Pease Steve. - Digital Photography Landscape Projects: To make you a better photographer

Chapter One

Photo a day

This project is very popular, and most people think they can do this project without much trouble. It sounds easy, but its not.

If you want to take a quality shot every day for an entire year, it takes some time every day. It takes more time than you think. Start with a shorter goal, and work to a year if it works for you.

You dont want to take a random snapshot every day, just to say you did. To do this project right and to have some quality photos at the end of the project, it is going to require some time on your part.

You will have days when you are frustrated that you cant come up with anything to shoot.

This project will force you to be creative. You will start to think about things like, how to take a really cool shot of everyday ordinary things like a glass of water, a butter knife, a piece of fruit, etc.

Some days its really easy, last week we were at the lake, and I saw this shot and snapped it with my phone.

It is a shot with a cell phone so its not the best resolution, but the concepts are the same.

The picture tells a story about a beautiful evening sitting on the dock with a line in the water, the colors are changing and not a wave on the lake. The sun angle is low, close to sunset.

Very peaceful and relaxing, and it comes through in the shot. It brings a very good memory for me and my wife, but anyone who wasnt there, can still feel the peace and how nice it was at that time.

Like I said before, this one was easy, and some days like this one; you will take 20 shots that you feel would be a good photo of the day for your project.

To be technically correct, you need to take a unique shot every day. I know sometimes you arent able to do it, for whatever reason. You can cheat if you need t o by using a shot from a different day, but only do it if you have to.

Lots of photographers think they can do this project; most of the photos a day project are to do it every day for one yr. 365 days of photos.

The reality is that most people cant keep up with it. It is a big commitment to keep on top of it. You need to do it one day at a time, try it for a week, if youre having fun, go for a month and keep going if you want. The key is to get you to think about photography more, and lean to see things differently.

One of the really cool things about this project is that you start thinking about photography all the time, every day. The project helps you start seeing potentially awesome photos all over the place. Places you have been often and things you have seen frequently, but you never saw as a great photo before.

You can do the project and keep track of it on your own, but its much more fun to do it on one of the websites that is set up for it. You can then share with others doing the same project and compare your shots to others, and see what you can do to make your shots better. Doing it on the website is also a motivator to make you keep taking the shots, every day.

Some other cool things about doing this project is that you can look back at the end of the year, and you are able to remember what you did on each day throughout the year, good or bad because of the instant reminder of that day.

Make sure you have a camera with you at all times every day. This is much easier now than it was just a few years ago. Almost everyone has a phone on them all the time that will take pictures that are more than adequate for the project.

Some tips to keep you going through the project

• Try to tell a story about the day with your shots. Try to use your composition creativity in all your shots and dont just snap a shot to get something to post.
• If you see an excellent shot, take a few minutes to take the shot, dont think I will get my daily shot later, you may not see another decent shot.
• Keep a notebook, or keep notes on your phone if you have an idea for a great shot, but you just cant get to it today.
• If you start running out of ideas, set a weekly theme such as, flowers for this week, or special buildings like barns or churches or skyscrapers.
• Try to post your photos daily or at least weekly so you dont get behind.
• Add notes with your photos, even if just a line, so others will know what is going on and what the story of the photo is.
• Have fun with it and try and stick with it as long as you can.

Here are some of the places where you can do your project online.

http://365project.org/

http://www.blipfoto.com/

http://www.photoblog.com/

http://momentile.com/

http://instagram.com/

You can also use blogging sites like . Or do the projects on your own website like many people do.

There are other options as to where to share your shots, these are some of the most popular ones, just have fun and learn.

If you decide to take on this project, commit to it and stay with it for as long as you can. You will be proud of yourself at the end of the challenge, and you will be a better photographer.