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2026 Photographer's New Year Resolutions

January 19, 2026

It’s 2026 already! It’s New Year’s Resolution time! And it’s also time for the 2026 Photographer’s New Year Resolutions! I think I know what’s on your mind…every year, most people try to start a new chapter with good intentions also called New Year Resolutions and most of them only last a couple of weeks or months at the most. Not for me…and it shouldn’t be the case for you either. These resolutions are fun and since we all love photography, it should be a breeze to succeed at keeping one of them throughout the year.

My main New Year Resolution is to workout 3 to 4 times a week in my home gym. Don’t be pessimistic…I will be able to keep that resolution for much more than just a couple of weeks…in fact, I am already a couple of months into that one since I started it back in November. There you go!

There are also many other resolutions I want to take on for the new year, one of them is to travel more than last year. I am not sure how that will go. There are many varying factors in whether this will happen or not. I want to explore my country much more. It could either be week long trips or simple weekend getaways.

In this article, I will share some reasonably easy to respect New Year Resolutions for us photographers and more specifically landscape photographers. Keep reading to find some inspiration!

NO EXCUSE, GO OUT AND SHOOT!

That’s a simple one in my opinion…No Excuse, Go Out And Shoot! That’s very self explanatory. It means everything it is suppose to mean. People saying oh, it’s too cold…or I don’t feel like going out shooting because it’s raining are just excuses. How many times have I heard that the light sucks? There shouldn’t be such a thing as bad conditions. In 2026, I want you to go out at least once a week with your camera, capture something no matter the weather or light conditions. Bring home some new images…try different compositions, try to use only one lens. Try to use the opposite of what you would normally use, try things! Just go out once a week and shoot!

Fun story, last year, I went to Norway for the second time. I had unfinished business from my first trip there. The conditions were far from being optimal. We had rain when it was supposed to snow. Who would expect rain in January in Northern Norway? Well, apparently, you can expect anything in Norway. For my second trip, I wanted to finally be able to photograph proper winter conditions in Norway. Expectations and reality are often two very different things in Norway. The very first morning in the Lofoten Islands was a big slap to the face!

Queen of Mood — That sunrise or shall I dare to say sunless sunrise was the first one of two weeks in Norway. It was raining and if I am being honest, I didn’t feel like going out in the rain. But I did when the rain briefly stopped. I was able to capture a few images and the rain started again…I took shelter at the washroom, waited a couple of minutes and went back when the rain had stopped for a second time…I did this four times in a row! But I was able to capture that image which isn’t super colorful. It in fact it looks very moody but it tells the story about the weather I had that morning. And to me, it is equally as good as a colorful sky.

JUST DO IT FOR YOURSELF!

I hear a lot of people and friends complaining about how Social Media engagement has dropped drastically in the last couple of years. I even heard friends saying they’d like to sell their camera gear because their Instagram account does not perform as well anymore. What? Wait…just do it for yourself then! What made you buy a camera in the first place? I want answers like I bought a camera for the love for photography or nature…not to get likes on social media. What’s the point of getting lots of likes on a post if you only post images for fun? The best thing you can do if your Instagram has gotten horribly bad with engagement is to hide the like counts from your posts. By doing so, you will be taking all the pressure off your shoulders. Photograph what you like and don’t feel obligated to post on social media.

Peace and Quiet — I have loved that boat house since the first time I saw it over ten years ago. And I promised myself that I would definitely photograph it under very specific conditions. I didn’t want all the canoes in the scene and I wanted a pure still reflection with wintery conditions. I got these conditions back in November 2023. But I never posted the image in fear that it wouldn’t perform well on Instagram. How sad is that really? I stopped myself from posting it because of the way it would perform on social media?

SPEND MORE TIME PLANNING…

That’s a very wide point and could mean a lot of things. I repeat, Spend More Time Planning…this could first mean to look for inspiration online. It’s 2026 folks! Internet is a vast place where we can find countless information about anything and everything. In the search engine, start typing the name of a city nearby and see what pops up. Maybe that city has some cool church ruins? Maybe it just so happens to be the home of the oldest covered bridge in your country? How will you know if you don’t look for these things online? Google Maps and Google Earth are two other phenomenal tools to use. And they are 100% free! They simply require your brain power to operate correctly.

After finding interesting stuff to photograph on Google Maps or Earth, it gives you a good reason to go out and try to create something lovely from these places. Next step could be to try to plan what time of the day is best to visit that location? Use apps like PhotoPills and easily find the light direction of both sunrise and/or sunset. Or maybe look at what time the Milky Way core will show up above said location? The key to success in most beautiful images is often planning and preparation. Spend more time doing it in 2026! I want to see successful images at the end of 2026!

Mystical Morning — First of a series of three images captured on the same morning. I didn’t know about this location until I was in Pennsylvania. At the end of a day, I was looking at Google Maps for more locations to photograph and I just happened to be minutes away from a couple of waterfalls…

Downstream Flow — After studying the landscape on Google Earth and reading about the location, I found out that it could be a sketchy one to reach. I felt like there would not be a lot of people visiting these waterfalls which made it even more interesting.

Cool to Warm — The parking was minutes away from my Airbnb. I got ready for my hike, I put on a high visibility shirt as per request on the hunting signs and started hiking. Once I got the GPS coordinates I found on Google, I couldn’t find any signs for the waterfalls. The way down to the waterfalls was an interesting challenge. But once I was there, I was greeted with some of the prettiest scenes in the area. Fog and mist was of the party…it felt truly magical.

