare ourselves to any other photographers. Don’t care about if we have more or less followers or likes when compared to other photographers.
- Idea: Uninstall Instagram from our phones for all of January, and focus on making photos for ourselves.
- Rule: Don’t leave the house without your camera around your neck or wrist.
- Idea: To worry less about gear, only shoot with your phone for the entire month of January.
- Make your own photography blog. Use WordPress.org, WordPress.com, or portfolio with smugmug.com
- Buy a nice photo book for yourself at least once a month (12 books for the entire year).
- Plan one international photography travel adventure for yourself this year (Kyoto, New Mexico, Tokyo, New Orleans, New York, Lisbon, Prague, Saigon, Hà Nội, are my favorites). See upcoming ERIC KIM EXPERIENCES
- Shoot at least one artistic selfie of yourself everyday for a year #honorthyselfie
- Only use one camera, one lens, for the entire year.
- Only shoot film for a month (FILM NOTES)
- Make photos more like a child; don’t take yourself or your photos too seriously.
- Make one photo album of your family (printed on 4×6 prints).
- Have one small exhibition show at a local coffee shop with 5 prints.
- Sell 1 print of your work for $99.
- Do a photography project of your own home.
- Do more personal photography; photography your loved ones, friends, coworkers, your kids, partner, and your parents.
- For an entire year, study one master photographer, once a week. Study Learn From the Masters, and pick up a copy of MASTERS to inspire you. To get started, study Henri Cartier-Bresson, Sergio Larrain, and Josef Koudelka.
- Shoot only in jpeg for a year year to not worry about post processing, but to focus more on shooting.
- Look at all your photos and make a set of images of your 10 most epic pictures.
- Seek to simplify yet also make your photos more dynamic.
- Rebrand yourself as a “Visual artist“, and learn how to draw, paint, and create other forms of visual art.
- Make a video slideshow of your favorite photos, and add music to it (use imovie and garage band) and upload it to YouTube.
- Make your own photography YouTube channel.
- Shoot at only one arm length away for an entire month (.7 meter challenge).
- Treat photography like walking meditation, and realize that photography is very important to your mental health.
- Only shoot the color red for a week.
- Experiment making underexposed dramatic photos at -1 or -2 exposure compensation, and experiment making overexposed +1 or +2 photos.
- Photograph your morning commute everyday for 3 months, and edit it down to your best 12 photos, and publish it as a series.
- Make a PDF ebook of your favorite photos and share it for free.
- Upload your best pictures to Flickr, and enable your viewers to download the full resolution version.
- Experiment with making short films. Study Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa for inspiration.
- If you’re a black and white shooter, only shoot color for a year. And vice-versa.
- For a year, only make photos that put a smile on your face.
Lets make this year great!
Smile,
ERIC
Conquer your fears and meet new peers:
- Jan 27-28: LONDON / Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography (December 31 deadline for early—bird registration)
- Feb 21-22: NYC / Conquer Your Fears in Street Photography – New
- Feb 24-25: NYC / Dynamic Street Photography Composition Workshop – New
- May 2-5: KYOTO-UJI / Zen Creative Photography Experience
- May 9-13: TOKYO / Travel Street Photography Experience
HAPTIC INDUSTRIES: Creative Tools to Empower You
LEARN FROM THE MASTERS OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Find infinite inspiration in photography from the masters:
SAIGON SATCHEL: The Ultimate Street Photography Bag
Henri Wrist Strap: PHANTOM BLACK.
JUST SHOOT IT.
HENRI WRIST STRAP
The timeless wrist strap for street photographers.
Learn more about HENRI WRIST STRAP >
Buy Henri Wrist Strap on Amazon >
HENRI NECK STRAP
Never miss the decisive moment, ever again.
Learn more about HENRI NECK STRAP
Buy HENRI NECK STRAP ON AMAZON >
FILM NOTES
Learn how to shoot film, record your film notes, and respark your joy for film photography
STREET NOTES.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone with STREET NOTES: Mobile Edition.
STREET NOTES PAPER EDITION ON AMAZON >
PHOTO JOURNAL
Find your zen zone in photography with PHOTO JOURNAL >
CREATIVE EVERY DAY
Rediscover your inner artist with CREATIVE EVERY DAY >
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