7 New Year’s Resolutions For Photographers For 2017

No time to conjure up a resolution for 2017? No problem! Here’s a seven-pack of readymade resolutions you can relate to, even if you’re already perfect in every way.

1. Back up a minute…
Raise your shutter release finger and repeat after me: I will back up my images in 2017. Your images are not backed up unless you have at least two additional copies besides the original. You have no excuse; fast external hard drives cost less than lunch in Hobart, Indiana, and cloud-based online storage is crazy-cheap. If you’re completely cash-strapped, buy the $29 SanDisk Ultra Fit CZ43 128GB USB 3.0 drive I wrote about a couple weeks ago. Plug it in and back ‘em up.

2. Lose some weight…
I lean toward big, heavy cameras as much as the next guy. When I’m shooting with my Nikon D2X and 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikkor I scarcely notice the weight. Until the next morning when my neck refuses to rotate, nod or stop aching. Years ago I began shooting with lightweight, compact cameras—like my Fujifilm X100 or my Olympus PEN F—instead of a behemoth DSLR as often as practical. I have not forsaken big cameras, but I have learned to appreciate small ones. The Russian beauty at the top of this column was photographed with a Fujifilm X100, f/2.0 at 1/75 and ISO 800.

Western Digital 2TB Elements USB 3.0 External Hard Drive. Street price is about $75.

3. Read more…
We all agree that time spent reading is time well spent. Then why do Americans have such a bad reputation where Owner’s Manuals are concerned? Although it sounds trite and maybe corny, the OM is the best place to begin with any new camera.

4. Visit new places…
It’s always fun to see something new, but have you ever noticed how different your home looks when you return? I can’t prove this scientifically, but I’ll bet that we stop seeing things after we look at them for the third time. Can you draw an accurate image of your car’s dashboard from memory, with every dial and button in the right place? You look at it every day, but you stop seeing it. My point is that if we take a good, penetrating look at the things we encounter on a regular basis, we just might start seeing something new—without traveling anywhere new.

5. Learn something new…
Make a vow to set White Balance manually for the next 30 days. I’m not talking about selecting WB by setting the little light bulb icon or the cloud figure—I mean real manual settings using a grey card or piece of white paper. Nikon calls it Preset. Other companies call it Custom. Whatever you call it, vow to do it without fail for the next month and you’ll never go back to Auto White Balance.

Title slide from the Powerpoint I used at the last digital camera workshop I conducted at my local library.

6. Help others…
Many Shutterbug readers are bonafide experts when it comes to photography (and probably many other things, for that matter). If you know your way around a DSLR or have sparkling talents with Photoshop, volunteer to teach a class at your local library. I do it from time to time and it’s always one of the most rewarding things I do. Click here for more tips on setting up a pro bono digital photo workshop.

7. Break bad habits…
Stop using your phone as a camera. There, I said it. Oh, I know it’s convenient, and the results aren’t that bad, but stop settling for something that’s almost as good as a real photograph.

—Jon Sienkiewicz

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