Is it too late to be talking about New Year's resolutions? It
usually takes me a few weeks to work out which ones I'm serious about and
therefore have a chance of actually keeping for a while. On New Year's Day I'm
usually suffering a tad from the night before (if not from the effects of the
whole of December) and I vow to cut down on wine consumption and with that goes
losing a few pounds and getting fitter. Yeah well, I know in which direction
those resolutions quickly go and it's not up! I have spent a few quid on a
phone app that measures how far I walk with the dog and I'm cautiously optimistic
that I will get a bit fitter that way.
Now that we've passed the mid January mark I've settled on some
resolutions that I've had time to think about a bit more and - surprise,
surprise - they are photography related all the way! I've made a few business
ones and overall they are focused on making a living from the things I really
enjoy about photography, but I'm keeping them under my hat for the moment! I can share with you the resolutions I've
made regarding my personal photography:
To be in more photographs. I
hate pictures of myself and delete most of them before they have a chance of
being seen by anyone else. I do not exist in albums or sideshows and this is
sad. I also realised that as time passes we become more forgiving and I now
quite like pictures of me that I used to hate and see them for what they are.
An image of me looking bloated and exhausted after giving birth to Abigail, is
actually a lovely shot of me in the first moments of motherhood.
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| I hated this when it was taken in 2001. I love it now, especially the way Abigail is doing Phones 4 U with her fingers! |
So I took my first selfie late last
year and posted it on Facebook. No one wrote rude comments, not even my
brother, in fact some people were quite complementary.
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| My first (and to date only) selfie |
I was even more daring
when I included in a slideshow a picture of me slumped asleep on Christmas Day.
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| The only picture of me Christmas 2014… oh dear. |
And again, the world didn't stop turning and I wasn't banned from Facebook for
offending public decency. I love my family and I love remembering where we've
been and the stupid things we've done together. But where are the shots of me
hugging them, laughing with them and being hugged back? So watch this space and
apologies if I'm not always airbrushed within an inch of my life! And of course
there's a chance that knowing I'm going to be photographed more might drive my
never quite achieved fitness and weight loss goals!
Get photographs off the computer
and into photo books. I suspect we're all guilty of doing nothing with our
digital images and I find it a bit frightening if I'm honest. When we are dead
and buried will our children know where to find all our photographs in the
Cloud or on our hard drives? They won't have heavy, battered albums with
yellowed tissue paper separators to leaf through and reminisce about. So I'm
resolved to create an annual photo book, no mean task as I went digital in
2001. But it will be well worth it, as I imagine our great grand kids looking
through them and asking who is the blond lady who isn't in many pictures?!
(Until 2014 that is, of course!)
I've created lots of photo books for
clients and recommend Bobs Books for their quality and colour accuracy. The
software is quite easy to use and layouts can be easily customised. Delivery is
quick, rare problems are resolved quickly and without quibble. They are not the
cheapest photo book supplier but that's because they're good. For everyday
albums go for their standard quality but if it's for something a bit more
special it's well worth paying that bit extra for "photographic
quality" paper. Aside from superb print quality the pages lie completely
flat so you don't lose part of the image in the book spine.
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| Photographic quality book from Bobs Books |
I was sorely tempted to add a few more resolutions but instead
think I'll store them under Projects I Hope To Do In 2014. I've more chance of
sticking to a couple of resolutions rather than a long list. Feel free to
challenge me and ask how I'm getting on. If I do well it should be obvious on
Facebook. And I'd love to hear if you've set yourself any photography related
resolutions.
By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!
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