Your December Photography Project: Reflection

In many of the world's cultures, the coming of a new year is celebrated as a time of renewal and reflection. It is a time to share with family and friends, a time to celebrate, and for some, a time of contemplation. Although it can be a hectic time for many of us, with so many preparations and celebrations, it is also a great time to look back. I encourage each of you to use this month to reflect on your art from the year to date.

The Purpose of the Exercise

Although said with regards to a very different issue, I believe Margaret J. Wheatley's words apply greatly to us as artists: "Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences and failing to achieve anything useful." Without looking back to where we have come from, we are unable to see where we are going, or how we might get there. Our current work should form the basis of our future work; it should be a place from which we learn and grow. Only by looking back on it, studying it, and appreciating it for what it is can we hope to grow.

The Process

Since starting my photography business, I have used December as a time to prepare for the new year. This includes preparing equipment, price sheets, hard drives, portfolio, and a business plan, but it also includes preparing myself mentally to create images that are above and beyond what I have produced to date.

For each week of the month, I spend time looking at a block of my work from the past year. Beginning with January-March, then April-June, and so on. I like to do this slowly, as it gives me a chance to absorb the work that I have done and take the time to think about it. I am able to look back on my successes and failures for the year and ask myself questions about the coming year.

I start by making a collection of images by going through my Lightroom catalogs and exporting anything that I am proud of, or images that I feel like showed a new direction or development in my work from the year. Once I have gone through three months and exported a collection, I will sift through it and whittle it down to a smaller collection for my blog. Finally, I will attempt to write my feelings about the images, recall experiences, and look at them from a technical standpoint. I make notes as I go along, and these form the basis for my next year's work.

The Format

Personally, I chose to publish this exercise on my blog. I feel by making it public, I have to be more honest with myself and with my audience. I force myself to explore it more deeply and to be more ruthless with my selections. I try my best to select only my favorite images for the year and to acknowledge where I need to make efforts next year. Cutting several thousand images down to a collection of 10-15 for a blog post gives me the opportunity to decide which pieces of my work I am truly proud of this year.

Perhaps you don't run a blog or don't wish to share it with the world. Never mind. You could scrapbook it, printing your favorites and turning them into a journal that you look back at over the coming year. Another idea might be to hold a small exhibition at a dinner with friends or a gathering of creatives. Maybe you could even seek out a portfolio review of your selection this year from a respected colleague.

In Conclusion

I know this may sound like just one more task to add to the list, but I cannot stress enough how good this exercise has been for me. By putting time between myself and my work, I have been able to look back at it more objectively and find gaps that I want to fill each year. I am also able to find work that I am proud of, but may have forgotten amongst all the craziness of running a business. I will be starting this process next week on my blog and would love to see some links in the comments from anyone who will also be reviewing their year's work.