Have you suddenly found yourself with some spare time on your hands? Looking for the silver lining, perhaps think of this as enforced creative project time. A kind of self-imposed vacation from the rest of the world (borrowed that from a friend, it sounded so good).
But what should you do with yourself? Have you been on holidays in the last year or so? Do you find while you might capture some awesome images you never really do anything with them? Do you perhaps come home from trips away and get straight back to work? For the first few weeks, do a little bit of editing here and there and eventually it all falls away? The photos sit on your hard drive and do, well, nothing?
Review and re-edit
Not everyone loves the editing phase of photography as much as others. I can get lost in the details. I love it, just don’t always have the time. But coming back with fresh eyes on some older photos is a great idea.
Sometimes when still in the euphoria of holiday mode you can look at an image with rose-colored glasses. Emotions and memories can cloud the judgment, but when looking back on images, but with a bit of distance, we can be a bit more philosophical.
Photo books
For the last few years, I have been studiously trying to put all my holiday snaps into hardcover printed albums. One trip, one album. From 60-120 pages, big, glossy, beautifully printed albums. The last two years I have been putting together coffee table books from my most elaborate studio portraits as well. I love using these as they can be handed out (when we were allowed to), as a portfolio or as gorgeous coffee table art books.
You can have multiple images to a page to big double-page spreads. Think of it as a magazine dedicated to YOUR photography. These can take hours (if you want) to create and setup, so they are just perfect … a great use of time on your hands.
You don’t even need to leave your house. They can come directly to you once printed. I use an Australian company Photobook Shop, but I am sure you can find some great companies and great deals in your local area like Shutterfly, Vistaprint and Snapfish, just to name a few. Be sure to check out your local print lab, too.
Prints
So next up, what about some actual prints for your walls? Perhaps something relaxing? Waterfalls, beach scenes, pretty landscapes … maybe you prefer something on more of a floral or even industrial in nature.
They are your walls, but maybe now is the time to look at your walls, take some measurements, look at the light, space even the color scheme. Then choose a few images to get printed. The best bet? You don’t even have to leave home. I did a post not so long ago about printing online with Xpozer, which offers great prices, is simple to use and you never have to leave the house … perfect!
The silver lining
Looking through all these holiday photos can have a silver lining. Not only do you have beautiful, tangible printed images of wonderful holidays, but the hours also spent going through these images can have an uplifting and calming effect.
Remembering better times, perhaps spent in the great outdoors, beautiful landscapes, exciting cities, family and friends. We are often much more relaxed on holidays, so perhaps you can take a little digital holiday while scanning through your images. You could even take a different holiday every week. If nothing else it is something productive.