Quick game- I’ll name a photographer you tell me the first thing that comes into your head:

Ansel Adams

Walker Evans

Minor White

Annie Leibovitz

Although everyone’s answered may have varied slightly, I’m guessing the responses went something like this: Ansel Adams, Landscape; Walker Evans, Documentary; Minor White, fine art/Zen, Annie Leibovitz, portraiture.

So what was the point of this game- it’s simple. Each of these photographers is known for something, a topic, a theme. A single brilliant photograph is a wonderful accomplishment, but is it really enough? The photographic “Greats” are not remembered because of a single brilliant image- they’re remembered because of what their work accomplished over the course of their lifetime. 

Having an ongoing photographic project will make you a better photographer. How? It will focus your work, give you something to strive for. You can never consider yourself “finished” just because you produced one or even three or nine amazing images. It gives you a voice, a chance to express your ideas and your artistic vision. It will also add a layer of depth to your work, which is difficult if not impossible to achieve in a single image.

How do you go about creating an ongoing photo project? Well for starters, don’t be too limiting. Start with a general theme, an idea but don’t narrow it down in your head, let your work narrow it down for you. Your ideas will be realized through imagery and part of the fun is seeing where it leads. Don’t shoot only for this project or even primarily for this project but always be ready to shoot for it. Don’t force the ideas or the images; this should be something that feels natural to you.

Ansel Adam’s work clearly reflected his love of the outdoors, and the value he placed on the wilderness. He wasn’t a “city slicker” pretending to like being out there because he thought he might be able to make better pictures that way. Shoot something that is important to you, something you love.

 Don’t worry about how an image is going to fit into the final series, shoot first, tag anything that might be even a little related and then see what you end up with. Also remember that just because you are working in series, meaning that you have a number of prints to express an idea, rather than a single image, each image still needs to carry its own weight. Some images will naturally be stronger or weaker but each must be able to stand on its own both aesthetically and conceptually.

For many photographers, simply capturing a single brilliant image is a daunting enough task, let alone thinking in series. We’ll address this topic more in the upcoming weeks as we look at thinking of your work as a body, rather than individual photographs. But in the mean-time pay attention to what you shoot this week, pay attention to what you love, look at precious images, what topics have you already photographed extensively, or what images are your favorites? Think about that for the next week, and I almost guarantee that you’ll find a place to begin.

Until Tomorrow,

Pixie