Your year of saying YES!

There’s a familiar moment that many photographers experience at the start of a new year. The kit is still there yet the camera remains in the bag a little longer than it should. The days are short, motivation feels fragile and it’s easy to convince yourself that you have already captured everything worth shooting nearby.  

If photography is about seeing differently, then doing the same things over and over again will eventually flatten your vision. That’s why the most valuable decision you can make this year might have nothing to do with buying new gear and everything to do with saying yes to pushing yourself by doing something like shooting an unfamiliar subject.

This doesn’t mean abandoning what you love to shoot. It means deliberately putting yourself into situations where you don’t have all the answers – where you’re forced to react, adapt and learn again. That’s often where creativity wakes up.

Why experiences matter 

Changing your environment, routine or expectations creates the friction that makes photography feel exciting again. That’s why learning experiences – such as workshops, courses, collaborative shoots and trips – can have such a powerful effect. They introduce great locations and subjects while removing the option of procrastination. When you’ve booked something, you show up – even when the weather is bad or confidence is low. And that’s when great images can appear.

One man who knows what it’s all about is Chris Simmons, winner of best training provider in the Photography News Awards for a fourth time in a row with his business based in Cornwall. “This success has come from not only being able to take a decent seascape photograph, but more importantly from being able to teach how to do so. My training courses deliver an enjoyably challenging one-to-one learning experience in line with a client’s skill and comfort levels. 

“I show my customers how shooting a seascape is far more challenging than any landlocked landscape. It’s all about wild light and reflections, expressing visual emotion and capturing movement. I believe that the true art and reward in photography comes from manipulating your light as it hits the sensor.”

Like some of the best courses, Simmons’ are all-inclusive. That means everything from accommodation and food to location, transport and studio facilities are laid on.

Learning in public

There’s something uniquely effective about learning alongside other image makers. While online resources are incredibly useful, they are easy to pause, postpone or abandon. Going to an in-person workshop removes that safety net.

Being guided through a shoot in real time – seeing how other image makers approach the same scene, hearing feedback, making mistakes openly – accelerates learning in a way solo shooting rarely does.

Workshops aren’t about being taught how to shoot like someone else. The best ones give you tools, not templates. They help refine your instincts rather than overwrite them.

The professional photographer Paul Edmunds hosts and mentors up to four image makers with his French Photographic Holidays business, which is located deep in the French countryside, yet only six miles from the beautiful town of BrantÔme in the Dordogne.

Your home and base for the week is his 17th-century studio and home in the tiny hamlet of Les Ages. And from the moment that you arrive everything is included, such as great food and drink, so you can relax and soak up the unique atmosphere of the holiday while also pursuing your passion for photography.

There are six days of different trips to shoot the lovely French countryside, from visiting local chateaux to shooting candids in towns and villages. There’s also a full studio set-up to use on site – with or without tuition.

The power of changing place

Travel does not magically make photos better, but it does remove some of the excuses. New locations can compress decision-making. You’re working with unfamiliar light, different rhythms and limited time. So you will shoot more decisively, notice details more quickly and worry less about perfection.

Extended trips take that effect even further. They immerse you in a visual environment for days rather than hours, allowing patterns, stories and confidence to develop naturally.  

It doesn’t have to be exotic since a coastal workshop, rural retreat or urban break can be just as creative. But if you can stretch to afford a dream holiday, check out African Photography Safaris, a UK-based specialist in ethical, small-group wildlife photography experiences across sub-Saharan Africa. 

Led by professional photographers and experienced guides, the company focuses on personalised tuition, responsible tourism and business partnerships that support conservation and local communities. And from 2026, guests get complimentary access to specialist Fujifilm X and GFX Mount camera bodies and lenses for up to 14 days while on their safari trip.

“This is about giving photographers confidence and freedom,” according to Alan Hewitt, African Photography Safaris co-founder. “Whether someone already shoots with Fujifilm or not, they can now experience mirrorless wildlife photography in real safari conditions without financial pressure. This lets guests focus entirely on storytelling and the wildlife in front of them.” 

So, you’ll have a chance to capture once-in-a-lifetime images and make sure the quality is sensational. 

Saying yes to not being great

Once you’re good at something, it is hard to risk being not so competent at something else. Trying a new genre – whether that’s street, studio, wildlife, documentary or video work – can feel awkward at first. Your hit rate drops and your confidence can wobble. But that beginner mindset can reconnect you with curiosity instead of results.

Many photographers discover that experimenting outside of their usual discipline improves their main work. Street photographers can learn patience from landscapes. Landscape shooters can learn timing from streets. Portrait photographers can sharpen their compositions through reportage. Growth happens in the overlap.

Saying yes doesn’t have to mean a major course or an expensive trip. It can be a workshop, a weekend away, an online programme you actually finish or an unfamiliar subject you commit to shooting properly. 

The goal isn’t to transform your photography overnight but to learn. Image making thrives on curiosity, movement and attention. This year, instead of chasing motivation, try chasing experience. Say yes to the shot and see where it takes you.

africanphotographysafaris.com

c-simmonsphoto.co.uk

frenchphotographicholidays.com

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