Great Escape Publishing

Posted January 19th, 2016 by Bonnie Caton & filed under Travel Photography.

Last week, I shared my personal top three goals for 2016. This week, it’s your turn.

Looking through our Breakfast Stock Club reader survey responses and reading your goals on Facebook truly inspires me.

Most responses revolved around the ideas of MORE and IMPROVING. Taking more photos, taking better photos, uploading more images, joining more stock agencies, improving your post processing skills with Lightroom, and making more sales.

These are great goals, and I’ve got loads of content lined up for you in coming months to help you do just that.

Remember that the more specific and measurable you can make your goals, the more likely it is you’ll accomplish them. Go back over your goals and see how you can add specifics.

Then, once you make your goals specific, add a few action steps.

Here are some of my favorite reader goals for 2016, with a more specific angle and action steps applied:

Goal: To sell more photos!

This is great, but you don’t have complete control over whether or not your photos will sell. Try a specific, attainable goal like: Upload 150 new photos to my stock agencies this year.

Starting action steps: Choose 20 new photos to upload by January 18. Upload 20 photos by January 22.

Goal: Grow my portfolio and improve my skills. The sales should be a positive side effect.

Great. Now add specificity, such as: Double my portfolio and learn outdoor lighting skills and how to get sharp focus (or whichever skills you need most this year).

Starting action steps: Upload 10 new images per month. Sign up for a workshop that goes over lighting. TIP: The Ultimate Money-Making Photo Workshop is great for this!

Goal: I want to be accepted by Shutterstock.

Nice! Specific and definitely attainable.

Starting action steps: Sign up as a Shutterstock member and read through the tutorial by January 18. Select 20 best images in your portfolio and process them for stock byJanuary 25. Upload first 10 to Shutterstock by January 30.

Goal: To get started in stock.

Let’s specify further: Have 50 images accepted in at least three stock agencies by the end of the year.

Starting action steps: Sign up as a member at three agencies and read through their tutorials by January 18. Pick out 10 best images to submit by January 25. Start submitting images by January 30.

Goal: To follow what’s trending and shoot for that.

Great idea. How about: Create five photo shoots this year around trending topics and upload 50 new trend-related photos to my stock agencies.

Starting action steps: Research what’s trending by reading through the “trends” guide on the Breakfast Stock Club Premium member page or by Googling the topic byJanuary 22. Write a list of things I’m interesting in shooting and put them on the calendar by January 25.

Goal: I would like to really concentrate on uploading more of the material I have been taking and break that $10,000 level.

Awesome!

Starting action steps: Make a schedule and shoot according to that.

Goal: I want to learn more about Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Good goal. How about: Be comfortable processing my photos for stock in both Lightroom and Photoshop by the end of the year AND submit at least 30 images I’ve processed in Lightroom to a stock agency.

Goal: Schedule out a couple days a month just to work on my photos.

All you need to do here is add a date. Schedule out a couple of days a month by January 18.

Goal: Plan on uploading a minimum of 3 photos per day in order to add 1,000 this year.

Wow! That’s a lot, but you can do it. Plan your course of action by next Friday and get going.

Thank you for sharing your goals for this year! Next week, we’re going to take a look at three ways to stick to our goals and make this stuff happen.

Go to it! Getting your goals out of your head and into a tangible form means that you will have something to refer to throughout the year as we check-in on our progress.

Let’s do this!

Editor’s Note: Learn more about getting started selling your photos online in stock agencies – no matter how much or little photography experience you have – in the Breakfast Stock Club e-newsletter. It’s once a week, and it’s free to join, here.