Tips and tricks for a Project 365

In part 2 of the Project 365 blog, I want to give you some tips on when you want to attempt a project of this nature.

1. The most important rule or tip is take one (or more) photo everyday. Don't skip a day. It may seem obvious, but this is the biggest challenge. There will be days that life seem to get in the way, but make time for the project.
2. Take your camera everywhere! Don't feel self conscious. Don't get lazy. Don't take a break. The one time you don't have your camera with you is the one time you'll wish you never left it behind. I can guarantee this. 
3. Take a picture as early as possible. There is nothing worse than night time arriving and realising that you have not yet taken your picture of the day. 
4. Never say, "I'll take a photo of that later." or "I'll take a photo of that on my way back." Take the photo while the idea is in your head and the light is right. Moments of inspiration seldom come at convenient times and light conditions are seldom ever exactly the same twice in a day.
5. When running out of ideas a very good idea is the use of themes. You could have a daily theme such as "Green Sundays"or weekly themes like "Signposts"or even a monthly theme like "The things I love". There is whole list of weekly challenges that you can use at Ramblings and Photos. The possibilities are endless!!
6. Plan ahead and write down ideas, rather than just waiting for inspiration. This is great practice and will enforce creative thinking. And what is also great is that when spontaneous ideas are few and far between, you can always review previously documented photo ideas.
7. Break out of your comfort zone and risk a bad shot by learning something new. Taking photos over and over again because you're comfortable taking them will not improve your photography and it won't increase interest in your work.
8. Anything can be photograph, but only use this as a last resort.
9. Don't beat yourself up if you miss a day. We sometimes have to accept the fact that we're busy. Just don't quit!!!! 
10. In order to avoid backlogs edit and process your photos at least weekly if not daily. Getting into a rhythm on editing and post processing is key to completing your project. For many the taking of the photos is the easy part, but editing and processing photos is the challenge. For every photo you publish you're likely to have many others that don't make the cut. Getting into a rhythm to select your final photos and processing them in a timely fashion will make the difference between success and failure.
11. Post your photos online. Use social media such as Facebook, Flickr or Google Blog. A very good site for posting your work and linking up with other Project Participants is  http://365project.org/ . It is a free site with 1000's of people taking part in projects of this nature. Remember, get your work out there.
12. When posting your daily photos online add notes as to what you thought worked or didn't from your days photos. Post general photo shoot and camera setting info from your EXIF data, you'll look back on this later to refresh your memory or to see how far you've come. Anecdotal stories are also great information to look back on. Understanding how, why and when you photographed your subject provides insight to your creative thinking that you can't get from just EXIF data.
13. Link up with other 365'ers. Search the internet to find other people that are attempting the same project as you. This helps when you are loosing steam and want to give up, it may just be the encouragement you need to finish the project. A very good site to keep track of your project as mentioned before is  http://365project.org/.
14. If you are looking for encouragement from others you need to encourage others. People love to comment on others who have commented on their photos. You can also build some great relationships through just commenting on others work. It doesn't have to be a critique (unless they asked for one) it can be as simple as commenting on something they wrote about. Build relationships!
15. Lastly, make sure to have fun during your year long photo project. The moment it becomes work the more challenging completing the project will become. Getting into a rhythm can help a great deal in lowering the perceived level of effort to get your daily photos in. Whether you're heading out to explore during your lunch break, taking a 10 minute detour in your commute or even taking 365 self portraits, knowing that you have time dedicated to get your photo in takes a lot stress out of the process. If you're the more spontaneous type then build in an extra 10 - 20 minutes into your appointment schedule to stop and explore with your camera. As with life ones destination is often far less interesting than the journey.

Remember, we are doing this to learn something and to improve in photography. The best part is that you can start ANY day of the year. Don't make the mistake of associating this project with New Years. There is no rule as to when you have to start. SO START TODAY.

Nico Strydom