New Year’s eve has always been considered the perfect time to look back at the year, reflect on what’s worked and what’s failed. It’s a good opportunity to start anew and think about the changes we want to make starting from day one of the new year.
Among the most common resolutions people make as the year draws to an end are spending more time with family, getting married, losing weight, or quitting daytime job in favor of own photography business.
Do you use this symbolic period to make some life-changing decisions? Are you struggling to create a game plan that would work? To help you come up with a great New Year’s resolution and inspire you to grow as a photographer, we interviewed 10 prominent photographers, bloggers and entrepreneurs working in the photo industry and asked them a single question:
“What is your New Year’s resolution?”
Read on to find out what the industry’s influential personalities told us about their top goals.
Jasmine Star
Wedding photographer, blogger
Portfolio: http://jasminestar.com
Blog: http://www.jasminestarblog.com
Twitter: @jasminestar
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JasmineStarPage
Instagram: @jasminestar
So often creatives get caught up in producing work–good, great, not-so-great–but always focused on the act of creative production. I find myself always working on the next thing, thinking of the next thing, planning for the next thing…but I hardly make time to simply be in the moment. It’s vitally important to take a step back once in a while, making time to savor the present and appreciate how far I’ve come. That’s my New Year’s resolution: to stop, appreciate my journey thus far, and hope for even better things in the future once I acknowledge everything I have now.
Demetrio Fortman
Entrepreneur, CEO of Defrozo photo marketing platform
Website: http://defrozo.com
Blog: http://defrozo.com/blog
Twitter: @demetriofortman
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/demetrio.fortman
I will stick to my older resolution I made three years ago. It sounds like “turn your dreams into goals and work your ass out to reach them”. So my main goal is to introduce the full-featured version of Defrozo to the worldwide photography crowd. Launching a Kickstarter campaign for Defrozo is the first step on that way.
I know these objectives will consume enormous amount of efforts, time, and energy, but I promised myself that family weekends and regular training (I’m an avid runner) will always find place in my busy schedule as this is what keeps me alive and productive.
Natasha Miller
Freelance photographer
Portfolio: http://www.tashography.com
Blog: http://www.tashography.com/blog/
Twitter: @tashography
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Tashography
My New Year’s resolution for my photography business is to stay organized and to spend more time on personal projects I’ve started, but never found the time to complete. I’ve set some short-term goals to help me create a routine that I follow for every project, to save and organize receipts and invoices for easier accounting during tax season, and to start an email marketing campaign to engage past clients.
Conan Thai
Photographer and creative director
Portfolio: http://www.conanthai.com
Blog: http://blog.conanthai.com
Twitter: @conan_thai
Instagram: @conanthai
Sure, I’m up to chip in my thoughts. My New Year’s resolution is to make more trips out to London to meet potential clients and editors. I plan to make the move across the sea to London in 2-3 years so it wouldn’t hurt to start making some contacts out there.
Another goal of mine is to learn Mandarin. I guess that’s more in line with a new year’s resolution. I’ve always been curious about China, the place my family came from which I’ve been quite distanced from. There’s a shift away from an agrarian-based economy and more people are moving into the major metropolitan areas. The shift has resulted in a loss of traditional values and culture in favor of some vague idea of modernity. I’d like to capture the old villages that are fast disappearing to record and remind people of the past. Learning Mandarin would allow me more access to relate to potential subjects.
Gary Arndt
Travel photographer and blogger
Portfolio: http://everything-everywhere.com
Blog: http://everythingeverywhere.tumblr.com
Twitter: @EverywhereTrip
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/EverythingEverywhere
Instagram: @everythingeverywhere
I want to move my business forward by slowing down my travels and launching several projects I have in the works.
Piet Flour
Photographer
Portfolio: https://500px.com/pietflour/flow
G+: https://plus.google.com/105396609818194584786/posts
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/piet.floursenior
– on macro world scale I hope to be with my images , my soul, and my activities
a part of the chain of people trying to break the stream of bad news submerging the world every day,
an replace terror, pain, sensation by some smiles, some happiness, a little part of everyday’s beauty.
– On micro small family scale I just hope to fill in the expectations they have for me to be the best possible man, father, and grandfather.
Thomas Brun
Fashion and fine art photographer
Portfolio: http://thomasbrun.no
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Thomas-Brun-Photography/1418283418420918
Instagram: @thomasbrun71
Is to make a photo diary and maybe get it published. Ups and downs in my super fancy life. And of course to remember to bring my Canon G1X with me at all time to capture all the images I too often loos during the days.
Don Giannatti
Photographer, designer, creative director and writer
Portfolio: http://dongiannatti.com
Blog: http://dongiannatti.com/blog/
Twitter: @wizwow
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/don.giannatti
Focus more on systems. I find myself doing so many different things that it sometimes becomes confusing as to where I am, or what I should be doing next.
I have decided to go with an online project management tool, and am busy moving current and recent past projects to it and will finish that switch over the holidays. Yes, I have done this in the past but never stuck with it. This time, I am absolutely committing to using the project management tool for any and all projects. I figure once I get used to it, it will be second nature… I hope.
Julia Galdo and Cody Cloud
Portfolio: http://jucophoto.com
Blog: http://jucophoto.com/blog
In terms of New Years resolutions – I don’t ever make those – and Cody doesn’t have the attention span for them…so any answer I give wouldn’t truly be an honest one. We just approach every new year with the hopes of working hard and making work that’s true to us – and constantly evolving what that means to us with attention to our ever changing tastes and the people around us who inspire.
Dan Cuellar
Portrait, fashion and commercial photographer
Portfolio: http://www.dancuellar.com
Blog: http://www.dancuellar.com/blog/
Twitter: @Dancuellarphoto
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dancuellarphoto
Instagram: @dancuellarphoto
My New Year’s resolution is to focus more on personal projects. Lately I find myself repeating the same things over and over again. I want to start pushing myself more creatively. I find I’m most satisfied when I challenge myself to create the images I see in my head. I have a number of challenging projects coming up next year that I’m really looking forward to.
Sebastian Kim
Editorial photographer
Portfolio: http://www.sebastiankim.com
Blog: http://sebastiankim.tumblr.com
My new year’s resolution is to work less and spend more time with my kids!
Mark Condon
Photographer and Founder of Shotkit.com
Portfolio: http://goldhatphotography.com
Blog: http://shotkit.com
Twitter: @shotkit
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/shotkit
Instagram: http://instagram.com/shotkit
My goal is to network more with likeminded brands/websites that will support Shotkit and aid its growth into the New Year. Going at it alone has been fun (while I’ve had the time), but collaborations are essential to extend a brand’s reach into new markets, and I think it’s what the Shotkit community deserves. The wider the reach, the more publicity for the Shotkit brand, and the more publicity for the Shotkit community. It’s a win:win 😉
Von Wong
Photographer and Visual Engineer
Blog: http://www.vonwong.com/blog/
Portfolio: http://www.vonwong.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thevonwong
Twitter: @thevonwong
Instagram: http://instagram.com/vonwong
My New Year’s resolution is to start tackling some serious video and telling fantastic video stories to a similar level of that of my photography… 3 years ago 😛
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Hopefully, this group interview with just one question will help you to better understand what you’re expecting from the next year. What are your New Year’s resolution? What was your New Year’s resolution last year and what you have achieved? Don’t hesitate to share your ideas and thoughts in the comments field below.
Happy New Year, guys!
Your post is excellent and too much informative !