Are you considering beginning a 365-day photo challenge? In this blog post, I’ll discuss my experience sharing a photo every day for 365 days to help you determine if it’s right for you.
As I’m sure you know, the only way to get better at photography is to practice doing photography. And a photo challenge is a great way to help yourself practice more. But a 365-day photo challenge is not the best option for everyone.
In this post, we’ll discuss the details of a 365-day photo challenge, some of my experiences, and what you may experience if you do decide to do it. At the end, I’ll present you with a few alternative photo challenge options if you are not sure about committing to a 365-day challenge!
What is a 365-day photo challenge?
A 365-day photo challenge (aka a 365-day photo project) is a challenge in which you usually commit to taking and/or sharing a picture a day for 365 days.
For my 365-day photo challenge, I decided to focus on sharing a photo a day for 365 days on Instagram because taking a picture every day felt like overkill to me. And it made the experience much better for me. But of course, I still encountered a lot of the same highs and lows those who take a picture daily might face.
Recommended read: How to create your own photo challenge
Why should you do a 365-day photo challenge?
The number one reason I believe you should do a 365-day photo challenge is to help yourself practice your photography more consistently and long-term.
I started a 365-day photography project because I wanted to consistently practice and improve my personal travel photography. When I started traveling almost full-time, I realized my personal travel photography kinda sucked and I wanted to get better at it. I usually only took pictures while I was traveling and had become lazy with practicing in my downtime. And I wanted to change that.
Recommended read: How to get started with travel photography
Who should do a 365-day photo challenge?
If you’re a hobby/beginner photographer who needs the motivation to use your camera, have a photography goal in mind (like creating a photo book at the end), or are interested in documenting your life with your camera more, you can benefit from committing to a 365-day photo challenge. But a 365-day photo challenge is a big commitment and I only recommend doing it if you are committed and confident in your ability to see it through.
Looking for a short challenge to get you started? Check out my free 30-day photo challenge!
When should you start a 365-day photo challenge?
Whenever you want! Many people start 365-day projects on January 1st. But you don’t have to wait until a particular day or time of the year to begin. I started my 365-day photo project on a random Thursday in September before I could talk myself out of it.
What you may experience during a 365-day photo challenge
You may become more consistent with your camera than you have ever been before.
Have you been stuck in a “wishing you used your camera more” period with photography for a long time? If so, a 365-day photo challenge can make you more consistent with your camera than you have ever been before.
Being more consistent with your camera can lead to a plethora of amazing things. For example, it may help you further develop your photography skills, build discipline with photography, spark your curiosity and creativity, and ultimately help you become a better photographer.
You may gain confidence in yourself AND your photography.
You may gain confidence in yourself because you’re doing what you say you’re going to do every day. Building momentum and doing it even when you don’t want to does wonders for your self-esteem. You may gain confidence in your photography because you’re practicing more. The more you practice, the better you will likely become. You may start to understand your camera a little better which can make you feel more confident when it comes time to take pictures of other people, your travels, or important moments.
You may experience some resistance to creating.
Along the way, you may have some days when you’d rather do anything than take pictures and/or share them online. And it’s normal to have these days.
It’s similar to those feelings you get some days before making yourself go out for a run or to the gym. You know, when you have to force yourself to lace up your shoes and get out the door? Yet, once you start working out, and definitely once you’ve finished, you’re glad you did it?
Well, during a 365-day photo challenge, this may happen with photography too. There may be some days when you don’t want to pick up your camera and press the shutter button. Or days when you do not want to deal with sharing your pictures online. But as we discussed above, once you pick up your camera and get out or share your images online, you’ll be glad you did it.
These days can happen and pushing through them helps you build confidence in yourself.
You will probably take a lot of crappy pictures.
There are so many things that go into making a good photograph. It’s unlikely that every time you use your camera you will take great photographs. And this is normal for photographers of all levels.
