6 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Copy from the Pros

6 New Year’s Resolutions You Can Copy from the Pros

New Year’s eve has already come and pass, but it’s never too late to set those goals and take 2015 head on. Here, 6 photographers layout what they plan to do within the next 12 months to make 2015 their best year yet.

Benjamin Heath

Photo by Benjamin Heath

Photo by Benjamin Heath

In 2015 I want to spend more time and energy on long form photo projects. When I think about the work that has most inspired me the past year, it’s always a body of work that tells a compelling story. I think there are stories to tell and photos to make that don’t require instant sharing on social media. That’s what I’ll be working on this year.

Aaron Huey

Looking over the first APs at Outsiderbooks HQ of a Super limited edition (50) collaboration between Aaron Huey & Shepard Fairey, with a folio of drawings from a medicine man, and drawings made by a prisoner in the South Dakota State Pennitentiary.

At the Outsiderbooks HQ – a collaboration between Aaron Huey & Shepard Fairey

I wasn’t schooled in journalism, I was schooled in painting, printmaking, and sculpture.  In those disciplines there were no truncated essays, or bad edits; just the pure vision of the artist. I miss that part of my life. That kind of thing cannot really be accomplished in most editorial publications because there are so many filters, institutional expectations, commercial partners and maximum page lengths, etc. Reality is flattened for lack of space, uptight audiences, and pressure to conform to a publication’s own history.

This year, I want to take my photography back to my roots, back to the place it emerged from. This is in books, where I can publish the artistic experiments that magazines won’t. With social media today, it’s much easier to sell directly to an audience on one’s own terms.  So in 2015 I will leverage my social following to sell at least 3 projects in book form. All 3 will be collaborations between myself and other visual artists, and published by my company, Outsider Books.  By Fall 2015 we will have expanded to bring in other photographers to collaborate with the artists of their choosing.  Its going to be a good year!

Jeremy Cowart

Jeremy Cowart and his family

Jeremy Cowart and his family

The photo industry, as a whole, is too unpredictable and ever-changing. So I found my 2015 goals to be more focused on personal aspects of my life, rather than the professional side. Plus, I think professional goals are easier to make than personal one’s.

That being said, my first and foremost goal in 2015 is to be more present with my family. Not physically present, because that part is easy. I mean mentally present. Putting the laptop and phone away and focusing on, and listening to my children will be number one. Their days are flying by and I don’t want to miss them. But being my own boss and an entrepreneur, it’s very easy and tempting to work (literally) around the clock and check that next mail or tend to that next fire. But I don’t want to miss the important moments in my children lives. So there’s a daily, constant choice to make and it’s easier said than done. But I hope in 2015 that I make the right choice more often than not.

Lara Jade

Photo by Lara Jade

Photo by Lara Jade

My main investment this year is to put more time into my photo-shoot ideas – taking my concepts to the next level by collaborating closely with my team, working with sets and finding unique locations. My goal in 2015 is to continue to work within both markets in London and NYC with the intention of working towards higher profile clients via my representation in London and social media marketing.

I also plan on traveling and hosting a few more fashion photography workshops – starting in LA and hopefully a visit to Australia. Traveling inspires me to create new and unique editorial stories and I enjoy the process of meeting and working with different creatives (models, stylists etc) around the world.

Greg Kahn of Grain Images

Photo by Greg Khan

Photo by Greg Kahn

My main goal in 2015, simply put, is to make more images. But, it’s not about clicking the shutter more times. It’s about exploring my emotional connection to the world around me. I will be traveling in 2015 more than ever, and I will not only be making images that matter, but pushing my creative boundaries with what I see and how I respond to the world and people I encounter. And when I’m home, I will be making an effort to get out from invoicing and marketing, sitting at the computer screen, and get outside to create.

I will use platforms like Instagram, Tumblr and the GRAIN Images website to share the work as an effort to constantly improve myself and my craft. Sometimes it’s too easy to let a day go by while catching up on work on the computer. I will streamline the processes that keep me at my desk so I will have more time for ideas and adventures.

Jill Richards

Photo by Jill Richards

Photo by Jill Richards

Last year, my resolution was to get organized, and one of the smartest things I did was hire Pedro + Jackie photo consultants to help me. Peter Dennen (the “Pedro” of P+J) edited my portfolio for my newly designed PhotoShelter site and helped me build a marketing plan for 2015, which includes email marketing, face-to-face meetings and printed promos. Peter is equal parts photo-editor and counselor (I’m not above paying him for pep talks). Our dialogue has given me the confidence to embark on my first-ever portfolio review and inspired me to tackle some long-simmering personal projects. I have no complaints about 2014: It was a great year for me and my business. But now I have a plan. And I’m ready to put that plan into action for 2015.

Want to make a rock-solid business plan for 2015? Download The 2015 Photo Business Plan Workbook today!

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Marketing associate at PhotoShelter

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