It’s that time of year again. The time of year between Christmas and New Year’s when we’ve all enjoyed just a little too much food, a little too much drink, and a little too much holiday cheer. The time of year when our waistlines are increasing while our energy levels are decreasing. The time of year when there are the fewest hours of daylight, yet we feel like we haven’t gotten enough sleep. The time of year when we’re a little depressed over the state of our bodies, our bank accounts, and the number of items NOT checked off on our “THIS year, I’m going to accomplish…” list. This is the time of the year when we are the hardest on ourselves for NOT doing what we said we would, and where we promise ourselves that we’re going to make a change. This is the time of New Year Resolutions.
You don’t make New Year Resolutions? I’ll bet you do. In fact, I’ll go as far as to dare you to prove that you don’t. You may not make formal New Year’s Resolutions. Sure, you didn’t get it tattooed on your forehead, painted on the side of your car, or made into shirts that you’ll wear for a Facebook profile photo that will stay active all year long…but you’ve made one. Everybody makes at least one this time of year, even if they don’t share it with their closest friend. “This year, I’m going to exercise more.” “This year, I’m going to devote more of my time towards taking care of the yard.” “This year, I’m going to learn how to cook new/healthier dishes.” Sound familiar? See – I told you you’ve made one.
Keeper or Snapshot?
New Year’s Resolutions are usually aimed towards broad aspects of our life; our health, family, or our financial well-being, for example. But this is a photography blog. And I’ll bet that if you’re reading this, you’re either a photographer, or are someone who’s interested in my photography. And you’re probably also someone who has very little interest in my weight loss goals, my lawn maintenance aspirations, or my desire to achieve culinary greatness and be invited to compete on The Food Network’s hit show, CHOPPED. So, for the sake of this article, I’ll direct the conversation back to a photographic nature.
Now, back to the New Year’s Resolutions you didn’t (did) make for 2019. The real question is…did you do it? Did you keep your promise to yourself? Did you complete the task? Did you meet your goal? No? Yeah, me neither. But that’s not entirely true. I’m sure I met some of my goals. I mean, I didn’t write them down, but I’m sure I made some progress. I must have! Right?!?!
The truth is, I didn’t meet as many of my goals as I had hoped (planned) to. I met some. I said I wanted to be more active on my blog. And here lately, I have been. But there were months where I didn’t post anything. I also said I wanted to learn to shoot Large Format film. I did this as well…or at least started to. I came out of the gate strong early in 2019, but slowed down dramatically after rounding the first turn. I also said I wanted to become a better photographer. But what does that even mean? Chances are, it means a lot of different things to different people.
Still confused about what a resolution is? I think a lot of people are. Google (“The Google”) pointed me to www.Dictionary.com, who defines Resolution as “…the act of resolving or determining upon an action, course of action, method, procedure, etc.” To me, the key word there is “act.” Lots of people say they want to do something, but that’s all they do. And by stopping there, they’ve lost the race before their horse is even out of the gate!
Take, for example, the resolution “I’m going to lose weight this year.” Yeah? How? There’s no course of action in this statement. How about this: “I’m going to lose weight by exercising at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week, while eating healthier foods.” This is better, but it’s still missing some key components.
I’m a Quality Manager and Process Engineer by trade. When we discuss goals in my work environment, we use the term SMART Goals.
What’s a SMART goal?
Specific
Measurable
Attainable
Relevant
Time Based
Let’s look at my resolution from last year of “becoming a better photographer” and apply SMART Goal thinking to it.
S (Specific): Becoming a better photographer means more keepers. It means Quality over Quantity. It means defining a keeper, which to me is “a photograph I would be willing to offer for sale, publication, print trading, etc.”
M (Measurable): You’ll never know if you’re improving without analyzing a trend. And you can’t even construct a trend without measuring. So, what’s my measurable? Let’s say my goal is to shoot 2 rolls a month, and that 1/3 of the roll should be keepers.
A (Attainable): Now that we have a Measurable, is it attainable? I would love for every shot from a roll of film be a keeper, but that’s just not realistic. Is 1/3 of the shots realistic? Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s a good place to start.
R (Relevant): Is this goal relevant? That depends on what you want to do. If all I cared about was the act of taking photos, maybe not. If all I was after was the experience of photographing, the therapy this activity provided, then “becoming a better photographer” isn’t a relevant goal. Why waste my time analyzing the quality of my photographs if my motivation was solely concentrated on the experience? But since my goals is to improve, and get more keepers per roll, improving is a relevant goal.
