Benefits of Engaging in a Photography Project

WildWillowWays
May 25
3 min read

Recently, I have seen several YouTube videos highlighting the benefits of doing a photography project. In a recent video James Popsys calls photography projects 'oxygen for photographers'. This is a strong statement but it is one that I have come to agree with.

I started embracing the idea of doing a photography project early in my photography journey. I was having difficulty in knowing what to photograph when I went out with my camera so I looked online for some ideas and, 'engage in a project', was a suggestion that kept coming up.

I started very simply by going out and looking for the colour yellow in the environment. This gave me a focus for my photography outing and I came home with more interesting pictures than if I had just taken random images.

I progressed to doing a longer term project. My subject was boats and I looked for opportunities when travelling to photograph different types of boats in all sorts of locations. Staying closer to home I did a project called signs which encompassed signs of all sorts and gave me a focus when there seemed to be nothing to photograph, as signs are everywhere!

I don't claim that doing a project results in fantastic images, but I do believe that there are many benefits in taking this approach from time to time in our photography.

Benefits of a Photography Project

The main benefit of doing a photography project, for me, has been that it gives direction and purpose to my photography. I often wonder what to photograph when I go out with my camera, but if I have an ongoing project I can look for subjects that might fit with that project and it gives me something on which to focus my attention.

A project will place limitations on my work, which is beneficial as I often end up with too many random images that don't 'fit' anywhere. In addition, saving to a project folder, then possibly printing my finished project, presenting it in book form or in an online gallery on my website, will give an often much-needed 'home' to my photographs.

A project provides interest and variation to our photography and gives an opportunity to encapsulate all the aspects of photography that interest us as photographers. For example, a project could include some macro images, it could incorporate black and white photography, it might draw on some of our most popular photography subjects and themes. In fact, the sky's the limit!

A project can give a sense of achievement and conclusion to a body of work. It can be frustrating to keep taking photographs with no sense of purpose and no plan for what to do with them. A project gives more meaning to the process as there is a definite plan for the outcome.

Here are some images from projects I have undertaken and a preview of my current project, as yet unnamed.

I hope they give you some inspiration to start your own photography project.

PROJECT: Boats