Photography Resolutions: What to Do in 2025?
Making plans for 2025.?Credit: Reynaldo Cruz Diaz
Twenty-twenty-five came in, and with it a set of new hopes for all of us. Every year, I think about some of the things I would like to do in terms of photography, and take my time to write it down. Normally, it takes a little bit of time to do, but at the same time, the lessons you have learned through the previous year give you ideas.
If you write your new year’s resolutions, writing your photographic resolutions for the year is also a smart thing to do. Maybe you will carry them all out… or maybe not, but setting up a game plan is always helpful to lead your life, mainly if you are in an industry that involves a lot of planning.
So, with that in mind, I hereby leave my 2025 Photography Resolutions. I truly hope I get to fulfill most, if not all of them.
Learn and master a new skill every week: Photography is a learning process. Even when you have been at it for years, there is something new you can learn. Many photographers master an area of the craft, and exploring and experimenting other areas will teach them valuable lessons. One area that I will focus my learning on will be film photography, and I have already started doing it.
Shoot every day: I know I have been trying to do this throughout my life since I started in the world of photography. I believe that trying to keep up with that is a smart idea, and that it will keep the eye trained. Also, the more we shoot, the better we get at it.
Post on this site at least once every ten days. As a teacher, my time is sometimes limited, and posting a week, mainly with midterm exams coming, is a challenge. However, I will make a huge effort to make one post once in ten days. It would be ideal to do it weekly, and I will try my best to do so, but reality sometimes is bigger than what you expect.
Expand beyond my niche: So far since coming to America, I have been hired as a photographer only to do events and to prepare prints. It is important that I also grow towards my portraiture, and reprise my role as a media photographer. One of them, a skill I am yet to master; the other, a role I had for many years.
Create and enhance projects. The CT Hispanic Watch is a project I planned in 2023 and started implementing in 2024, I also executed the CT Photographic Adventures during the summer break. Photography projects give purpose and also provide that extra motivation to continue the curiosity-packed journey of the craft. Strengthening those two, and creating others, is one of my goals for 2025.
Find opportunities to have TFP sessions. One of my favorite things to do over the past two years is photographing people. Having friends who like their photo taken, it is important that I make use of that and bring my portrait photography to the next level. So, planning a couple of time-for-photos (TFP) sessions would be a very good way to make use of my skills and connections.
Post on Instagram at least once or twice a week. When I was in Cuba, before the government shut down the Internet for days, I was making one Instagram post a day. That expanded my community and even allowed me to meet new people and learn more about the craft. I intend to do that in 2025.
Get more gigs than in 2024. Last year was a year of adaptation and growth. Apart from finding my first full-time job in the US, I was also able to get a couple of photography gigs with organizations, while also teaching photography at a wellness center. This year, more adapted to the work at the school, and with a paid summer off, I intend to be more proactive and get more jobs.
Work on getting editorial and free-lance assignments. Updating my résumé, writing letters of interest and pitching them to media organizations is another goal for 2025. Now with a driver’s license and a car, I will have more autonomy and mobility. Therefore, more capacity to take on editorial gigs, mainly in the summer.
Tribute to my stock photography platforms. Approved by iStock by Getty Images since I was still in Cuba, I have been uploading some creative and editorial content to the platform. I recently signed an agreement with SIPA as well, and I will be uploading photos there too, as events in my area take place.
Plan field trips with my students. Even though I already have a field trip planned with those students who are into sports photography, I will organize other field trips for the different interests they may have. It is important, more than anything, to keep the industry alive.
Establish new connections with at least four local photographers. My experience has shown me that there are a lot of photographers in Connecticut, and that there is a lot of talent in the state. I have been meeting different lens professionals by chance, but getting in touch with them and expanding the community would be an amazing thing to do.
Shoot more sports and live performances. Even though street photography is my forte, I also know that sports (mainly baseball) and live performances are also areas where I do well. Having already established a connection with the Yard Goats, I know that I will have the opportunity to shoot more baseball photos, but I also know that after my experience with a few Real Art Ways events and the Legacy Foundation of Hartford Gala involving Damien Escobar, I need to get some more of those done.
Make at least five street photography trips. Back to street photography: honestly, I love street photography, and the United States is a place where you can travel 30 minutes away from your place and find real street life opportunities. Having more mobility and freedom now, I know I can get this done more often this year.
Sell prints. I have sold several prints over the past few years, starting with Covid-19. I know that some people find value in my work, and getting some of those prints sold can actually provide some exposure and some well-needed money. Using my archives to my financial benefit should be among my New Year’s Resolutions.
Hold at least one presentation/exhibit. I have held two presentations since I arrived in the US. Coincidentally, both of them happened in 2023, and none in 2024. I have been planning and working around a couple of them, and I think it is time that I get these presentations in motion and action is taken in some areas where we may have slowed down.
Put together the book “Shadows of the Revolution”. The Unfiltered Cuba book, which I self-published and only sell at break-even value, needs work. Even though many people have found the writing and the pictures interesting, it is a reality that it is not big enough, and that the sample size of those pictures is limited by the price of printing, more than by any editorial guidelines. Shadows of the Revolution is a whole new bigger idea that is being refined and improved. Getting it all finally done is a sensible and doable goal, mainly during the different breaks that I will have this year.
Participate in the 24 Hour Project. A member of the 24 Hour Project since 2021, and having being an ambassador since 2023, it is now a must-do goal for me. There will be more freedom and mobility available to me, and if I come through with the idea of establishing a connection with local photographers, it will be a great experience to network and get people involved.
Establish connection with National Geographic. Being involved with National Geographic has been a dream of mine since I discovered the magazines in my fourth year of university. NatGeo was, along with The Sporting News, among the organizations and publications that sparked my curiosity towards the art of photography, both sports and documentary. Getting a connection with them, whatever it is, should be among my goals.
Make contact with Magnum Photos. The same way NatGeo inspired my curiosity, Magnum Photos revolutionized the way I looked at street photography. Even though that field of the craft had been a part of me for some time when I first heard of the organization, learning from it actually led me to notice some mistakes I made and, more importantly, see the value of some of my photos that I had previously overlooked.
Start making more noise with Cuban Lenses United. I created Cuban Lenses United in 2023. The idea was inspired by Magnum Photos and I have already changed some of the concepts of it in my mind. More than a publication, I aim to turn it into a community where people can outpour their ideas and also promote and provide exposure for Cuban photographers, mainly those who are out of the country.
Work towards the goal of becoming a Canon Explorer of Light. Since I started posting on Instagram, I have been trying to make contact with Canon USA. I have seen many Canon Explorers of Light being featured in their profile, and also tagged. Even though that profile has liked and commented on some of my posts. I plan to take things to the next level, and make them contact me out of curiosity for my work. For that, I definitely need to do a better job.
Conclusions
This year seems full of challenges. Setting up these resolutions seems a big goal, mainly for someone who does not do photography as a ful time gig. However, it is doable, mainly for a person who will basically have the entire summer off, with the ability to pursue other things. To me, photography is not a job, it has always been a passion that has gotten me paid several times.
Getting these things done is actually very possible.
