Struggling to Find More Time for Photography?
In this post, I will give you 10 tips on how to make more time for your photography.
We all lead busy lives. 21st Century society has us constantly chasing our tails, trying to become ultra-productive entrepreneurs, while still juggling all the other daily necessities in our lives. So how do we make more time for photography?
If you are sitting there on the other side of this screen thinking “But I don’t have any time for photography at all?!”, then stay with me.
You are about to read 10 tips on how to make more time for photography that will open your mind to new ideas.
1. YOU Have To MAKE Time
We are all blessed with the same amount of time in our days. I know it seems like some highly-productive individuals somehow have more than the standard 24 hours, but they don’t. We’re all gifted with 24 hours in a day, and what we do with those hours is entirely up to us.
You may feel trapped in your current situation. It is easy to feel that way when you are so busy trying to make a life and achieve your dreams. However, I am sorry to tell you that it was YOU who got you into this situation.
You have made the choices that lead to you having no time for photography. Therefore, it is you who has to choose to make time for more photography.
The first tip here is just to decide. Commit to taking some time out to just take photos. Until you do this, you will stay stuck in your current situation.
2. Look for Blocks of Wasted Time
No matter how busy you “think” you are, I guarantee that there are things you are doing that don’t serve a positive purpose in your life.
For example, you may be coming home exhausted, flopping down on the couch and scrolling mindlessly through Facebook for an hour. Do you really need that endless array of soulless memes and never-ending Corona virus updates? I think not?!
The same can be said about watching television. Why would you waste hours watching other people’s fake lives when you have a real one of your own to live?!
I am sure that if you look at everything you do in a week, that you could find some blocks of time that could be better spent. Maybe better spent doing photography………?
3. Schedule More Time for Photography
You must schedule it!
It is all well-and-good to find areas of time in your life where you might be able to fit in some photography. However, unless you actually schedule it in – it will never happen. So – put it in your calendar.
Find a block of time, even if it is just an hour. Turn your phone off (unless you are using it to take photos!), to make sure that you can’t be disturbed during that time. Let family, friends, and work colleges know that this is your time. You will be available when it’s done.
4. Turn Other Activities Into Photography Time
So what if family time is the only time you can find in your week? You should never give up time with your family, so don’t! Turn it into photography time.
Why not take photos of your family while you are all doing whatever activity your are doing? This way, you get to spend some time with your loved ones and practice your photography!
This can be applied to other areas of your life too. Turn commute-time into photography time. That hour spent on the train to work is a great opportunity to take some photos.
Your lunch-break is also a block of time you could spend taking photos. Especially if you are getting out of the office or workplace to have lunch.
Take your camera with you everywhere. You will find moments in every day that inspire you to take a photo.
5. Find an Accountability Partner
We’re halfway through our 10 tips on how to make more time for photography….
Do you know someone else who also wants more time for photography? If not, I bet you could find someone. Get yourself an accountability partner and help each other to find the time for photography.
This doesn’t have to be someone in your local area either. Find a person on social media who would be willing to do this with you. You can both post your images and keep each other inspired and fired-up for setting aside the time.
Most things are better when you have someone else to do them with.
6. Camera or Phone Photography
Earlier in this post I suggested you take your camera everywhere with you. This doesn’t mean you have to cart your DSLR into work with you every day! We all have a camera in the palm of our hands.
Smart phones take great photos. You also have the ability to adjust a lot of settings in the same way you can on a DSLR or Mirror-less. You can play around with shutter speeds, aperture, ISO and effects.
Phone photography can be done anywhere, anytime. Don’t forget about that little camera in your hand.
7. Kick The Excuses!
So you have managed to find some time and scheduled it in. You have your camera ready and you’re pumped up to get out there! However the moment you step out the front door, it starts raining like the sky installed a water feature!
Don’t let this stop you. I know that as photographers we like the conditions to be perfect. The light has to be right, we don’t want it to be windy, we hate it when it’s too overcast and gloomy……..
Let go of the excuses and perfectionism. The point here is not to take the most amazing photos the world has ever seen! It is simply to take photos. Have fun and learn your equipment and your craft.
8. Start Small
The idea here is to reignite your passion for photography. And a flame starts with a single spark.
If 5 minutes is all you can find in your day, then use that. Just take one or two photos. It’s not much but at least it’s something and it may build to more.
You may find that you only take 5 minutes this week, but next week it might grow to 10 minutes. Before you know it, you will be out taking photos for hours!
9. Change Your Situation
If your current situation is not allowing you time for photography, then change it.
Working long hours in a job that benefits someone else is not the only way to earn money. Why not start your own online business that will give you more time for photography?
Many people are now earning huge amounts of money with online business and are able to quit their old, time-intensive jobs. You can do the same.
Learn all the skills you need with Six Figure Mentors.
10. Stay Organized
The last of our 10 tips for how to make more time for photography is to stay organized. When you do finally free up some time for photography, you don’t want to waste it. Make sure that your gear is always ready-to-go.
You don’t want to spend the first half-an-hour of a scheduled hour of photography searching for the gear you need.
Keep your photography gear organized in a way that makes it easily accessible. Pack it all together and keep it in the one place. When it’s time to go out and take some shots, your stuff will be right there and you can just grab it and go.
