I wanted to take a break from just posting images and talk to you a little about my goals for 2009 and beyond. When I talk about goals in this post I am talking specifically my photography goals and the steps I will be taking towards transitioning into photography full-time.

First and foremost my main goal the first part of this year is to get my web presence in order. What this means is creating a brand for myself and my photography and keeping that brand consistent throughout my portfolio websites, my blog as well as the social media applications I utilize such as Twitter and Facebook. Go ahead and friend me if you would like. This is perhaps the most important step in actually making photography fiscally possible. While your photo taking ability is super important, your ability to market yourself and reach your target audience should be your number one priority.

Secondly, and this is something I will be doing as often as possible throughout the year is test shooting and frankly shooting as often as possible. While I do have a full-time job during the week I try to schedule shoots every weekend with local models. Now that the time has changed and it is staying light longer I plan on shooting even more. The importance of testing and shooting for yourself cannot be understated. By doing this you are able to develop your visual style while shooting the things that you love. For a more indepth discussion of testing check out Nick Onken’s blog.

Thirdly, I plan on utilizing the services of Amanda Sosa Stone. Amanda is a creative consultant who works primarily with photographers helping them develope their marketing goals.  I plan on hiring Amanda to help me develop my online and print portfolios as well as helping me with developing the best marketing strategy for me as I will be just starting out in the industry.

Finally, my goal is to get picked up by a stock agency like Getty Images or Masterfile. I have tons of images from my model test shoots that I think would make great stock images and since I always try to get model releases I have that part covered. I am also traveling to Spain and Italy for three weeks in May with my wife and plan on building my travel portfolio and also submitting the images from the trip as part of my stock portfolio.

I hope this gives you a little taste of what I have planned and feel free to comment on your goals and the steps you plan on taking.