Setting goals is a great way to motivate yourself to learn something new, or reach a major milestone in your pursuit of a bigger goal. They don’t necessarily have to be anything super big, like quitting your day job and making a living as a professional photographer. They could be as simple as getting one of your photos published in a local newspaper.
Ideas for photography goals
If you’re not sure what kind of goal to set for the new year, but you’re still motivated to improve your photography, then here are a few common ideas you might find helpful:
- Overcome one of your weaknesses. We all have unique strengths and weaknesses. For example, maybe you have a really natural ability to compose powerful photographs, but at the same time maybe you could improve your technical understanding of the camera. Pick a weakness, and conquer it this year!
- Get your photos published in a magazine or newspaper. This might seem like a big goal, but you can start small by focusing on a local newspaper or magazine. Publications are always looking for good photos, and it’s extremely rewarding to see your photo in print somewhere. It’s a nice acknowledgement that you’re improving as a photographer
- Start a “photo per day” project. One of the most simple photography projects is to just make a commitment to taking a photo EVERY DAY for a set amount of time. It could last anywhere from a month to even a year. I’ve never done one of these projects myself, but have always admired people who can stay committed to a project like that (and it’s fascinating to see their vision develop over the course of that month or year they did the project for).
Share your goals with us!
One of the best ways to motivate yourself to accomplish your goals is to make them public. So, if you have any big ideas for the New Year ahead, please feel free to share them with us by leaving a comment below! If there’s something you’d really love to learn more about in photography, let me know, cause it’ll help me decide what to write about in 2013
My goals for the year
I’ll go first 
- Focus intensely on learning more about image composition. I feel like composition is my biggest weakness as a photographer right now. I feel confident about my technical knowledge of the camera, but I think there’s a lot I need to learn about composing images (especially landscapes). As part of my plan to accomplish this goal, I’m looking forward to reading more great books from Craft and Vision.
- Release two new ebooks on photography. The first one is going to be a basic introduction to nature photography and I’ll be releasing it by the end of February. The second book I’ll keep a secret for now!
- Launch a new online service for learning photography. I’ll keep the details a secret for now, but I’m looking forward to launching a major new product this year. It’s coming in April!
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About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, software engineer, and founder of PhotoNaturalist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of southern California.
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