"What are we supposed to be taking pictures of?"
Project 2012 is 100% your project. It is whatever you want it to be. We formed this group as a support network because the creative projects that have the best chance of succeeding are the ones that have been encouraged through the rough dryspells of inspiration. The guidelines may seem infuriatingly loose to those who are craving stricter rules but we are keeping things flexible on purpose. We want you to have room to make artistic decisions that best fit your goals for the year.
Some participants have chosen to use this project to:
- document the life of a family via photos of everyday happenings
- chart weightloss and fitness progress through daily self portraits
- look for beauty in the everyday using their mobile phones
- work on specific photographic goals (exposure, composition, post processing) with their DSLRs
- challenge themselves to shoot subjects outside of their normal interest zone
"How often should I be taking a picture? How often should I be loading it?"
These decisions are up to you. Project 2012 is an umbrella term that welcomes daily, weekly, or monthly contributors. The frequency of shooting photos is up to the participant. As far as loading your photos goes, find a rhythm that works for you. Daily loading is fun and motivating but can also be draining. Posting less frequently than once a month and you are very likely to fall too far behind or give up altogether. I personally have found the greatest success with loading once a week on a designated day but every person will likely be different. For those participating via Instagram or their mobile phones, loading immediately after taking their photos is a natural process. There will be activity in the group daily but that doesn't mean you need to keep up that pace yourself.
"How does the monthly inspiration challenge fit into this project?"
To keep things interesting, and as part of my own personal goals for 2012, I decided to include this creative challenge to our overall project. Every month I will declare a single word for you to interpret through a photograph.
This is the only element of our project that has a deadline: Your submission must be posted to the group before the end of that calendar month. I will choose my favorite submissions to share publicly here on the blog. This challenge is not mandatory to the overall project, it is simply meant to be fun and inspiring. You can choose to shoot a photo every single day on the theme, once a week, once a month, or not at all. How you incorporate the challenge into your project is totally up to you.
"How should I be tagging my photos?"
Tag your photos so you can find what you want at the end of the year. Use whatever system makes sense to you. The only tags that are mandatory are the ones for the monthly inspiration word. Each month I will announce what the tag will be. Only tag your submissions to the inspiration challenge with that word, not every photo for that month. (Unless every photo you took represents the theme.) I will be searching by that tag to find the photos that represent the monthly word so I can pick my favorites for sharing on the blog.
"Where do I upload my photos for the project?"
The core of this project is run through Flickr. Some participants are also posting on Facebook, Pinterest, and their own blogs. If you want to contribute to the project and have your photo commented on and eligible for being shared on the Develop Blog, you need to share your photo in the group pool on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/groups/develop2012/
To get your photo into the group pool: upload it to your own photostream, add a title and/or description, add any appropriate tags you wish to include, then select "Add to group" under "Actions" on the photo page itself. You can also add to the group pool by clicking "Add photos" on the group pool page itself.
If you're having trouble, please verify:
1. You have an active Flickr account.
2. You are a member of the group pool. (Only active members are allowed to upload photos to the group pool.)
"Why should I bother putting my photos into sets on Flickr?"
By the end of the year you will really appreciate having one single place to view your project in it's entirety. Having a set allows you to also share one specific link to your project with friends and family online. Sets allow you to organize the photos in exactly the order you want. Sets are even more important if you have chosen to participate in more than one of the challenges. For example, I will have separate sets for my Instagram 365 project, my DSLR 52 project, my 10-on-10 projects, and likely a set for my inspiration word challenges. Also, by organizing your photos into sets, it allows other participants to click through to view your projects in progress.
"I keep missing announcements, how do I follow along with the project?"
Make sure you have subscribed to this blog: www.developandinspire.com
All information, announcements, tutorials, inspiration challenges, and promotion will happen here first.
You can also follow the page on Facebook: www.facebook/developandinspire
"I love what you are doing with this project but I missed joining at the start. Is it too late for me to start now?"
No!! It is never too late. We will happily welcome any and all participants at any point during the year. I know several photographers who started a 365 project in the middle of July. Go ahead and jump on in!
"I'm confused, some people are saying Project 366, some are saying Project 365. What's the difference?"
Here on Develop, I will refer to a photo-a-day project as a Project 365. 2012 just happens to be a leap year with 366 days. You are welcome to call your project a 365 or a 366, it's up to you. I don't get too caught up on the number itself. In 2010, my Project 365 had 380+ photos because there were certain days I just couldn't pick just one single photo. In 2011, my Project 52 had somewhere around 150 photos because I chose to share 3 photos a week. Those labels are just a way of classifying the project, not a hard and fast rule about how many photos are allowed into the pool or that you are expected to take.
"I dropped the ball and missed a day/week/month. I'm embarrassed to start up again, should I just try again next year?"
No! Pick it up and start again! We had some fantastic participants in 2011 that stopped for an entire month and then got going again once life got over a hurdle. We will welcome sporadic posting all year long. The goal is to push yourself and grow. Life sometimes gets in the way but it shouldn't stop you from trying again.
Have I missed a question that's on your mind? Please be sure to let me know in the comments section below. I will update this page throughout the year as we stumble across other confusing elements!
