The Daily Shoot
(Mon Dec 07, 2009) [/Photography] #
I love to make photographs, and yet I don't practice the craft and art of photography enough. Now and then I'll get on a shooting kick for a few days. It's usually when the family gets together, the light is perfect, the weather is dry and warm, something extraordinary is happening, or someone asks me to take a picture. While I'm shooting I always learn something new, and hope not to forget it. Then, after those images are tucked away, my camera gear will collect dust for weeks on end. And the next time I pick up my camera, it feels like I have to relearn everything again.
Getting better at photography, like any craft, takes practice. That's a lot easier said than done. When exactly do you practice? What do you shoot when you're practicing? How do you stay motivated? These are tricky questions, and sometimes it's easier to just do nothing. Whenever I'm faced with this scenario, I find it helpful to follow a simple daily routine. No grandiose plan or unrealistic time commitment, just a little something every day to keep the momentum. And that's what The Daily Shoot is all about.
The Daily Shoot is a simple routine that encourages the daily practice of photography. The idea was hatched with my good friend and photographer James Duncan Davidson (backstory). Here's how it works: Every day at 9AM EST a new photo assignment is tweeted to the @dailyshoot Twitter account. Today's assignment, for example, is to make a photo with a blue theme. Use your big camera or the one you have in your pocket, it's up to you. Then to share your photo, upload it to your photo sharing site of choice and post a tweet that mentions @dailyshoot with the assignment's hashtag and a link to the photo (example). Easy! Now you know when to practice and what to shoot. Your photo doesn't have to be a masterpiece and there are no prizes. The point is simply to help you pick up your camera and make a photograph every day. Practice.
When you're practicing, it's often inspiring to see what other people are doing if only so you don't feel alone. So this weekend we launched a revision to the companion web site to help out with that. No account necessary—it's all driven from Twitter replies! You can catch up on all the assignments and view all the photos submitted for a particular assignment. You can also check out all the photographers who have participated. If you'd rather get your daily assignments via RSS, there's an RSS feed for that. And if you have suggestions for future assignments, please let us know! (Thanks to Patrick Lenz and Urban Hafner for some of the code that powers the new site!)
I've been having a blast with this, both with taking pictures and building out the site. I find I'm seeing the world differently as I look for a photo that meets the assignment each day. I notice things that I otherwise would have missed. I'm also feeling more comfortable with my camera than ever before. Some of the assignments really push me to try new techniques, and even the easy assignments can be made more challenging. Plus, I'm just loving being able to see what everyone else is doing every day! It's inspiring to see how other photogs interpret an assignment, and I'm learning a lot from them.
You can start today! It's easy: Keep your eye open for something blue, and make a photo. Upload it somewhere, reply with a link, and you've joined The Daily Shoot community. Tomorrow we'll have another fun assignment to help you practice. We'd love to have you join us!
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