And just like that, month four has come and gone. It’s crazy to think that I am one third of the way through this project already. It seems like just last week that I wandered through my favorite New England field with my friend Kari, photographing Scarlet and Gold on that gorgeous Autumn evening.

 

 

Month four has been busy. But strangely it has also seemed to just flow smoothly, which has been a very welcome change compared to the last time I attempted a 365. In my first attempt, by day 60 I felt so completely overwhelmed that within the week I ended up quitting my project. This time around, it feels like there are a million things I need to get done at any one time, however I’m not drowning. I feel more like the speed boat skimming by on top of the water, zipping from place to place. It’s a strange feeling, but I am most certainly not complaining.

 

 

Perhaps it is because I’ve made an effort to make this project fun this past month. Rather than thinking “just get out and shoot something”, I’ve tried to reframe it in “what haven’t I tried yet?” Consequently, this month, I’ve learned quite a few things:

 

1. Most notably, I’ve experimented quite a bit with studio lighting. Given the short days here in New England, and my weekend schedules of late, the only time I’ve had to shoot has been after work when the sun has gone down. I’ve taken to exploring lighting setups in my “studio” (read: my bedroom) at least once a week and I feel like I’ve made some progress because of it.

 

 

2. When I was younger, one of the things that held me back in ballet was that I was always too afraid to put emotion into my dancing. Sometimes I felt like I was more a machine, placing my feet and arms in all the right places, but refraining from expressing the depth of feeling true ballerinas were able to convey. Ballet is pretty, but not when performed by an emotionless robot. I’ve been rather emotional of late, though, and so, in an effort to be true to my motivation of capturing true stories, I have tried to show more of that in my images.

 

 

3. I’ve also tried my hand at crazy makeup! I can’t tell you how many ideas I have pinned away on various pinterest boards for years and years, thinking I would one day try them out. This month, I made sure “one day” happened and I feel like it adds a whole new level of artistry to my work.

 

 

4. Window light is AMAZING. I knew this in theory, but never personally until this month. This one wasa fun (and beautiful) one to experiment with. I even got a new profile picture out of it!

5. This month I tried to make my own mannequin, which I wrote about in last week’s blog post. However, after using it for a few weeks, I decided that in order to make this really work as a mannequin, I needed to put a little more attention (and materials) into it than I was willing to devote. I’m probably just going to buy an adjustable mannequin with the amazon gift cards I’ve been stockpiling for the last few weeks.

 

 

6. I also started making my own pattern for a custom dress (which I talked about this last week as well. You can read about it HERE. It’s been pretty fun!

7. Back button focusing also made it onto my list of things to try this month. Last September, a friend of mine finally showed me how to do it, however it wasn’t until this past month that I finally decided to take the time and really make an effort to learn it, probably because I only just replaced my missing tripod last month, which is a crucial tool in back button focusing. What can I say? Sometimes I tell myself buying fabric to reupholster my tufted armchair is more important than replacing the tripod I lost a year ago… it happens.

 

 

8. Sometimes my favorites are not going to be everyone else’s favorites, and sometimes everyone else’s favorites are going to be the images I dislike the most. It can be kind of frustrating at times, but that’s why I love art. Not only is it intensely personal to the creator, it’s also completely personal to the viewer, and what doesn’t necessarily speak to me, may be profound to my viewers (at least, that’s the hope).

9. I really enjoy working with multiple models. Sometimes I have felt that my images have started to become stagnant. How many photos of a girl in a dress can you take before it begins to tell the same story? I’m not saying this is always the case, but it is certainly easy to slip into that habit. I love the challenge that shooting with multiple models brings to the shoot and the dynamic shift in the story it can tell.

 

 

10. Editing snow photo shoots are much more difficult than normal photo shoots! I love my images to have richness to them, but I’ve found that it is really hard to make something rich and vibrant when 70% of the image is white (beautiful… but unsaturated, nonetheless).

 

 

For being the shortest month of the year, February definitely taught me more than any other months of this project. I wanted my 365 to be about trying new things and pushing myself outside my comfort zone. During this past month I feel like I really did live up to that mantra, and I can see the pay off. There are things I learned this month that before seemed like something I would never quite get. And other things that seemed out of reach and nigh impossible. But I tried it anyway. And now those things seem a lot more attainable.

I’ve been stressed and tired of working on this 365 at times, but when I write these monthly posts, it puts it all back into perspective: I wanted this year to be a year of growth, and so far it has been. I like to think of how much progress I will have made eight months from now, when I finally get to share day 365. It’ll be something to be proud of, I think.