Emily Weiss Photography Blog

My 365 project is over and I want to jot down my own personal lessons learned from this project.

If you are just tuning in here is a brief recap: Every year I decide on a personal photo project.  Shooting for myself helps me keep my creative spirit alive and open.  For 2011, I chose a 365 project: to shoot a photo every day for a year.  I tried to keep it simple and easy – did not matter what kind of camera or what the subject was just to shoot one photo every day no matter what.

I did not plan it this way but it seems appropriate that I ended up with 12 thoughts, confessions, personal lessons learned, and tidbits of advice for anyone else attempting a 365 photo project.

1. This was way harder than I anticipated. When I started this project I honestly thought “how hard could this be”?  After about two months I realized it was going to be a long year.   I knew I would get bored and that some of the day’s images would be complete crap, but I did not expect my perfectionist ways to bolster my already resistant tendencies.  Some days it would be 9:00pm before I realized I had not shot that day and would scramble to find something, anything that was interesting.  Often it was not.
2. It’s OK to take a break.  In the middle of the summer I stopped.  Not really sure why but I did.  There is a three week gap in my photos in July somewhere.  I needed that break.  When I picked the camera back up I was able to approach it differently and without as much angst and anxiety over this project.  Sometime you fall down and its not necessarily a failure you just needed a break or to change course.
3. Some days I cheated.  I’m not proud of this fact.  But I also recognize that this is reality of my busy life.  I always had a plan to shoot and sometimes even an idea to shoot, but somehow between two kids, a husband, my business, boot camp, the house, the laundry, my husband’s businesses, the dog, our social life, the kid’s social life, the hockey games, volunteering at the school, cooking dinner, etc…the day would just escape me.  That’s my life; it’s busy and messy and often “the plan” falls off the track.
4. Figure out a way to count down the days.  Which clearly I did not do.  And clearly I can’t count, add, or subtract.  Of course it did not help that midway through I changed the way I recoded each day on my blog and internally on my computer (DOH!). However, I did discover (way too late) that Google calender has a function that shows you the day in relation to the 365 days of the year aptly called “Day of the Year”. I recommend using it or something to help you know where, in the year, you are.  And also figure out a way to store and record your image files by date on the computer…especially if you are math “challenged” like me
5. My kids HATE my camera.  Maybe it is their ages, maybe they are sick of having it shoved in their face, or maybe they would rather just have me be present in their lives without trying to record every waking moment. I hope that now the year is over and I’m not trying to “shoot for my project” and we take a break they will get over it.
6. I cant create awesomeness every day.  There were some days that I was hit by creative lightening, and others where my creative streak was no where to be found.  And its normal.
7. I know my camera like the back of my hand.  I knew this would be the added extra bonus of this project and I was right.  My camera was relatively new when I started this project.   I learned how my camera functions in all sorts of conditions, what its limitations are and how to make it sing.
8. Having a journal of ideas would have helped.  I thought I would be clever and creative enough to always find something.  But now looking back if I had jotted down ideas for the days when I was too exhausted to think it might have helped me when I felt totally and completely uninspired.  I suggest anyone attempting this kind of project to spend some time coming up with projects, ideas, or exercises when one does not present itself naturally.  That way you have something to fall back on.
9. I need to shoot more film.  Film is like the creative outlet I did not know I missed until I started shooting it again.  Shooting film is not the hard part, affording it is. So I am making a conscious effort to shoot more film, finding a way to afford it and to integrate it into everything I do.  It is so rewarding and so beautiful and so different.
10. My iPhone opened an unexpected door.  I love my iPhone camera. The latest version of the iPhone has as many mega-pixels as my very first DSLR I bought 7 years ago – which kind of blows my mind.  I have heard the argument that there is no art in iPhone photography but I disagree.  I view it as yet another tool in my bag to help me hone my vision.  Sometime when you strip away all the gear and the fancy gadgets it forces you to really look and really think.  I defiantly used it as a crutch when I had nothing else.  But I also know that it helped me see things I would not have seen if I had been using my big fancy expensive camera.
11. I need to lean into my discomfort more often.  I think this is the hardest lesson I am still working on and in every part of my my life not just my photography.  I notice when I lean into the uncomfortable spaces and the uncertainly – that is where the really good stuff is hiding.  Someone once said greatness is often on the edge of destruction.  I need to remember that when I feel discouraged and broken. Getting uncomfortable forces you to take risks and push past the familiar, the easy, and your comfort zones and often produces a great result and/or a great lesson.
12. Sometimes the journey IS the destination.  When I started this project I assumed that I would end it with some great work for my portfolio that was definitive of my style.  And maybe even hone my style more than I already have.  Looking back through my images, I can’t say the work I produced was stellar by any means.  There is some good stuff and a lot of work that is just “MEH”.  As the months were winding down, I’ll admit I started to panic.  Was this whole year a waste of my time and effort?  And then it hit me.  It was never about the work itself, it was always about the journey.   I needed the lesson of slogging through the trenches of mediocrity so I can come out the other side, hopefully better.  I do this because it feeds my soul unlike anything else. And this journey I am on is fantastic. I love it.  Already it has given me so much and I cant wait to see what else it will bring.  I feel so blessed that I get to do what I love.

It has been an interesting year, both personally and professionally.  As I get older (and hopefully wiser) I have noticed how more in tune with my gut and my senses I have become.  I am noticing that when I listen to my gut it rarely leads me in the wrong direction.  So I’m tuning in and listening to what I think are my next steps and the next photo project. Lots of new clients and new projects are on the horizon and I am really excited for the year ahead.  Cant wait to see what it will bring me.

If you are still reading…thanks for sticking it out and wading through it with me. I would love to hear your thoughts about what you liked, didn’t like, or anything else!!