2025 Photography Goals

Cliché or not, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the atmosphere of new beginnings, resolutions, and changes that a new year brings - and that’s definitely what I’ve done. After a bit of reflecting, I thought I’d share five things related to photography that I’m looking to work on, improve, or generally get involved with in 2025.

WRITE MORE

One of my favourite books is Austin Kleon’s “Share Your Work”, which (as the name suggests) reaffirms the reader in their chosen pursuit by encouraging the frequent sharing of whatever it is their creating - or more in my case what they have created. As someone who only typically recycles their best photos from trips that occur a few times a year though, this can be a difficult task that has evoked feelings of laziness, self-doubt, and confusion, especially given the scarcity of traction Instagram seemingly provides for photographers nowadays.

Nevertheless this side of things took an upturn towards the back end of last year after discovering the videos/podcasts of Dan Koe, who often emphasises the efficacy of writing regardless of one’s niche. Since then I’ve learned that writing can serve the purpose of boosting engagement through sharing opinions, but can also boost our connection with a craft without actually doing that thing physically.

That’s why I’m aiming to share more on Threads this year (despite recently discovering that other photographers are the most insecure people on earth when you have an opinion different from them), as well as posting more on this blog. Furthermore I’ll be continuing to work on the book I started last month, with the aim of having a rough draft by the end of the year. Spoiler alert, a lot of the key takeaways will be hidden in blogs like this and Threads too.

I do like to yap, I just need to start putting pen to paper. Well more like fingers to keys but you get the drift.

Delve into primes

I’m currently writing a chapter for my latest project that focuses on the lenses everyone/every novice should aim to have. Bear in mind the emphasis is on the word ‘aim’ here as anyone starting out in photography who buys the following straight away has more money than sense. That being said, the boring premise of the topic is focused on the typical 16-35/24-70/70-200 setup that covers most bases, however the eventual point made is that the ‘safety’ of these lenses encourages growth and creative identity.

In turn we become more secure in what we like shooting, and what equipment is best suited for us. In this case there is no answer of the lens you ‘must’ have, because it’s something we can only answer ourselves when confident enough - a stage I feel I’m now at.

The aim is to start off with a 35mm (most likely Sigma as the Sony equivalent is £££), allowing for bigger cinematic shots while also being able to capture realistic scenes up close be it in a street environment or of a more behind-the-scenes nature. Whilst the common downside to primes is their one focal length, the majority of my shots never stray too far from this anyway (I use the Tamron 28-75 95% of the time) and a crop can always be applied if needed.

The venture into primes also has a business upside too, as an event shoot this year was a struggle only being able to drop down to f2.8 in low light whereas the f1.4 of these lenses makes for better quality images off the bat. Combined with eventually an 85mm, these will ironically give me the security on a shoot that the ‘all rounders’ can’t necessarily provide.

Aside from all that, getting a new toy is always going to keep things fresh and exciting.

Bring the camera out more

As much as blog posts like this are for an audience, they’re also a means to articulate opinions and reaffirm any feelings I have on photography - essentially making them just as much for me as they are for you. That’s why this topic is very much an example (and a reminder) to practice what I preach.

I’ve been vocal in the past about how taking better photos is the result of just taking more and more, rather than watching endless tutorials or consuming photography content in general. Nevertheless I’ve always felt slightly hypocritical on this front as my camera has often been consigned for big trips, exotic environments, or special occasions, each requiring some level of warm-up time behind the lens. Subsequently this limits both the amount of good photos taken, and any progress/growth that could occur.

That’s why I’m setting the goal to bring my camera out with me as much as I can, regardless of the setting or occasion. The photos that are taken don’t have to be amazing, they don’t ever have to be looked at let alone shared, they just need to be the result of continuing to engage with the craft. Keeping the trigger finger active is a must, and this is one way of going about it.

Be more selfish

As someone who got into photography through online platforms (Youtube/Instagram), it can often be a struggle between shooting and sharing what I’m instinctively drawn to versus what typically does well in the eyes of a digital audience. Certain realisations over the past few years have however proven that I’m on the ‘healthier’ path, in particular learning to not replicate iconic shots but instead seek out unique scenes with more life to them.

There are still two main aspects that need working on though, both centred around the notion of needing to be more selfish and/or self-confident. Firstly is the objective of viewing others’ work as potential inspiration rather than competition; appreciating their success for what it is rather than seeing it as a knock on what I’ve (not) been able to produce. Moreover, and to again reference Austin Kleon’s books, being inspired is all about “Stealing Like An Artist” rather than thinking someone else should take the credit for your work - even if it does drawn upon their style.

Secondly, is the idea of creating something that feels right for me rather than what I think other people would enjoy more. Although the subjects of my photos have improved in this regard, the next step is the editing process which has occasionally seen me boost things like contrast and clarity to immediately grab the viewer’s attention, rather than making the photo one that can be engaged with for an extended amount of time.

I’m proud of where my style is at, so if anything this goal is about consistency with only marginal improvements.

Explore more ‘offline’ photography

It feels cliche to say that social media has a negative impact on what we create and how we perceive our work, but it definitely is true on occasion. As referenced too, in a world of short attention spans often the ‘biggest’ of shots get pushed to the front rather than those that are more of a ‘lo-fi’ nature, tell a story, or generally require a longer amount of time to engage with.

In a way it’s all understandable though and simply a result of how we consume media. An example of this was when creating my own photo book; realising that the photos I’d originally labelled as boring or unimpressive, actually worked really well in tandem with another and occasionally supplemented with text.

Subsequently in 2025 I’m aiming to explore photography further in an offline setting, be it attending exhibitions, purchasing/reading photo books and zines, or collecting prints of both others and my own work. There definitely is an ounce of pretentiousness motivating this decision I won’t lie, as the goal is to not simply envision who I follow on Instagram or watch on YouTube when confronted with the question “Who are your favourite photographers?”.

Essentially you can translate this objective to stop being a photography NPC.