New Years Resolutions 2012

It's that time of the year again where we do things like buy gym memberships that we'll never use, go on diets that never last and there's a surge of people looking for new jobs or making life changes. This makes it the perfect time to set yourself some goals to achieve over the next year that will really help to keep you motivated (Whether it's photography or anything else in life)

Normally by the end of November I look back on the year I've just had and I'm already looking at NY resolutions to set as goals, but this year I have been so busy I'm only just starting to look at this now. Before I get into listing some of things I'll be doing this year there are some rules that need to be followed.

The Rules of Resolutions:

1. If you write it down it's set in stone -  However you do have until the 1st of Jan to make changes but whatever is on that piece of paper/word document/tattooed on your skin on the 1st of Jan is final. This is to stop you trying to move the goal posts closer and should stop you being lazy about the resolutions through the year.
2. Make a couple of the resolutions take you out of your comfort zone - This will keep things interesting but also means that you're forced to try something new.
3. Keep copies of the resolutions everywhere that you'll see them - Whether that's on the bathroom mirror on the wallpaper of your computer screen, in your camera bag or on the front page of your note pad. Just make sure that it's somewhere that's going to keep them front of mind.
4. Every day as soon as you wake up read them - Like number 3 it'll keep things front of mind, but it'll also change your day when you have something to aim for
5. Keep track of your progress and Celebrate your successes - Make sure you know when you're achieving them and celebrate the success. This isn't something you have to wait until next December to look back at again and see if you have achieved it.
6. Tell other people about it - Just as I'm doing by posting about it on my blog, you should shout about what you're hoping to do next year and share it with others. Not only will it make you feel great about yourself when you share your hopes, but it's also an added piece of motivation in that you'd rather tell them about how successful you were than you haven't done it.
7. Finally if you don't achieve them all don't worry about it - You'll accomplish more by aiming high and missing than aiming low and achieving it all.

My Resolutions for 2012

This year I'm creating different resolutions for different things. Those of you that know me, know that I'm really into my fitness and philosophising about life, however in the interest of this blog I'm only going to talk about my photography resolutions. I'll be adding to this list over the next week or so and should have a finished article by the 1st of Jan.

1. Shoot more for myself- 2011 was a lot of shooting for clients and other people and my own work took a back seat, 2012 will have a lot more time dedicated to what I want to shoot.
2. Shoot Fitness Models- It's something I've always wanted to do more of and as an added bonus is great motivation for my fitness goals for this year.
3. Use more local talent- living so close to London I tend to gravitate towards the talent pool there but there's loads of talent in Essex, Kent and Herts
4. Assist other photographers on shoots- I learned a lot doing this years ago and don't do this nearly enough now.
5. Upgrade my camera- I have been saying this for awhile now but I think it's about time I got a new one. Now that it's on the list I can't put it off anymore.
6. Shoot some lingerie, glamour, boobs- Not something I've done before but in the interest of taking me out of my comfort zone I will make that sacrifice.
7. Shoot for shits and giggles at short notice- I tend to plan, plan and plan a shoot, I know what I want, I know what model I want, I know what equipment I need to do it. Here I'll try booking a model at short notice, doing a shoot in a forest, park or even in the street just to see what happens off the cuff
8. Do a shoot when I go travelling- I don't do this nearly enough, so I will book a shoot when I'm holiday this year.
9. Take an opportunity when it presents itself- Some of the most successful photographers I know are successful not because of their technical knowledge or how good their photos are, but because they have the confidence to (in the words of Nike) "Just Do It"
10. Build a strong team with MUA's, Stylists and Models that I can use again and again - Just as a good team, we'll know the abilities of each member and the limitations so we can get the right result every time.
11. Print a portfolio I can show off to people- I've always used a digital portfolio, but I think it's important to have something printed that I can take with me to show people my work.

It's a start, I'll be adding/modifying these over the next week or so but remember whatever is here on the 1st of Jan is what I'm sticking to.

Anyone else fancy sharing their new year's resolutions? If so drop me a note in the comments below or on Twitter and I'll link to them from here.