Ideas to Help your 365 Project be a Good One

The other night I had one of those nights, where I just laid in bed and couldn’t stop tossing and turning and my mind was just flying and made it impossible to sleep. I for some reason got on the subject of the 365 project, trying to think of things to take pics of. I’ve tried doing the 365 project for the last several years and eventually I get burned out. I actually started coming up with ways to make it more exciting.

I got up and started writing….

• Experiment with lighting, focus, angle, aperture, bokeh, depth of field (DoF), sun-flare.

• If you have a tripod, use it!

• Make a list of things you would like to take pictures of.

• Find inspiration through others.

• Don’t like what you came up with? Try editing.

If you don’t have photoshop, here’s a list of free, online aps that you may wanna try out.

• http://www.picnik.com – I use this one when I’m on a computer other than mind that has Photoshop on it.

• http://www.freeonlinephotoeditor.com

• http://snipshot.com/

• http://fotoflexer.com/

• http://www.lunapic.com/editor/

• http://pixlr.com/editor/

• http://www.flauntr.com/

• http://www.gimp.org/

• http://www.phixr.com/

• Join a 365 Group, like: Mommytography 365, 365 Project, Flickr 365 Group ], Project 365 with Naptime Momtog, 365 Flavors, Click It Up a Notch, Live Every Mom 365 Days: A Photographic Journey, Ashley Sisk.

• Turn the mundane into something beautiful or eye-catching.

• Each and every picture does not have to be something earth shatteringly amazing!

• Take pictures that reflect your daily life.

• Look for items/scenes that tell a story. Remember a picture is supposed to be worth a 1,000 words, right?

• Bring your camera everywhere.

This is something that I’m bad about, because my camera is big and clunky and I’m always concerned I’ll drop it or it will get stolen, but with that comes all the shots I’ve missed. I’m really working on remembering to bring it. I want one of those camera bags that looks like a purse. That would help with a lot my worries.

• Get out of your comfort zone.

• Keep an open mind and open eyes.

Be more aware. I’ve found the most mundane things can turn into amazing pictures!

• Keep a running list of ideas you come across and as your out and about or just around the house, look for them.

• shadows

• things in nature

• reflections

• items in your purse

• items in your car

• patterns

• pets

• trash

• inside of your fridge or freezer

• interesting finds (like interesting products at Wal-Mart, etc.)

• people

• streets

• parts of your car

• parts of your house

• your neighborhood

• your work

• your desk

• your hand-writing

• landmarks in your town

• gas pump

• light posts

• signs

• odd objects

What are things are things you can add to the list? What motivates you to continue to shoot?