In this post, I’m sharing my photography goals for 2026—a year focused on slowing down, shooting with intention, and deepening my relationship with both digital and film photography. From releasing pressure while shooting film to being more thoughtful with composition, perspective, and film stock choice, these goals reflect a shift toward presence, patience, and storytelling. This is less about perfection and productivity, and more about making photographs that feel honest, connected, and true to the moments they come from.
Goal 1: Shoot Different Perspectives
Don’t just shoot from eye level. Get low, shoot from above, find something to shoot through, get close. Challenge yourself to see the world differently.
Photography is storytelling, and the more unique your perspective, the better your story. What we see at eye level is what everyone else sees too—so get creative and surprise your viewer.
Sometimes, the difference between a good shot and a great one is where you shoot from. High angles, low angles, peeking through objects—all of this shapes the story you're telling and the questions that follow.
P.S. Stop shooting people’s backs. It’s not interesting!
Goal 2: Release the pressure to finish a roll in a single shoot.
I always find myself using up an entire roll during a shoot, even when I don’t actually want or need to add more images. Releasing that pressure helps me shoot with intention instead of obligation and allows me to stop when the moment feels complete.
Instead of: “A roll belongs to a shoot”
Try: “A roll belongs to a feeling.”
Practical ways to slow down (that actually work)
1. Decide beforehand how many frames you’re allowed
2. Leave the rewind unfinished on purpose
3. Cover the frame counter
4. Create a ritual for stopping
Goal 3: Utilize the core composition techniques more often
I don’t always think about composition intentionally in the moment. While I often rely on instinct, I want to start incorporating basic composition tools more consciously so my images feel more deliberate without losing their natural, documentary quality.
This means paying closer attention to things like:
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Rule of thirds — placing a subject slightly off-center instead of directly in the middle to create balance and movement
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Leading lines — using roads, fences, shadows, or buildings to guide the viewer’s eye through the frame
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Framing — shooting through doorways, windows, branches, or people to create depth
Goal 4: Resist repeating the same frame.
I think this happens because I'm afraid the first shot I got wasn't good enough but usually that's not the case and I end up with duplicate photos. Plus, I waste time shooting the same scene or subject when I could be moving on to something else. Here's how I plan to combat this.
1. Force a change after every frame. For instance, after each exposure, change one thingbefore shooting again. Change: my position (step left/right), your height (kneel or stand), my distance, my framing (tight vs wide), my focus (foreground → background). If nothing changes, don’t shoot again.
2. Name the composition before I shoot. Such as saying: “This is about layering.", "This is gesture.", "This is negative space.”
3. Break the reassurance loop. If I feel the urge to press the shutter again, I'll
ask myself: "Am I reacting to the scene—or to my doubt?” If it’s doubt, I'll stop. If it’s change, I'll continue.
Goal 5: Be intentional with film stock choice by matching the film to the environment, light, and subject—not just my mood.
Sometimes choose film based on how I feel rather than how it will actually respond to the conditions I’m shooting in. While emotion and intuition matter, I want to be more thoughtful about how different films handle light, color, contrast, and grain so the stock supports the story instead of working against it. For instance, one time I was shooting a NASCAR event and the sun was just about to go down. For some reason I decided to shoot Pro Image 100 and Kodak Gold 200. Those ISO are doable at that light but tricky when its getting to low light and it would've been smarter to choose a higher iso.
Goal 3: Utilize the core composition techniques more often
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