Every year, at this time of year, it's the same thing: we all make promises for things we're going to do, or do better, in the year ahead. Well, for 2025, everyone on the DCW team has made a New Year's resolution to do with their image making.
For some of us, it's using new kit that we've invested in. For others, it's using old kit that we never got round to. Some of us shoot too much and never get round to editing it. Others simply didn't shoot enough.
Whether it's printing our own photo books, or reading books on the photography of others, here are the resolutions we've made to ourselves (and to everyone reading!) for 2025…
Print more of my photos
Sebastian Oakley, Ecommerce Editor
In 2025 I want to print more of my work. While I have taken some amazing images over the past year, my old-but-gold 17-inch Epson 7890 photo printer has hardly been used.
So, my New Year's resolution is to print more photos, frame them, hang them, and heck – maybe try to sell a few. The goal is to print 12 images that I’m really happy with, all taken in 2025!
Speed up – and get the best of all mediums
Adam Juniper, Managing Editor
Last year I resolved to look at photos I'd taken on the bigger screen more, and edit them more, and it was great; it made me think more about my lens choices and take my 'big camera' out more often. This year, my resolution is not to wait. The problem, you see, with knowing that you'll find some time to get to a decent monitor and spend some time with the images, is they sit on the memory card a bit.
That's great for some photos, but not everything needs curated stills. Sometimes it makes sense to act fast, and my goal this year is to know when I need to go to TikTok (yes, now we do TikTok at DCW!) straight from my phone, and do that quickly enough that it's still worth it as reliably as I can craft a more serious edit. It sounds excruciatingly practical, but the point of resolutions is to remind me to do the stuff I find hard to do, right?
And when, in this day and age, there are competing ways to reach people, I'm more and more aware that time is a factor. Friends and family expect immediate results but are forgiving; gallery walls are the opposite (not that I'm getting there any time soon!) Approaching each medium positively is my goal (after, perhaps, one more big sulk about vertical format video not being the way human eyes are arranged…).
Buy a proper camera!
Ben Andrews, Lab Manager
Since selling my trusty Nikon D5500 to help fund another project, I've been reliant on my phone for photography duties. It's up to the job, but there's nothing like a proper camera with decent ergonomics and dedicated buttons to turn photography from just snapping images into a creative artform.
Trouble is, with so many new mirrorless cameras being launched in quick succession, it can seem like there's never an ideal time to buy, as an even better model is always just around the corner!
Get out and take more photos
Adam Waring, News Editor
The problem with writing about cameras is that I spend most of my time doing just that: glued to my MacBook keyboard, waxing lyrical about cameras and photography, rather than picking up my camera and going outside to actually take some photographs.
So, in 2025 that's going to change – I'm going to make the time to walk the walk, rather than talk the talk. Although I might wait a bit for the weather to get a little nicer…
Shake up my style
Gareth Bevan, Reviews Editor
I am busy, and I count my free time as precious. I have come to rely on the film recipes I have built for my cameras to get ready to share images without having to spend hours editing. However, this has led me to use the same style for my images time and time again… boring!
This year I want to dedicate more time to experimenting with mixing up my image style, try to incorporate more black-and-white, play with unique colors, and just have more fun with editing again.
Buy more photography books
Chris George, Content Director – Photography, Creative & Design
My resolution this year is to buy more photographic books. I don't mean the instructional ones that I used to write, I mean the glorious coffee table tomes showing a collection of images by one great photographer.
I have just been given the amazing Chris Killip retrospective that was published this year – and have also just found affordable secondhand copies of Nick Brandt's first two books: On This Earth A Shadow Falls and Across The Ravaged Land. I am already drawing up a list of the editions I want to get next.
Shoot more film on the camera I bought!
Mike Harris, How To Editor
I bought a Nikon FM last year, and haven’t used it nearly as much as I would have liked. I’m hoping to digitize my own film with a macro setup, and start delving into all of the weird and wonderful boutique 35mm film that’s out there. Unfortunately, this conflicts with my other New Year’s resolution, which is to save more money. Oops!
Hillary Grigonis, US editor
I bought an old Pentax K1000 at a garage sale a few years back, but I never found the time until this year to actually learn how to use it. While I’ve tried several instant cameras and some disposable cameras, I’m ashamed to say that the K1000 sat neglected on a shelf for a while.
After trying out the new Pentax 17 film camera, however, I felt confident enough to give it a try and brought it along to two portrait shoots. I really loved the results. As artificial intelligence continues to gain ground, I think imperfect but authentic images are going to be key to standing out – and what better way to do that than to experiment with real film? In 2025, my resolution is to shoot more film.
Explore filmmaking – and don't hold back!
Kalum Carter, Staff Writer
My resolution for 2025 is twofold. I am beginning to venture into the world of filmmaking to supplement my photography practice, so the first part of my New Year's resolution is to keep learning and keep making. I have several documentary photography projects lined up for 2025, and having the option to capture moving images as well will elevate some of the stories I want to tell.
The second part of this resolution is to share my work once it is made – unapologetically. I can often wait and hold out until I think something is perfect, and most of the time I wait too long and it never sees the light of day. Thanks to TikTok, a phrase I never thought I would utter, it provides an exciting playground for sharing work – and the odd dopamine hit from a few likes never hurts!
Get creating again
This year has been an awful one for me in terms of actually getting out shooting, thanks to some difficult family issues as well as being without a car for three months. So where I was once shooting three or four times a week, I've been lucky to shoot once a month!
I love social photography. Whether it's client work or creative work or just collaborating with friends on some fun projects, portraiture is what got me into photography in the first place. So my main drive is to get out, take more portraits, and tick off some of the wild ideas I've had on my list forever.
But I just want to take more photos, period. I love wildlife and sports photography, street photography… and I adore shooting behind-the-scenes and unit stills for clients or fellow creatives. So, whatever shape it takes, I just plan to get back out there and capture more frames in 2025.
