Starting a photo project

16 Aug 22

Starting anything is the hardest thing to do. The best way to start anything, ironically, is to simply start knowing that one will adjust it all later and iterate. And so it began.

I started with a theme in my head and a working title “Hope and Despair”. I stuck with shooting around this theme for a few months but have found myself gravitating towards a looser and much wider working title of “Coming home” and I found my shots fitting that title more. The project still has constraints, but it did allow me to breathe and not completely kill my drive on my very first book. Is it wrong to switch themes in the middle of a project?

To answer this question, I had to ask myself “who is this book for?” - and to be honest, it’s for my family and me. My son may benefit from my work as he has accompanied me on a few of my shooting outings, and he also takes good photos in my, ahem, not-so-biased opinion. The book is also for friends who may be curious enough to find out what I’ve been up to. I really think that the best way to reflect on the year that was is by turning the pages of a book, rather than scrolling through images on your phone. There is something more real with a book as countless others have noted. The paper, the ink, the print, the images with the little moments that make the day, the size of the images on the page, the sequence, the silent message through image placement and overall layout, the words and thoughts peppered through the book, the typeface, spacing of those words and the tempo and rhythm of the overall book. Social media can’t replace this and the most popular photo-sharing platform Instagram has trained us to become phone addicts. There is, however, nothing more important than recognizing the addiction and peeling it back the way it should be; lazy weekends scrolling through pages of memories with homemade piccolo. There is a feeling to this that is hard to replicate with technology.

With that detour in mind, yes I am allowed to change course midway through the project - so long as the project is still targeting the intent and purpose.

A few months in

One of the best things I have been able to achieve in order to stay focused on the project is to scale back my Instagram feed. I’ve been able to only post a more disciplined 2-3x a week on my main account, down from a daily share, and looking to slow it down further to once a week. The torture of having to curate your feed with little feedback in return is wasted energy. I wouldn’t exactly say no one cares, but I would say that we all have a million things on our plate with very little time. I would much rather use that energy to focus on a worthwhile project.

I’ve also come to realise that I would rather publish more often than most primarily because life is short. The majority of photographers would work on projects for years prior to releasing their work. I would like to aim toward one book a year, which is fine given that I will hit my goal of publishing memories for family and friends, and not the masses. I have no delusions of grandeur. There may come a time when I start a project based on a concept with the intent to sell, make money, or be famous, but this is not likely. If I’m lucky and pursue it, I might seek commissioned work.. but the time is not right for this. I also have a day job and photography is not my main source of income; it’s more an escape, an expression, and an extension. I’d rather do me.

Slowing down my Instagram feed meant that I have now collected quite an expansive backlog, which comes with its own problems of storing and filing, hence making the selection process even more difficult. I realise that identifying your final selects is a brutal but very necessary process, however, having a large backlog makes the process even more time-consuming. And at this early stage, I have decided to make sure that I have a couple of people that can critique and provide feedback on a working draft just before project completion, taking a leaf out of the startup world of launching your MVP, and receiving feedback, and iterating. User feedback is king. Do others like the work?

Then I had to ask myself, is this necessary for a year of memories? Yes, it still needs to be done right. If you’re going to do a job, you do it well. Although I trust myself with the way I organise and curate, I have also come to realise that a second and third opinion will make the result even better (and that big backlog will surely increase the chances of erring).

What’s next?

From this point until the end of the year there are still a few shots I still need to take. That statement does imply that there will be some well-thought-out shots, shots that I know I will need to Google Earth the location, scout the location, determine the best time of the day, check the weather, determine the best camera and lens combo, select the stock if I’m shooting film, determine the distance I need for the shot, decide whether I need an extra element - like a person - to add another layer, shoot, iterate, adjust and the list goes on. These planned shoots will take a small portion of the overall shots, somewhere in the vicinity of ~20%. My favourite photo book takes a similar approach of having the majority of shots composed of fleeting moments with a small portion made up of planned shoots. It feels like a good ratio and mix; fleeting moments and beautiful memories with a dash of bangers here and there. And it cannot be the other way around, as it goes against the overall objective and will feel more contrived and forced.

I will then aim to pull a draft together hopefully around October and get it reviewed by some aforementioned people, photographers and design experts, to determine whether I need to course correct or not.

And I’ll more than likely add another blog post when I get to that stage. It’s been so liberating to put the phone down, pause distractions at 4 am, have nothing but the light on your screen stare blankly at you and ask “What have you got for me?” and commit those thoughts that have been lingering for the longest time.

It’s so good to finally write again.