T (Time Based): How often am I willing to stop and look at the data, analyze it, and determine if a change of course is required? If I shoot 2 rolls a month, and wait until 3 months has passed to develop the film to see how I did, it’s very possible I just wasted 3 months of my time, and 6 rolls of film. But if I develop/analyze as I go, I can make corrections to my process immediately. I should be able to see where the problems are, correct them on my own if I can, or ask for help if I don’t know how to correct them.
OK. So, I now have my goal defined: I’m going to shoot 2 rolls of film per month, with the goal of 1/3 of the shots being keepers.
Seems pretty simple, doesn’t it? It should be, but sadly, it isn’t. Or, at least it wasn’t simple for me. If you’ve made it this far, you might be asking why we’re even talking about this? How did we get here? I’ll tell you.
I love photography zines. LOVE THEM! And I’ve always wanted to make one of my own but never have. Why? Brace yourself, because this is a real shocker. I overthink things. And I mean everything!! Yep, there it is. My guilty admission in black and white. I overthink EVERYTHING. I have a real talent for making things harder than they need to be. Then last week, I was listening to episode 19 of the Viewfinder Vikings Podcast where Ian Barnaby Nutt showed me just how much I was overthinking the making of a zine. The purpose of this episode was to demonstrate to people that anyone can make a zine and that it’s really much simpler than most people make it out to be. In one day, Ian shot the photos (which involved a hike to the remote location), developed and scanned the film, built the zine in Photoshop, and had a zine ready to send to the printer. ONE DAY! I’ve at least spent ten times that just THINKING about how I wanted to do it.
Keeper or Snapshot?
Ian really got me motivated. I spent the last week combing through my film photos from 2019, thinking I could surely come up with 20 photos (keepers), that would look good together in a zine. The fire that was my excitement was quickly extinguished by the truth that lay before me: I don’t have enough keepers. Yeah, sure, I could do what Ian did and head out, camera in hand, with the mindset of coming home with enough photos to make my zine. But that would do nothing about my feeling that most of my photos from 2019 were nothing more than snapshots. Good photos, but not many were really worthy of being in print or displayed. And that got me thinking (I know…don’t say it).
You see, I buy/sell/trade/collect cameras. I have a ton of them. I really like shooting different cameras. If I’m going to sell the camera, I really like to be able to inform the potential buyer that the camera has been tested and is in fine working condition. And while this is a fun experience, it usually leads to me quickly blowing through a roll of film, shooting anything and everything without much thought of composition, lighting, feeling, etc. When it’s all said and done, I come away having learned a new camera, knowing if that camera is worthy of passing on to someone or not, and having generally enjoyed the experience. But I seldom come away with keepers. It’s quantity over quality. Did it make me a better photographer? Not really. Did I meet my goal? No. Was my resolution a SMART goal? Certainly not.
Fast forward to last night, when I was having a text conversation about photography with a buddy of mine. We were discussing our photographic goals for 2020 when I shared with him my disappointment in the quality of my images. That’s when I committed, at least mentally, of making my photography resolution for 2020: Become a better photographer.
Wait? Isn’t that exactly what my 2019 resolution as? It is. I just went about it all wrong. You see, I don’t think I’m a horrible photographer. I just can’t get out of my own way long enough to create what I think are keepers. I need to slow down and come up with a plan. I need to decide WHAT I want to shoot before I even decide which camera/film I’m going to shoot it on. I need to determine WHY I’m shooting: Camera test, or keepers. Is there a theme or is it going to be spontaneous? And what will the end result be? Snapshots, or prints suitable for display or a zine? You see, this is what was missing from my 2019 resolution.
William Edwards Deming was an American Engineer and statistician who is probably best know for his teachings on the Deming Cycle (Plan-Do-Check-Act). While he didn’t invent this concept, he’s probably the person most responsible for spreading its awareness. The PDCA Cycle compliments SMART goals very well.
Simply put, the PDCA Cycle is as follows:
Plan your activity
Do the activity
Check the results
React accordingly.
The first two steps are easy. It’s the last two that trip most of us up, if we even do them at all. Most of us confront our problems the same way we would an attacker in the dark: panic, screaming, stabbing in the dark followed by a strong drink instead of a planned coordinated attack.
But this is supposed to be a post about photography, not Quality Engineering. So, I’m going to leave you with this: What is your resolution for 2020? For me, 2020 is going to be the year when I apply the teachings of Dr. Deming to my photography. It’s going to be the year of less snapshots, and more keepers. It’s going to be the year or more concentrated efforts, and less whimsical dillydallying. This is going to be the year I introduce to the world my zine(s). Thanks for the kick in the butt Ian Barnaby Nutt! I needed it!