While on this 365-day journey, you will likely take a lot (and I mean a LOT) of crappy photographs. And if you share them online like I decided to, you’ll likely share a lot of crappy photographs too. You may have periods when you take REALLY crappy pictures mixed with periods when you take great pictures. Don’t judge yourself too harshly during the rough periods. No matter what period you’re in, continue to show up, and do your best every single day.
You may get tired of it.
While doing a 365-day photo project, you may get tired of it and you may even experience burnout.
The first 200 days of my photo challenge felt pretty great. Sure, I had tough days during that period too but overall I was happy with myself for prioritizing my photography for the first time in my life. Somewhere between days 200 to 250, I started to feel VERY tired of sharing pictures on social media. After that point, it became a serious drag to get myself to post my photos on my Instagram account.
Yes, I still loved exploring places with my camera and taking pictures. But I was tired of having to share them online every day. Towards the end, when others would talk to me about my photo challenge, I often found myself responding that I was “sooo tired of it and ready to be done”. Which I hate to admit here but it’s the truth.
By the end of my 365-day photo challenge, sharing online felt like a chore. So much so that once I finished the challenge, I took a little breather from posting for my sanity. In retrospect, I realize I was a little burnt out, and having space has allowed me to see that more clearly.
Recommended read: 5 Tips to Help You Take More Photographs
My overall experience
A 365-day photo challenge was one of the best things I have ever done for my personal photography. It helped me become more confident and consistent with my camera than I ever have been before in my life. Yes, I took a lot of crappy pictures but I also took more good pictures in a year than I usually do. It also helped me part ways with my personal social media account and focus on creating rather than consuming. This photo challenge also gave me the push to start blogging again.
Clearly, I gained a lot from committing to a 365-day photo challenge but it was truly a challenge. The beginning of my 365-day photo challenge was GREAT for me. Towards the last third of the challenge, when my life got really busy, it began to feel like a chore I had to force myself to do. And I found around that time I reached a point of diminishing returns. And pushing through the last third of this challenge led to me feeling burnt out.
Would I do it again? No, I think once was enough for me. There are so many other options out there for those who want to improve their photography that are not as demanding. Options I might have considered if I knew they existed before beginning my 365-day photo project.
What other options exist?
If you feel confident you can handle everything discussed above, then go for it… commit to a 365-day photo challenge and see where the journey takes you. Yes, there will be highs and lows. But you will learn a lot along the way.
If you feel hesitant after reading this blog, know there are other options for you!
(1) Do a shorter-term photo-a-day challenge.
You can create your own photo-a-day challenge, which I walk you through how to do in this blog.
You can select any number of days you would like to commit to sharing a photo a day. Whether that’s short term, like 14 days or 30 days, or longer term like 100 days.
(2) Try a 52-week photo challenge:
If you would like to do a long-term photo challenge and a 365-day photo project feels like too much of a commitment for you, I recommend trying a 52-week photo challenge instead.
Similar to a 365-project, the commitment time will be a year. However, instead of sharing/taking a picture once a day, you will share/take a picture once a week.
A 52-week photo challenge is a more reasonable way to help keep you consistent with your camera. Shooting or sharing a picture once a week is much more doable. You may even already be doing this give or take a few weeks a year. So committing to a 52-week photo challenge can be great to help ensure that you are getting out frequently like you would like to.
Summary
A 365-day photo challenge is a serious commitment you can make to work on your photography. If you have read other articles on my blog, you’ll know that I am a HUGE fan of photo challenges. I will always recommend a photo challenge to anyone who is looking for a way to practice their photography.
However, after completing a 365-day photo challenge myself, I am hesitant to recommend it to everyone. It requires discipline to get through those 365 days. And if your life is busy already, it may quickly become a daily burden. There are other challenges you can do to help yourself become more consistent with your camera and photography that don’t require a daily commitment for a whole year.
If you do decide to commit to a 365-day photo challenge, you may become more consistent and confident with your camera than you have ever been before. You may also experience resistance to creating, take a lot of really crappy pictures along the way, and you might even get tired of it altogether.
How do you feel about 365-day photo challenges after reading this post? Let me know below in the comments!
