Wow!

2020 has been a crazy year! I won't lie, my focus shifted once the pandemic hit our community and I was not working on photographing or writing nearly as much as I had hoped. I had intended on working on my self-esteem with my images, taking my camera EVERYWHERE, broadening my horizons, and setting up my home studio. While I didn’t take my camera everywhere and I still struggle with comparing myself to other photographers, I did broaden my horizons with a new photo series, photographed some different subjects, and I finally got my home studio in a functioning state. So help me ring in 2021 with some bangin’ New Year’s resolutions!

Shoot Quality, not Quantity

There's a science behind sharing a photo every single day and it's honestly something I look forward to. However, I noticed that this year, many of my photos were too similar. Although there were small changes between each one, some of my followers would ask why I posted the same photo twice; when in fact, I had not. I tried to ensure I would have an abundance of images to always choose from, but whether or not my followers would be able to tell a difference between each one wasn't my priority. I will need to slow down and photograph more but at the same time be more deliberate in the way that I photograph.

Be more adventurous 

In every community where there is a multitude of photographers, there are the typical “go-to” photoshoot locations. Often those spots are wildly overused and not really by choice, but by necessity. In the new year, I hope to challenge myself to explore new locations, capture awesome photos, and encourage my clients to photograph in those fresh locations!

Never leave the house without my camera

As I’m sitting here typing this, I’m laughing to myself because although I started strong with this resolution, it quickly became too much. When it came to carting my camera to and from work, the struggle was real. I was in a constant pack mule state where I had a bunch of things I had to lug around. With that being said, anytime I would go see my parents or grandparents, you can bet your bottom dollar that I had my camera with me.

Expand & Broaden my horizons

I never dedicated time to grow my YouTube channel, but I did start a photo series, played around with a lot of techniques, tried videography, and photographed some different things. I cannot begin to explain the number of ideas I have and my focus for 2021 is to finally complete some of those! 

Take At Least One Dedicated “Photo Trip” in 2021

Now normally I wouldn’t consider this as a New Year’s resolution, but 2020 was such a difficult year that I think it’s important for everyone to take some time to rediscover their interests. What better opportunity for a photographer to rediscover their passion than to travel somewhere cool and spend almost the entire time photographing! I would like to hope that by Fall(ish) of 2021 this pandemic will be under control and I can resume my love of traveling, and photograph to my heart’s content.

Keep Seeing

There's a theory out there that artists see the world differently and I couldn't agree more. Once you start noticing things, you'll never "unsee" them. Things like different textures, the way different lighting affects everything, or how looking at something from a different perspective can change the whole scene. Although I've never really lost my ability to "see", I've suppressed it by hesitating when it came to taking a photograph. I'm hoping 2021 is the year I experiment and try new things!

It’s important to remember that even though we all make New Year’s resolutions every single year, that they’re not (and shouldn’t be) always clear and obvious goals. They should be there as a guide to help us improve ourselves as creative human beings. Thank you to those who have made 2020 a good year and have stuck by me and all of my shenanigans. I can never begin to even explain how much I love and appreciate all of you.

Happy New Year loves!