Written by Sara Johansen
I’m a big believer in the importance of personal projects when it comes to my film photography. Here’s why: Personal work is professional work.
Let’s start here. When it comes to photography, a personal project means I’m taking the time to take the images I want, of the people I want, using the format and style I want.
These projects can be big or little, but it needs to be something just for me. Not my clients. Not for likes on Instagram or other social media. Just for me.
And here’s why. When I take that time to do work that is just for myself, I’m able to let go of outside expectations, allowing myself and my photography to grow in ways I didn’t even know possible and eventually opening up my professional work to this growth.
So many things I’ve done in past personal projects are now part of my client work, and because I shared my work from personal projects, it led to new and exciting gigs. The business side of my photography has been able to grow leaps and bounds because of the personal projects I have done over the years.
So, now that I’ve got you convinced to start a personal project ;), here are some tips on how to get started:
1. Look at Your Past and Current Work to Find Project Ideas
Many times when you go through your images as a large body of work, not necessarily frame by frame or roll by roll, you will find common threads and themes throughout.
For me, I often didn’t even realize those commonalities were there until I went through my work from a wider perspective. It’s funny how our brains can work, finding the themes subconsciously, and these themes can be an incredible way to jumpstart a personal project.
Early on when I started shooting film, I would often take mirror selfies. At the time, they were to document what I was wearing, my style blogger hopes and dreams shining through. I never did start blogging, but instead, I eventually found something else from these images. They became a way for me to see myself through the years.
It was all very unintentional, but a few years ago, I went through my work and started gathering all of those mirror selfies. I quickly realized I had something special on my hands, and a personal project grew from there. Little did I know I had been doing it all along, but now the project is intentional and something I continue.
This was a classic way that looking through that past work helped me find this project.
2. Do You Want to Learn a New Technique? Use That as Your Project Subject!
A great way to learn a new technique or learn a new medium is to make a personal project out of it.
I’ve personally done this many times, from working on multiple exposure photography to learning all about the many different Polaroid cameras. These are things in photography I have wanted to learn how to do and get better and better at, but I knew I needed a project to help me stay motivated and on task.
For multiple exposures, the project was very simple. I challenged myself to shoot one roll in which every frame was a double exposure.
It was simple and didn’t take long to complete, but the results were tenfold, with me getting a better grasp of light filling the shadows in a double exposure, as well as helping rewire my brain in a way that when I was out shooting I would think about different scenes in terms of how could I make a double exposure out of it.
Suddenly multiple exposures became second nature to me, and I knew I could make magic with the technique, even with client work.
3. Brainstorm with Other Photographers and Creatives
Photography is a creative form of expression, and as a creative it is so powerful and important to have other creatives to talk through your ideas.
For me, I have a couple little groups of people I know I can entrust my ideas and brainstorming and vice versa. So many times my idea is at a starting point, but once I start talking it through with other creatives I can really find how that start can grow into something more.
I also know that if I’m feeling stuck, that these creatives will be there to help me brainstorm. There have been many times where I know I need a project, just to have some personal work for me in the mix with my client work, but I’m so overwhelmed with client work I feel completely stuck. That’s when I turn to my fellow creatives for help, knowing they will help me come up with ideas.
It also works in the reverse, where they will come back to me with their own sticking points, and I can help them brainstorm for their own projects, which in turn can even spur ideas for myself.
Never doubt the power of talking and brainstorming with your fellow creatives. When you find those people you can trust, lean into it.
4. Realistic Expectations for Project Parameters
When planning a personal project, one of the most important things you can do is to allow for realistic expectations.
In fact, it really should be my number one tip. Because without realistic expectations, you’re almost undoubtedly setting yourself up for “failure.” (I say failure in quotes because is there ever really a true failure? I definitely don’t think so. There’s always something to learn, but I digress because that’s a whole other article.)
You’ve got to know your limits when setting up project parameters, and also be ready for this silly little thing called life to interrupt your best plans.
A very popular personal project is a 365 Project, where you capture one image per day. Several years back I set out to do a 365 Project.
Ready to roll, I started out on January 1st, and by January 5th I had quit. Why? The project itself was absolutely NOT realistic for my day-to-day life at the time.
Is it an amazing project? Absolutely. And I thought as a photographer, I had to do one, like it was a right of passage. But it wasn’t realistic for me. I had a 9-month-old baby, a full-time job outside of the house, and a partner who traveled a lot for his work. Instead of being something that was inspiring me and bringing me joy, I immediately felt stressed about it.
There are several ways I could have made the project work for me, adjusting from a picture a day to finding a way to fit seven photos in a week, including digital work, not just film work, but because I started without realistic expectations on what I could truly take on, it felt impossible in the moment to pivot the project in a way that worked for me.
Realistic expectations. Know your limits. Look ahead in the project to predict obstacles so you’re more prepared to adjust your project parameters. Starting out with this mindset will help you find success in your project.
5. Clearly Define Your Why
When I start out a new personal project, I like to clearly define my “why” for the project.
Why am I doing this project? What am I hoping to gain from this project? Why is this important to me?
I take a moment to think through and even write out my thoughts on it. Not only does it help motivate me with starting out, it can also help me further fine tune the parameters of my project (do I have parameters that will help me achieve my goals?).
Beyond that, if I’m feeling morose or losing steam on the project, I have a space where I can revisit that why. It helps me re-center and re-energize myself with the project, but also evaluate and decide if the project is worth continuing on or if I need to pivot with it.
Having a clear definition of why you want and/or need to do your personal project can really help you keep the project on track.
6. Set Monetary and Time Budgets For Your Project
One of the things that I often hear from others when talking about doing personal projects is that they do not have time or funds for one. I get it, I really do, and the concerns are very valid.
Life is crazy busy and film has gotten dang expensive, so on and so forth. These can be major deterrents for all of us, but if you sit down and budget out your project, the roadblocks will become ones you can find a way around.
When you budget out the time a project might take you per day, per week, or per month, and schedule that time into your daily life, you are setting it as a priority in your life as something you will be doing.
You will find time to make it work and also it will help you with the planning of the project to have realistic expectations (remember that?!) of time you will be able to put toward it.
The same goes for budgeting costs. When you plan out how much in funds you have to spend per week or per month on your project, it will help make it attainable, and again help with your parameters.
You might find you need to scale your project back to make it work with your budget, but having that figured out on the front end will help you considerably throughout the project.
I hope these tips help springboard you into your own personal project. Remember, personal work is professional work!
And if you want some more inspiration, you can check out all of my personal projects here.
Thank you so much, Sara! Sara is a regular contributor here at Shoot It With Film, and you can check out her other articles here, such as Kodak Ektar H35 Half-Frame Film Camera Review and 9 Amazing Experimental Film Photographers.
You can also find more of Sara’s work on her website, Instagram, and print store.
Leave your questions about starting your own photography personal projects below in the comments!
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Bill Brown
May 2, 2024 at 9:12 am
This is a great list. You touched on a few things I hadn’t thought about. If you would like to read another viewpoint of shooting a personal photo project here is a link to my story: https://emulsive.org/articles/projects/shooting-a-personal-photographic-project-thoughts-and-other-musings-by-william-brown