How to create your own photo project

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Especially for Lifehacker, I prepared a translation of powerful material from renowned street photographer Eric Kim. If you've never created your own photography projects and want some additional inspiration, then this article is for you. Here you will find a guide to creating a cool photography project and a story about what awaits you along the way.

First of all, it should be said that creating your own photo project will help you concentrate more when shooting, and a collection of photos will give you the opportunity to express more than individual shots.

Today, online social photo networks such as Flickr place too much emphasis on individual photography. If you open someone's Flickr profile, you will see a stream of photos. It will show a bunch of random images in the order they were uploaded to the service.

James Dodd, an influential street photographer (founder and co-founder of the site), recently closed his Flickr account. In his farewell note, he especially noted the inconvenience of presenting the photo series.

Although such photo resources provide an opportunity to showcase your work to millions of subscribers, they are still not convenient enough for presenting a series of images.

Personal transformation

The job of many digital camera photographers is to grab a camera, take a good picture, and upload it to the internet immediately. And so they work for years.

However, an interesting challenge would be to set yourself the following goal:

Do not upload any pictures to social networks during the year, submitting the best ones by the end of the year!

At first, this goal may seem completely unattainable. For every social media addict, this task will seem ridiculous.

• If you don't upload your pictures to the Internet, how will people react to them then? Will they lose interest in my work forever?
• Is it possible to resist the temptation to upload your work after doing it almost every day?

However, despite these questions, it is worth considering that when it comes to famous photographers, you can hardly remember more than a dozen of their shots. Plus, a year is enough time to build up your self-criticism before you start editing a photo.

After a few weeks, you (not without surprise) will notice that nothing terrible has happened. The Internet has not ceased to exist, and people have not forgotten about you and have not stopped visiting you on blogs.

Plus, you will feel the incredible calmness and lack of pressure that comes from having to constantly upload your work.

Quality is more important than quantity

By deciding not to post your images outright, you can let them marinate before deciding whether they are good or not. noticed:

Photographers make mistakes about their emotions when they determine if a photograph is good the moment they take it.

You should distance yourself from your work in order to see it more objectively. Winogrand also waits up to a year before starting to edit his photos or even just looking at them.

First photo project

The photographer made his first photographic project within the framework of street photography. He noted:

I wasn't sure enough what I meant when I started my project, but I knew I wanted to take a series of 15-20 shots of my Los Angeles experience.

It was a project that Kim has been constantly working on for about a year. As a result of the work, he indicated the following key points:

• It takes at least a year to create a cool series of images worthy of publication in a project.
• For a project it is worth choosing 15–20 pictures (less - something will be missing, more - the central idea will be lost).
• The sequence of images in a project makes a significant contribution to the effect produced.
• Getting constant feedback and criticism is of the utmost importance.
• To communicate the idea to others, the concept of the project is as important as the images themselves.

Why projects, not single images

If you are an aspiring photographer, there is nothing wrong with taking single shots. But one day, you will no longer be comfortable with things like the basics of composition and exposure, and which type of photography gives you more pleasure. Then you should focus on projects that do not limit your ability to tell a story.

Of course, you can declare yourself with one shot, but a series of photos will have a much more powerful impact on the viewer.

A few tips for starting your own photography project

I. Great concept

Coming up with a great concept is hard enough. However, this is what will become the foundation of your project. The clearer and more precise the concept, the more focused your project will be. This will result in images that are better suited to your project.

The concept should be of interest to you personally.

Possible ideas for a photo project:

• The place where you live and in which you are already immersed enough.

  You don't have to live in Paris to get a good series of shots. has an excellent knack for taking great pictures in places where they are least expected (tourist beaches, eateries, supermarkets).

• Reflection of who you are.

  Advice from: "Shoot the same as you!" Gilden often takes pictures of gangsters and tough guys, inspired by his upbringing and father. Eric Kim is a sociologist, so he often removes what reflects such issues as obesity, capitalism, greed, technology, fashion. Try to dig deeper and create an episode that describes you as a person. Make it personal. Don't try to create a dark and gloomy row if you are a happy and cheerful person. Also, do not film the homeless if you yourself are from a prosperous environment.

II. Decide on the hardware

Although this rule is not strict, it is better to stick to it. Why? Choosing a specific camera, lens, type of film (b / w or color) will create a great connection between your shots.

For example, by choosing a specific focal length, you will get a series of photos that will be less embarrassing for the viewer than if you switch the distance, say, from 28 to 200 mm. This consistency of hardware performance will give a consistent look to the images and allow you to focus on the photos themselves, rather than worrying about gear changes all the time.

III. Take photos throughout the year

You should work for at least one year, although in general, the longer you work on a project, the better it will be. More images means more time to comprehend them, collect feedback and edit them.

Most of the photographers who have published books have taken just that amount of time.

IV. Don't publish your project until it's complete

Although there are some advantages of uploading photos while working on a project (motivation, feedback, criticism), it is still better to present the project only when it is completely finished.

How do you know if a project is ready? You can either set a deadline (week, month, year, and so on), or feel that it is ready (which is more subjective).

V. Collecting Feedback During Work

Deciding not to publish a project before it's finished does not mean that you will not be able to receive feedback. Feedback can be received not only via the Internet.

Display photos on your laptop, iPad, or in print directly. When contacting a person personally, you will receive a much more complete and meaningful assessment than when using Internet resources. As a last resort, submit a series of images on private blogs and ask people what they think of the project concept, images, sequence, and so on.

Take criticism to heart, but remember: you alone have to make the final editing decision.

Vi. Edit the project

This is the hardest part of the project - choosing the best shots. Less is better. 15 pictures telling a story are preferable to 100 rambling pictures.

Is there a limit to the number of images in a project? In general, no. It all depends on the goals.

In the case when you expect to present a project at an exhibition or on the Internet, you should limit yourself to 15–20 photos. If you are planning to publish a photo book, you will probably need 60-200 images.

Vii. Get your project in order

Once you have enough images, it will take time for you to organize them. This is another extremely important part of the project.

Determining the sequence of photos in a project is akin to building the plot of a story: the beginning, the culmination, the denouement.

While you don't have to adhere strictly to this structure, ultimately you should have a clear idea of why the photos are arranged in that order.

The most important are the beginning and the end of the project. The first image, like the cover of a book, should motivate the viewer to further view the project. With the final image, you should give the viewer a “word of encouragement”. It is the last shot that the viewer will ultimately take out of the project.

There are many ways to sequence your shots. Here are a few of them:

• by shooting time (chronologically);
• by plot (landscapes - at the beginning of the project, active actions and portraits - in the middle);
• by emotion (from happy to gloomy people).

Also, when looking at other people's photography projects, ask yourself why did the photographer arrange their photos in that order?

VIII. Publishing a project

There are many ways to present your project: Flickr, Facebook, Google+, 500px, personal website, blog, book, gallery exhibit …

IX. Get inspired

To get started, check out the galleries of the photographers mentioned in this article. You can find other useful links on their blogs. Don't stop exploring! This will allow you to create an excellent photo project.

Based on Eric Kim