I started a 365 Jan. 1, 2009 and finished Dec. 31, 2009. I did a 365 self-portrait the year before.
I took shots I was proud of, plus quite a few stinkers. I'd like to say the bad ones were due to lack of time or enthusiasm, but that doesn't explain why some of the ones I liked were spur-of-the-moment-I-don't-care-today shots. But even if the pic was disappointing, I learned
something daily, even if it was just "Remember to check your wb setting."
I also used some "not quite perfect"
images as a chance to understand Photoshop better. I agree, Photoshop can't make a bad shot good, but I learned a great deal about what this powerful editing tool can do.
I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to quit, but I find it very difficult to quit something once I start, so I soldiered on. Three quarters of the way I went through a two month period where it took a lot of effort to shoot something everyday. But it forced me to think about photography everyday. Just showing up here and reading threads does not force you to really think about photography in the same way. Knowing that you have to compose an image and
share it with everyone does.
During my dry spells I would do a week or so with certain constraints. Such as:
- only black and white
- macros
- cliche shots
- TtV (through the viewfinder)
- only 50mm
- shallow dof
Assignments here at dPS can give you ideas, too.
And, OMG, I have so many cliched images!
They don't bother me very much though. I take them as learning experiences. Everybody should try to take a sunrise and /or sunset shot at least once. It can teach you a lot about lighting. Closeups of butterflies/bees can teach you about patience if nothing else
. And some of those cliched shots (wedding ring forming a shadow heart, most pregnant shots, jumping bridesmaids) are often what clients want if you are doing portrait work.
So yes, cliche shots give a chance for practice.
If you are still looking for ideas, check out
Flickr Group Roulette and
365 - DPS Assignment.
I swore I'd never do another 365. But I think less about shooting when I don't have to do it everyday. I stop looking at everything as a photographic opportunity. This disturbs me a bit. I don't want to do another 365, but I don't want to lose my photography brain either. I am not a natural photographer and I'm constantly learning, practicing and trying to figure things out. So I'm actually feeling a little sad at not doing it this year.
Enjoy it, take your camera
everywhere, push through it and at the end of December, take stock of what you learned.