Project 365 : A picture a day

What is project 365?

Practice makes perfect! It is very essential to practice regularly to improve in any field. Same goes with photography. It is essential that you shoot regularly to develop your photographic skills. “How regular?” is the question which arises next. How about one picture everyday? Take up Project 365! And now is the best time to do it!

Project 365 is the act of taking one picture everyday for a year. You can then upload it online on Flickr, Picasa, Deviant Art or share it with your friends. Sharing the pictures online is not the main aspect of this assignment. Though, it will help you to stay committed to the project.

Photo by Lipi Bharadwaj

Why do it?

Making photography an every day event has big payoffs.
• It will help you improve your photography skills.
• You will start looking at things around you differently.
• It’s an amazing way of documenting your day-to-day life.

How to do it?

This project may seem hard to stick with and you might want to quit continuing it after 2-3 weeks. But, it not only helps you to improve your photography and post-processing skills, it makes you more creative and you start looking at the things around you differently. Here are a few tips which will help you in starting and concluding this project successfully:

• Take your camera everywhere: Make it a habit to take your camera everywhere you go. To the grocery store, a party, restaurants, work, school… Everywhere. You never know when a great photo opportunity will arise and you don’t want to miss it. In case you are at a place where cameras are restricted, you can always use the camera in your cellphone!

• Don’t postpone: If you get an idea of a photograph, go right ahead and click it. Don’t postpone it. Never say, “I will shoot it later.” If the light conditions are good now, it doesn’t mean it will be the same again.
If you notice something on the street, capture it right away! Always remember, ‘The best time is now’.

Photo by It’sGreg

• Don’t lose hope: Keep in mind that not all the pictures you take will look great. Many times you might not be able to get a good picture because of your busy schedule, bad lighting conditions and various other reasons. It doesn’t mean that you should stop. The important thing is that you take a picture every day; you will definitely get better at it.

• Take photography trips: Even a small trip to the local park can be very rewarding. You can go with like-minded people or alone. Just pack your gear, and some refreshments and you are ready to go!

Photo by Lipi Bharadwaj

• Themes: Have weekly themes! This will make it more interesting and fun. Start with simple things like colors (for example, for a week click picture of things which are ‘red’ in color, you can use the color red in anyway you want). You can have one theme for every month or week or even a year. Choice is yours!

• Get out of your comfort zone: Take risks; experiment. Try photography techniques and styles that you have never done before. This will help you grow as a photographer.

• 365 days-not possible? : If you think it is not possible for you to take up Project 365, try 52 weeks. This means that instead of taking one photograph every day, you are taking one every week.

• Start Now!

In the beginning, it will seem difficult to take one photo everyday, but after a month, you will get used to it and probably have more than one image to choose from each day.

By the end of the 365 days, you will be much better at photography, you would have learnt new things.

With the new year, this is the perfect time to start this project. Generally, project 365 is considered to be started at new years, it is not, you can start whenever you want.

So, go ahead and take a picture a day!