As a photographer it can be hard to track your progress. If you are starting out in photography, or branching into new styles, you take a lot of photos and do a lot of projects–and when you’re on a roll then you can easily lose track. When creating a journal like this, remember it is for you. There is no limit to its length. It can also be used to build a proper resume later.
Objective
Like a resume use your objective to list what you would like to achieve for yourself as a photographer. Knowing this can help you not get lost in the photography world and help you possible find your niche. This can be a living document that changes as you see fit. You can always go back to this and see if you are staying true to the path you have set for yourself.
Be Honest With Yourself
Since this journal does not have to be seen by anyone, be honest. You should be honest in actual resumes, too. Track your successes and your mistakes. You will have failures along the way. With this journal you can track everything so you can learn from your mistakes. You can’t change your past but you don’t have to repeat it. When you want figure out what classes you may want to take, or what book you may want to read, this is the place for you to look.
Be Concise
For every project you include, list the gear used and location. List the who, what, where and why of each project. If you were shooting outside include weather conditions, time and date. This will help you track the quality images natural light. Include your assistants or those who helped you create the image. If you are working with other photographers, it is good to note especially if they taught you a good technique or were there to hold a reflector that helped you create the image. You don’t have to write a book on each image, but as many facts as possible will help you either recreate the image or help you learn from your mistakes.
Include Sample Images Of Each Thing Referenced
A photography resume would be useless without images. A photographer’s resume should have reference images to capture your description of each entry on the resume. It provides greater context and shows you what you want to improve on or how well you did. You are trying to be productive to improve your photography.
What To Include In The Journal
Don’t list every little thing. Be ruthlessly practical. Portrait shoots, events and jobs should be included. If you have a learning experience, like testing a new lens or flash, you can be skip that. If you happen to be writing a review of that gear, then you can include it. If a certain photography experience is important to the development of you photography, include it.
Education
In this type photography journal, you don’t have to include all your education. You just have to include your photography education. If you did not go to a proper photography school, it’s all right. Just include the photography courses you did take, if any. If there are books that are important to your photography education, include them as well. Tracking what you learned can help you figure out what you may need to learn in the future or help you not repeat a similar class.
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