Thursday, January 12, 2012

Self Improvement

In my last post, I asked you what YOUR resolution was this year.  So I suppose I should share mine.  I have gone through many.  Small ones, large ones, silly ones, stupid ones, impossible ones.  I have settled on two fairly major resolutions for 2012, but I believe they are both achievable resolutions, and I intend to stick to them.

The first one is a common resolution: weight loss.  So many people resolve to lose weight, and do great for a month or so.  But because their motivation comes from the wrong place, they fail, fall off the wagon.  They lie to themselves.  "That diet doesn't work" or "I just didn't have time" or "I guess I was meant to be this weight"  The truth is, they were just doing it for the wrong reason.  When they find the right reason, it will happen, they will succeed.  In the past I have tried to lose weight to look better, to be a good role model for my kids, or so my husband would have a skinny, sexy wife.  Needless to say, I fell off the wagon with all the others.  This time, I decided I have had enough.  I am tired of looking in the mirror and not liking what I see.  End of story.  I simply want to be happy with myself.  2012 is the year to be happy with myself.  I WILL succeed!

My second resolution is also self-improvement related.  I want to do all I can to improve my photography, and build my business.  I want to get a degree in photography, but I haven't done so for several "reasons". I can't afford it, I don't have time, I'm scared to fail.  AHA!  That's the only real reason!  Fear of failure.  So, no more excuses!  I have decided that, somehow, someway, I will begin classes with the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online!  Yay!  Scary, but exciting!  In the meantime, I am trying to better my photography in other ways.  I found the website improvephotography.com and they just happen to have an article titled "21 Things You Can Do Today to Change Your Photography Forever".  Wow!  It's like they heard my thoughts and wrote it just for me.  So I began - and even discovered some steps that I have already done!  Look at me, improving my photography without even realizing it!
Step 1: Learn EVERY function your camera is capable of performing.  Done!  I sat down, camera in hand, and flipped every switch, changed every setting, fiddled with every knob on my camera.  I took about 25 pictures of my keys hanging on the wall to see what each change did to the photo.  It took me about 45 minutes.  The article says it should have taken 2 hours.  So either I already knew most of the functions, or they expect me to have a much fancier camera with many, many more functions.  Someday, I will, and I can't wait to play with all the knobs and doo-dads on it!!
Step 2: Prepare your work for exhibition.  Wow, that's a big step.  Or at least it seemed like it at first.  Simply put, though, they are saying I should have a collection of my photos matted and framed, stacked somewhere JUST IN CASE someone wants to see or (joy of joys!) buy any of my work.  There are so many variables to this step, though.  Which ones should I print?  How big should I print them?  Should I matte them myself or have it done?  How many should I do?  Where will I store them?  How do I sign them?  What color mattes should I put them in?  What kind of frame?  Will a $10 frame from Walmart work as well as a $45 frame from the custom framing store?  Does it REALLY matter?  After all, the frame doesn't make the picture..........but it could make it look better. Presentation is EVERYTHING (or so I have always been told).   All the decisions overwhelmed me and dollar signs started popping up in my head.  I felt myself pulling away, panicking, backing out, saying "nevermind", sabotaging myself.....again.  That's when I stopped.  I took a deep breath.  No one said I had to prepare ALL my work for exhibition all AT THE SAME TIME.  Tonight, I started small.  Really small.  I ordered 10x13's of my 4 favorite photos.  One by one, I will take them to the custom framing store to be professionally matted and framed. Presentation may not be everything, but it won't hurt.   I will sit down with the lady behind the counter, carefully examine and compare matting colors, framing colors and styles, decide which combination will best display that particular photo. Then, like a loving mother, I will nervously hand over my precious photo and trust her to take care of my baby and dress it up nice.  It's a step in the right direction.  I'll keep you updated as I follow the other 19 steps they outline.

No comments:

Post a Comment