We’ve now spent the first two months laying the groundwork and defining your photographic goals. This month’s focus is on your second goal – and putting them into motion.
If you’re reading this post before the previous one; start by reading about the first steps you need to focus on when starting this challenge.
During the first month of the year you were given an option to write down all the things you wanted to move closer to during this year, whether it’s something tangible like buying a new camera or intangible like focus on photographing people more.
If you’ve been following these series, you should’ve started your first month in the beginning of March. We are now starting the next month, and whatever goal it is you reached last month (or maybe didn’t just yet), you will have to let go of it now.
Before you fully forget about your first goal, let’s look at it while it’s still memorable.
Whether you managed to reach your goal or not, answer these questions:
- How did you feel going towards this goal?
- What challenges did you face during the month of March?
- What did you learn during your first month?
- Do you feel you’re closer to the goal now that the month has passed?
Answering these questions provide you with more awareness of the goal you set out for yourself and give you insight for how to dive into the next goal.
Today, on the first day of April, you will move onto the next goal you have.
If you followed the steps of last month, you already know which goal you’re going to tackle this month.
Inspect your next goal:
What are the things you could be doing starting already today?
Look at the resources needed: identify specific resources (books, online tutorials, workshops, maybe contacting someone) and if you’re feeling excited and in the right mindset – start going through them.
Like stated earlier, some of your goals will not be as easy and tangible as buying a new camera or taking a course to learn portraiture. It might been broader such as learning to use manual mode or become better at photographing analog.
But what is a connecting factor in all of them, is that you will need to take action towards them. And only then can you see progress taking place.
Another thing you will be doing during this month is to track your progress with a photography journal. This doesn’t need to be done with high-end imagery – you can document it with your phone.
Having visual material to see how your goal for April is coming into fruition brings another level of excitement.
Now that you’ve looked into the month of March and took steps towards the month of April, it’s time to immerse yourself in something inspirational.
Before we dive deep into taking action towards our goals, there needs to be a level of passion to fuel these months.
This short documentary about the photographer Martin Parr is a great way to immerse yourself to see how other creatives go about this profession. It might not specifically be about the goals you have, but it will surely spark your creativity in going forward.
And if you’re craving more photography growth, dive deeper with these downloadable workbooks, packed with actionable exercises to help you with your learning. You can also sign up for our newsletter for exclusive content and early access to new resources.
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