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Bridging Tech and Creative Photography
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Photography Culture

Promises Every Photographer Should Make to Themselves for 2022

Chris Gampat
No Comments
01/03/2022
3 Mins read
Brittany Smith The Phoblographer Fujifilm Instax Wide Printer Product Image 0957

Some folks believe that a new year is a great time to start something brand new. You know, some sort of commitment to yourself. But, the truth is that unless you stay committed to your goals, you’re not going to get them done. And with this new year, every photographer should find ways to create organic growth for themselves. So we’re rounding up four ways photographers can do this. Make the promise to yourself!

Creating Tangible Evidence That Your Work Is Getter Better

Ask yourself seriously, how many creative projects have you done? What are you doing that shows your work is better than it was last year? And at the end of 2022, how will your work look different than how it is today? This is why personal photography projects are incredibly important. 

Feeling burned out? That’s fine. Sometimes the bravest thing you can give yourself is a break. And once you’ve recovered, you can let yourself feel and create again!

Now, here’s an extra challenge. Think about how you’re working to make your images stand out and be a signature of your own style. If someone looks at an image, will they be able to tell automatically that it’s a photo you’ve made?

Do Something Involving Prints

This doesn’t necessarily mean you should make prints and sell them. But what about zines? Or a photo book? You should really do something to get your work and photography into a different medium. But there needs to be intent. If you’re going to make a print, will it be for sale? Or will you use it as part of a mailer for someone who could potentially hire you? Perhaps you’ll use it for a small pop-up show of your work.

Seriously, don’t discount the reliability of snail mail; it can work when you do it correctly. Think about it as giving a gift to someone. Make the presentation really nice, and put a lot of effort into it. Maybe even gift wrap it! Enclose a short note, and make sure that your print or book doesn’t end up not being looked at.

Stop Relying on Social Media and Build an Email List

It’s a little insane how many photographers rely mostly on social media to reach out to their clients. It’s a better idea to control your audience. Algorithms can completely alienate you from the rest of your followers. If you don’t want to grind it out, the best thing to do is to have control. So build your email list! Also, be sure to build up your own personal connections.

We personally use Mailchimp. But there are lots of other platforms out there. 

Beyond this, if you don’t have a dedicated website, you should build one. Instagram could delete your profile out of the blue one day. And then where will people see your work? Why not have a personal hub that you’ve got full control over?

Develop Symbiotic Relationships

Speaking of connections, build more symbiotic relationships. Lots of folks don’t know what this means. Essentially, it means that if I scratch your back three times, you’ll reciprocate and do it three times in kind. It’s mutual. But it’s also, in the grand scheme of things, just fair. Both sides have to benefit from something. And most importantly, you should be able to measure those benefits.

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Chris Gampat

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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