- Have you thought about
starting a landscape photography project
and not sure where to start?
Perhaps you're stuck at home
and you're so used to traveling,
capturing these wide, grand vistas.
In this video, we're going to talk about.
Hi, I'm Adrian, a nature and outdoor photographer.
And today we're going to talk about
why you should start your own landscape photography project.
Welcome back everyone.
I'm here today on the Mornington Peninsula
to share with you my first steps in my photography project.
If you're like me,
you might be stuck in a creative rut.
Or lacking direction or purpose in your photography.
Or perhaps you're used to traveling overseas
to other destinations,
or even interstate.
And that is quite challenging.
There are many photography projects you can consider,
including the one I did with my iPhone a few weeks ago,
where I was out in the forest like today
and taking photographs with just my iPhone.
I'll leave a link in the description below
so you can check that video out as well.
Other types of projects,
considering you may have heard about,
are things like the 365 day project,
where you take a photograph every single day for 365 days.
There's also the 12 and 12.
One photograph every month for 12 months.
Theme projects, so a certain type of subject,
which is kind of what I'm at on the moment.
There's also things like
potentially picking a certain color.
Only taking photographs
and then converting them into black and white.
There's other things like photography challenges,
to taking five photographs when you go out.
Or even maybe 10.
Perhaps you check out a new technique you haven't use,
such as the pano.
Potentially trying a new Lightroom editing technique.
There's a lot of different projects
to keep you really inspired.
And perhaps my two most favorite,
which I might give a go once I finish these two projects,
is trying a different type of landscape.
So stepping into urban landscape.
Or potentially keeping it really simple
and filming a day in the life of a landscape photographer.
(light music)
Let's talk about clear focus.
Being constrained to a certain type of photography
or genre of photography can bring great clarity.
For me, I've chosen to photograph
the local forest and woodlands
here on the Mornington Peninsula.
And here it is famed for it's ocean natures
and seaside hamlets.
But I really want to showcase the local forest and trees
and hikes that are available
for others to explore through my photography.
A clear focus on what I'm photographing
and why I'm able to sort of
ask myself the endless questions,
what am I going to photograph this weekend?
By the way, if you're getting value out of this video,
hit the like button
and subscribe if you want to see more content like this.
And let me know in the comments below
if you've decided a photography project
you'd like to get started.
Alright. So let's start about setting goals.
So you take some time to reflect
and set goals for your project.
And like any focus or things you're working towards,
it's really important to take some time out
and set some goals and primers for your project.
Things you might want to consider:
how many images do you want to take,
when are you going to schedule time to take those images,
how much time do you set aside to complete the images?
You know, for me,
I like the idea of taking series of images
over the next 12 months
in the local native forests,
which yeah, as we go through out the year
in different types of seasons,
there will be different types of images.
You know, I'm really trying to build up a body of work.
I've been proud to celebrate the vibe invested
in the area that I live in.
Really encourage others to see the region in different life.
And encourage them to explore more locally.
So let's talk about being passionate.
To me, a photography project is really time consuming.
It's important that you commit to a topic
you're passionate about
to avoid losing interest.
Passion and deep interest in the subject
will help you stay focused
when things don't go as planned.
You know, for myself,
when I started this project a little while back
that I had a couple of clear locations
that I really wanted to shoot.
You know, I was aware of my why
and how much I really wanted to showcase this local region.
However when I got home and I edited those images,
you know, I wasn't in love with them
as I was when I was out here on location.
As it this is a project I was passionate about,
I knew I had to come back and reshoot the scene.
Set story with more than one image.
In this social media driven world that we live in,
chasing that one banger image,
that one epic sunrise, sunset.
Even myself chasing some of the amazing forestry scenes
that I have seen,
isn't really worth more than one image.
And considering whether while a picture
may tell a thousand words,
could a series of images,
better convey the story that you're trying to tell?
Looking back over at the images I've captured
over the last few years,
I can see a collection of work that I wasn't very proud of,
lacks direction and purpose.
Committing to a project
can help bring cohesion and storytelling
to your photography.
Even now, as photographers come to realize
that Instagram is very much about video
and a single image will not share the engagement
it once would.
A project can help piece together a better story,
share more meaningful content,
and connect with people at different level.
The great thing about a project
is that it'll really help you improve your own photography.
Really honing in on one subject
and the repetition of capturing images on that same subject
will help move your photography forward.
And I don't just mean from a technical execution
point of view,
but understanding your own creativity.
Learning how to find meaning in your work
and expressing your own voice
will help you thrive as a photographer or a creative.
I know for me the forest and woodland photography,
I had the opportunity to really improve my own creativity
and how I convey the stories I wanted to tell
in the images I wanted to make.
Even these beautiful birds in the background.
Once I -
Oh they're very noisy this morning.
I want to encourage you to put a time limit
on how long it takes you to complete your project.
The great thing is once you're done with this project,
you can start on another.
Perhaps on one of the ones I suggested earlier.
You know, you can continue to be a lifelong learner,
and for all of us as photographers,
that is the enjoyment of pursuing this craft.
Even with those birds.
Today we've talked about why you should consider
setting your own landscape photography project,
which will not only help you improve your work,
but more importantly,
fill you with a sense of accomplishment
and help you find your own creative voice.
To learn more about my project,
you can watch the video here.
As always, thanks so much for watching.
I'll see you in the next video.
Bye for now.
(ethereal music)