Your personal photography recap of the year / Part 01

With Christmas coming up, I want to slow things down a bit and encourage you to do the same. Take some time to relax, get in the Christmas spirit, enjoy the days, do what feels good for you. And maybe take a look back on your photography. This sounds really cheesy - I’m not usually a big fan of New Year’s resolutions, goals and all that kind of stuff (why New Year’s? Could be anytime during the year).
But I think it’s helpful to critically reflect on your photography, so you can learn and improve, and feel motivated to pick up your camera again in the new year. It will also help you to think about what areas of photography you’re interested in, what you’re naturally good at, and where you’re going.

Here’s a small list of things to help you get started:

- Let’s start very general: what kind of photos did you take mostly over the year? You can think of this in common terms, e.g. landscapes, portraits, still life, etc. Or you can make up your own expressions for what you created, e.g. seeing beauty in the ugly, capturing personal and atmospheric moments, telling a story, ...

- How has your photography improved over the year? Pick a few photos from each month, possibly print them out and lay them down in front of you. Seeing the actual print and being able to hold it in your hands can be so helpful when it comes to choosing the best photos, and seeing what actually works. It will help you to look at your photos from a new perspective.
Compare the photos, and jot down some thoughts that come to your mind. You can be really visual here as well - maybe create a graph for how your photography changed in your own opinion, or draw a picture of it. Whatever feels right for you.

- Look at some photographers that inspire you. Who is your role model? What kind of photos do you find interesting to look at? Think a bit outside the box here as well - there is more photography around us than what we see online. You probably look at so many photos every day without noticing - look at books, magazines, leaflets, newspapers, postcards, advertisements, etc. What is it that attracts your eye? Which colours? Certain types of composition? ... Once you’ve got a good idea of whatever it might be, think back a few months, a year, etc. and see how your taste might have changed over time.

- Get some of your favourite photos of 2013 printed, and keep them in a box or create a photo album. This will help you to narrow down what you really enjoyed taking photos of, and you’ll store your memories at the same time.
I’ve got a few photo boxes that I keep random photos in, and I look at them every now and then. It’s great seeing how you’ve improved over time and being able to look back on moments you’ve almost forgotten about.

I hope this short guide will help you to reflect on your photography in 2013. The second part of this series will be focused on goals for the new year.

I’d love to hear how your photography went this year, and what it’s like looking back for you. Let me know in the comments if you want to share. :)