2023 Year in Review & Looking Forward to 2024

This year seemed to zoom by, and I don’t know if that was because I was trying to fit everything in before school started or just because I’m getting older.  In August, I started an intensive 10-month Master’s Degree program at the Eisenhower School for work, and you can’t take leave while in the program.  So, I had to squeeze all my annual leave in before August.  Because of school, I didn’t shoot as much as usual in the last half of the year, and I won’t be shooting that much in the first half of the new year.   But even with that restriction, I still accomplished a lot.

In 2023, I shot 8732 frames, which is 15-percent decrease from last year.  I edited 4732 frames which is a 2-percent decrease from 2022.  Either I’m becoming more thoughtful in my composition or better at culling images, possibly both.  My most used ISO was ISO 100 with 39-percent of my photos being shot at this ISO.  With ISO 200 being a close second with 35-perecent of my photos being shot at that ISO.  My most used aperture was F8 with approximately 49-percent of my photos using this F-stop. I am seeing a greater number at lower apertures such as F5 and that may be due to my new camera and eye track technology.  My most used shutter speeds were 1/250s with approximately 18-percent and 1/100s with 15-perecent of my being shot at this shutter speed.  It also looks like I’m diversifying shutter speeds as well.  Finally, my most used focal length was 18mm with approximately 36-percent of my photos being shot at this focal length.  This may change completely in 2024 as I don’t use the 18-200mm lens that much with the R6 and prefer the 24-105mm lens. 

This year I also changed from the Cannon EOS 80D crop sensor to the full frame Cannon EOS R6 mirrorless system.   I shot 6507 frames on the 80D and 1928 frames on the R6.  I also used my husband’s Cannon EOS 5D Mark III for one session and shot 297 frames on that camera.

I was published nine times this year.  It was a slow year for publications for me mostly due to school. 

This year was also the first year I attended a photography conference and a photography workshop.  The conference was Shutterfest and the workshop (read the review here) was in New York with one of my favorite photographers, Joe McNally at Elis Island (read the review here).  While I was disappointed in the conference, I really enjoyed the workshop, and getting to meet McNally and have him look at a couple of my photos.  In 2024 I would like to go to a couple more workshops, either with Lindsey Adler or with Scott Kelby, because I feel I’ll get more out of the workshop than a conference.

Cosplay and Conventions

This year I attended Katsucon and AwesomeCon in 2023.  I wasn’t really feeling Katsucon, and that may have been because I was tired from work travel a few days before the convention and the awful wind forcing everyone inside.  It could also be because I’m really aging out of Katsucon and possibly cons in general, as I’m already in my mid-40s and they aren’t holding the same appeal for me.  I still love doing sessions, but I can’t push myself like I used to.  (Read Katsucon review here). 

This was the second time attending AwesomeCon and got the chance to work with some wonderful cosplayers.  Though for me the nice thing about AwesomeCon was being able to make work connections for my day job at the convention.  I think I may attend the convention again but not in 2024 as it is March, and I can’t take the time off from school.  So probably in 2025.

Sample From Convention Sessions

In 2023, I did six one-on-one cosplay sessions, outside of the normal convention circuit.  My two favorite sessions were the Barbie shoot and the Taylor Swift PJ inspired session.  Though I might not call the Taylor Swift PJ session cosplay more of a fun portrait session.  

Samples from One-on-One Sessions

As like last year most of my cosplay photos in 2023 came from attending the D.C. Cosplay Photoshoot meet ups.  I attended seven out of twelve events in 2023, school got in the way of a few events.  These events are great to meet new cosplayers, shoot at interesting locations, and try out a few new techniques.  I think one of my favorite images came from the Burleigh Manor meet up, where I had cosplayer dressed as bell reading a book to a sheep, just like in the Disney animated movie.  Also, the event at the Congressional Cemetery was interesting, it was the first time I had to tell a cosplayer I couldn’t work with them because, I felt uncomfortable shooting their cosplay in a cemetery and couldn’t think of an appropriate way to photograph it.

Samples from Meet Ups

Creative Portrait Work

In 2023 I did nine creative sessions, with most of them being done in my small home studio.  I turn my large dining room with vaulted ceilings into my studio space.  I’m getting really good at flipping space.  I also tried out a new location about 15 minutes from my house called the Field of Flowers.  It is a nice location and I’ll probably start using it more, as it is easy to get to, reasonably priced, and I don’t have to reserve it as it is based on the honor system.  I did a lot of shoots with flowers, though my most creative was the two sessions I did with 169 rubber ducks, with matching headpieces.  Sadly, the headpiece did not survive the water session, but that gives me a chance to rebuild it cuter and stronger than before.    

Samples from Portrait Work

Conference and Workshop

I have always wanted to attend a photography conference and workshop in person.  I have attended things like Adobe Max online and a few online training events but it is not the same as being there in person.  So, this year as I was trying to burn annual leave, I went to Shutterfest in St. Louis and a workshop in New York on Ellis Island.  The Shutterfest conference was not really what I was expecting, it was ok, but probably not something I would attend again. The nice thing was since it was in St. Louis, I was able to visit my best friend I haven’t seen in ages.  I really enjoyed the workshop and felt like I got something out of it.  I think that was because I got some real hands-on experience and guidance from recognized photographers, namely Joe McNally.  I also felt the workshop forced me to think a bit more creatively.  Because the workshop was only one day, my husband and I took the opportunity to turn it into a long weekend and see a bit of New York City as well.

Samples from Shutter Fest

Samples from Workshop & New York City

Vacation

This year’s vacation was to Ireland, it wasn’t one of our better vacations.  I think it was because both my husband and I caught colds while we were there, which puts a damper on things.  We did take some nice photos, but it just wasn’t as good as past vacations. I guess you have to get a dud vacation every once in a while.  You can read all about the whole experience starting with this post: Ireland Day 0 & 1.

Samples from Ireland

Overall, 2023 was ok but it seemed to fly by.  Due to school, I didn’t get to shoot as much.  I also realized photography is one of my stress and creative releases, so not doing it put me in a bit of a slump.  Thankfully school ends in June 2024 but the workload significantly decreases come May so hopefully I’ll be back to shooting more soon.  Sacrificing a few months of shooting for my day job/career is ok, because in the long run it also forces me to take a break an re-evaluate my photography path.  While I know I won’t turn to photography full time until I retire from my day job, this gives me a chance to evaluate my priorities and see what I really miss and where I may want to go in the future.

For 2024, my first focus will be finishing school.  I will attend Katsucon this year, but I’m only going to take up to five sessions for the weekend, mostly because I’ll only be there Friday night through Sunday morning.  We’ll see how that works out and maybe I might change the number of bookings I’ll take for 2025.  I want to do more creative work with a focus on beauty shoots with interesting hair and makeup.  I also want to explore more creative lighting and use more of the tools available to me.  Finally, I’m going to try to look for and use some nice outdoor locations.  I usually shy away from outdoor locations due to weather concerns, but I’m going to try expanding my location options.   But all this could change, depending on where 2024’s roads lead, and my main goal is to stay open to new experiences and keep refining as photographer and a person.