It was nice just to grab my tripod and camera bag and head out to shoot just for fun which is something that I hope to do more of in 2016.  Shooting personal projects can also help hone skills in other areas like trying new lighting techniques.

Most photographers are involved in photography because they love being behind the camera creating images. Even full time professionals probably spend more time on other areas of their business than actually being behind the camera.

It’s important to not get lost in the business of photography and to shoot things that you enjoy shooting outside of what you get paid to shoot. Imagine just shooting a personal project just for the fun of it and to continue to try new things that may become a part of your photography business.

Joel Grimes is a photographer that I like who spends time on personal projects for his business. This allows him time to try new things that he may not otherwise have the time to do on a time crunched deadline for a client looking for something specific that Joel can deliver. He can then decide what to incorporate into his business offerings.

If you don’t have a lot of photography business, you should definitely spend a lot of your time shooting personal projects that can help you in your business in order to try lighting techniques and keep your skills fresh until you get busier. You should also shoot some stuff just for fun which is different than shooting something that you really have to focus on what you are doing: Just Shoot!

Bonus Thought For Photographers: If you are not blogging, keep in mind that this post is less than 350 words and only took a few minutes to write.

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The image above is as I shot it with ZERO editing other than minor cropping. It’s rare that I post an image that doesn’t have some kind of editing; however, I got what I wanted on this image in camera.

As a full time photographer, it can be difficult to slow down and do some personal shooting. I’m guilty of not doing nearly enough personal project photography.

Photography truly is my passion, but as any full-time pro will likely admit, there is often little time for shooting personal projects especially if you have hobbies that you enjoy doing outside of photography. Being a full-time pro is like anything else, you have to find the proper balance.

If you are a part-time photographer hoping to go full-time, you should be aware that lots of things change when doing photography full-time. You’ll need to make a conscience effort after becoming full-time to take time to shoot some personal projects.

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