I strongly support the year-in-review photo post as a step toward self-improvement. However, landscape photographer and YouTuber Mark Denney has a better option that you should consider.
Denney discusses strategies to develop as a photographer using Instagram in his final video of the year. No, it isn’t about creating a post, optimizing graphics, or increasing followers. It’s about being honest with yourself, your work, and the work you interact with on Instagram.
Denney’s first advice is to check through your feed, go back roughly a year’s worth of postings, and choose your five favourites. You’ll be able to immediately discover what you liked and didn’t like about your photos if you do this.
For example, Denney recommends that perhaps all of your shots are wide-angle, indicating the need to use a telephoto lens occasionally for a new view. Whatever it is, it is essential to note the strengths and weaknesses of your work in this exercise.
In certain circumstances, it may not even be technique. A quick peek at my Instagram page indicates that I should stop combining photographs of my kids, landscapes, photojournalism, and social justice into one feed, but there you have it.
Denney’s second important piece of advice is to look at the work of your favourite photographers and then go through a similar exercise. He doesn’t advocate pointing out shortcomings but rather the characteristics that brought you to the photographer’s work in the first place.
It’s easy to get caught up in your world of Instagram posts and Reels, forgetting to check out the work of other producers you like. And if you don’t have any, now is the time to get some.