LEARN AND TRY NEW TECHNIQUES

Life is all about evolving. Evolving keeps our brain stimulated at all times. That’s why we should always learn and try new techniques in our everyday life and even more in our hobbies or passions. Photography can be both very simple or very complicated depending what you want it to be. While running my photography workshops, I often push my customers to try new techniques which I show them on the spot. Most customers are very receptive to trying new techniques. The end result is often very satisfying for both myself and my customers.

In other words, try to get out of your comfort zone. You have never tried Perspective Blending? Go ahead, learn about it and try to integrate that new technique into your workflow. Wait, you only use Lightroom and are afraid of Photoshop’s intimidating interface? Watch a few Youtube videos and give Photoshop a try! Do not stagnate…evolve as an artist, try new techniques and view new horizons. These are only a few examples…there are so many useful techniques to improve landscape photography. Since I have published multiple articles about different techniques, I will share a few here: The Art of Focus Stacking, What is Time Blending, Perfect Example of Time Blending, How to Play with Perspective.

I am just coming back from a fantastic memorable trip to Ireland. This was my fourth time on that beautiful island. I met some truly wonderful people, saw some amazing new places, had a mix of every weather conditions one can think of…after all, it’s Ireland, right?And most importantly, I was able to create images I had been trying to obtain since years…that on in particular, since 10 years. Some locations will give you everything on a silver plate while other locations will make you work for the candies. You can’t get that one correctly if you aren’t well prepared. And even if you are prepared, Mother Nature might have other plans for you success…First time 10 years ago was a big disappointment, how in the name of God do I get down on that beach? We were very tight on time and it didn’t happen. Second time back in 2019, I had planned two full days in that area to hopefully get it right…I was skunked by a high tide which makes the beach inaccessible on the first sunset…and then, the second night, I intentionally lock myself on that beach at high tide. I wasn’t in any danger and had plenty of areas to wait while tide would go away but a local lady saw my car parked near by for what she thought was an abnormal amount of time so she called the Guarda…local police. They then called the Coast Guard to get me out of there but I was just fine! I simply walked out of there on my own with waders on. I just had to wait for tide to come down…And finally, this latest trip to Ireland was all planned around getting the perfect tide at sunset for this location two nights in a row…the weather forecast wasn’t what I initially wanted but the wave forecast was looking perfect…did I finally succeeded at photographing that Arch? I think it’s fair to say that I did manage to finish my unfinished business here! — I often talk about Time Blending and how it could improve the visual impact of an image. Well, that image is a very good example of how I used Time Blending to enhance the story telling of an image. Learn more by clicking on the image. It will bring you to an article I recently published.

START A 365 DAY PHOTOGRAPHY CHALLENGE

Probably the most difficult resolution of all my new year resolutions for a photographer but possibly the most fun one…try to start a 365 day photography challenge. That’s right, 365 days this year? Capture at least one image per day. That sounds like a lot…but in all seriousness, how long does it really take to capture one image? Does it have to be an image captured from a proper camera every single time? Of course not!

And at the end of the year, create a slideshow with all these images and remind yourself how much fun that year was! Since I walk daily, I could be taking a single snap shot of anything I see while walking. My wife goes to the ranch daily…then she could be capturing something farm related each day. Wait…are you in traffic everyday on your way to work? While your phone is attached to the phone holder mounted to your car dash, snap one shot of something you see.

Try to capture anything in your daily life with your phone…whether it’s a cute picture of your dog while he’s resting on his bed one day and playing ball the next day, document something from your life on a daily basis. You could also document your daily diet…or photograph the evolution of your flowers in your garden. These are only a few ideas to get you started…the sky is the limit! It can be both fun and inspiring to review these later. Anything is good to keep the creative soul in you active.

PRINT ONE OF YOUR IMAGES

After you are done with your 365 day photography challenge, I assume you will have more than one good image in that series? You should print one of your images to display on your wall. It is so gratifying to see something you created hung on a wall in your living space. I actually have many of my Artwork displayed on my walls in my house and every time I look at them, it reminds me of so many good memories.

Whether it’s a fun moment or a time when I was struggling with a piece of equipment while capturing that image, all of those memories come back to me and make me feel genuinely good. They make me smile. It makes me feel good for having the opportunity to be there at that given moment in time. It makes me feel even better to have taken the necessary time to well plan that sunrise or that hike…and succeed. I need these memories. They give me the drive to keep pushing towards my dreams and passions in my daily routine.

DantyArt, DantyArt Photography, Wall Mounted Prints, Mockup, Fine Art Prints, Acrylic Face Mount Prints, Fine Art — If you consider that your images aren’t worth a place on your wall, then you could always purchase one from me? Right? I create lovely Artwork. All of them have very special Behind the Scenes stories which I will definitely share with you. Ok…that’s enough of a push for my own work…CLICK on image to learn more about my prints.

…IN CONCLUSION

In conclusion, which ever New Year Resolution you choose for yourself at the beginning of the New Year, just make sure not give up on them. If you initially chose to start doing or changing something, it’s because it meant something important for you. Why would you simply quit?

I must admit that I have been really good with my 2025 New Year Resolutions and I kept most of them active throughout the year. The most important of them is to stretch and walk at least 5km daily which is a health concern for me. If I don’t do these two daily, my conditions could degrade very fast. My former career as a car mechanic has put a serious toll on my body and in the past three and a half years, I have been stretching and walking a lot daily.

The other resolution I kept all year was to edit at least one image per week. Of course that excludes the weeks I was out traveling…but I did edit a lot of images in 2025. With that being said, if I can do it, you sure can too!

Happy New Year everyone! And do not give up on your New Year Resolutions! I’ll be checking on you soon just to make sure you didn’t give up.