Whether by way of hardcopy or your smartphone or tablet, sharing is a great way to further your work through a photo project
If you enjoy photography, inspiration comes in many forms, not the least of which is the beauty and interest right where you are, or not too far. The same goes for the art of digiscoping. One problem is that we, at times, run low on motivation to do the very thing we enjoy. While digiscoping isn’t like some other photography methods, it’s still ripe for productive, challenging, and fun ventures.
Indeed, whether a pro or an enthusiast, the sky’s the limit. If you ever experience a creative lull or block, ruminate on your community, hobbies, and influencers. If you do, you’ll likely come up with a few ideas for projects – and projects supply new inspiration that can get us off the couch and into outdoor spaces.
So, what is a project in this sense? Photography projects are bodies of work that are grouped by subject, group, technique, or equipment used. Again, your digiscoping efforts are also suitable for a planned and organized undertaking. Here are but a few reasons to take one on.
Like with any form of photography, blogging helps your digiscoping motivation and is a great way to organize and display your project
- Simply share: We’re proud of the images we take at the hands of our smartphone, optics, and digiscoping adapter. If you’re inclined, share them via a website portfolio. If you’re more old school, create a hardcopy portfolio to share with prospective clients, friends, and family.
- For sale: Does your project have income-earning potential? If you’d like to make money off of your digiscoped images, consider selling them, either as prints or to stock photography sites. You can also sell them directly to outdoor creators, writers, and brands for use in their content.
- Blog it: If you write, explore your subjects visually. Blogging is a great way to display your project. And since blogging involves words, use them to educate people on the subject, describe photography and digiscoping tips and strategies, or simply enjoy a well-designed landing area for your images. You might even consider creating an area on your blog for special projects. Images have stories, tell them.
- Book it: Ever thought about writing a book or guide? Your special endeavor may translate well to an instructional or informative book. Of course, this is another great way to help your images tell stories.
- Leveraging the images for success in another activity: Images can be used to enhance other ventures. For example, hunters use digiscoped images for scouting wild game. In this instance, one can organize images for things like travel patterns, animal traits, and current outdoor conditions. Here, digiscoped images can be organized by date, location, conditions, and particular animal – all in the spirit of improving success and enjoying your craft while out in nature.
- Simply improving your craft: Projects jumpstart us and repetition snapping images (or video) with your optics, smartphone camera, and digiscoping adapter creates muscle memory. Practice helps us to recognize more interesting shots, as well as capture them effectively. That goes for things such as trying a new lighting situation, subject, or optic type. Sometimes we just need motivation to shake things up and expand our skills.
- Benefits of sharing: As mentioned, digiscoping projects can spark your creativity and improve your skills. They can also help you develop your ability to tell visual stories. Other possible benefits include learning new techniques, getting valuable feedback, and of course, sharing your work. The latter can serve as a portfolio or a special part of one.
Final Thoughts
Like any form of photography, digiscoping requires continued motivation. If you’re in a rut, just get started! Pick a theme (e.g., golden hour shadowing) and subject (e.g., horses) and get to work. While some digiscoping ventures are open-ended regarding duration, consider picking a shorter time frame, like 30 or 60 days. A lesser commitment often leads to more consistent action and accountability.
Whether as part of your livelihood or simply as a hobby, digiscoping projects can be incredible tools that empower you to advance in your photography journey.
Capturing wild horses through digiscope photography is a great example of trying a new subject and image type