Is This The Reality of Building a Photography Career in 2025?

2025 was one of those years that only really makes sense once you slow down and look back at it properly. A lot happened. Some of it was planned, some of it snowballed, and some of it appeared on the calendar before I fully realised what I’d signed up for.

Early in the year, I finally launched Patreon. That came directly from subscriber feedback, and it felt important that it reflected what people were actually asking for rather than what I thought they might want. Behind the Raw became a core part of that, and it will continue to be. It’s been a good place to share the work as it’s happening, not just when it’s finished, and that has changed how I think about sharing photography online.

The Essential Landscape Photography Skills series also took shape properly this year. What started as a video project grew into something more structured, and that led directly to the release of Volumes 1 and 2 of the books. Making those free for newsletter subscribers felt like the right thing to do. They were never meant to sit behind a hard paywall; they were meant to be used.

The 32 Counties Challenge became one of the most demanding and rewarding things I’ve done. I got it finished and it brought everything with it. Thirty-two daily videos. Thirty-two counties. Thirty-two goals scored along the way. Thirty-two coffees consumed, sometimes out of necessity rather than enjoyment. Over 50 kilometres hiked and more than 3,100 kilometres driven. Most importantly, it raised €5,000 for Pieta House. When you add those daily uploads to the 52 weekly videos, the total for the year landed at 84 videos on YouTube and 114 if you include Patreon too. Seeing that written down still feels slightly unrealistic.

Workshops were split into two very different but equally important parts of the year. My own workshops around Ireland were a highlight. Familiar locations, unpredictable conditions, and a mix of returning faces and people joining for the first time. Watching confidence grow over a few days in the field never gets old.

Alongside that were the international workshops hosted here in Ireland with Chris Byrne and Michael Shainblum, both alongside Bernard Geraghty. Those weeks were intense in the best way. Long days, plenty of problem-solving, and a lot of shared learning, even between people who’ve been doing this a long time.

Writing also came back into focus. I continued to write with Fstoppers this year and stepped into a senior writer role. It’s a different pace to video work and workshops, but one that suits how I like to break ideas down and challenge assumptions.

Then there was Coast. My first printed book. Not a PDF, not a digital add-on, but a physical object that needed decisions made at every step. It launched on Kickstarter, funded in under 24 hours, and turned from an idea into something real very quickly. Coast demanded more attention than anything else this year, and rightly so. It pulled together years of work, travel, and shooting into a single project, and it set the tone for what comes next rather than closing a chapter.

Looking ahead to 2026, a lot of that momentum continues. Essential Landscape Photography Skills will keep going, with Volume 3 already planned. Coast Volume 2 looks like it might become a thing, and it isn’t about finding new places, it’s about doing the work, putting it together properly, and launching it again on Kickstarter.

The long-delayed office project hasn’t disappeared either. The plan is to build it at home; the only thing missing is the funding. Workshops will expand again, both here and with two new international photographers planned for Ireland. Patreon will grow to include community critiques alongside Behind the Raw, and I’m still quietly toying with the idea of more location guidebooks.

There are also two trips planned with Diarmuid and Patrick, and while Ireland will always be part of that, it might not be the only place. A Scotland trip is already on the cards, and I’m curious to see where that leads.

And during all of this chaos, I still managed to capture some shots, and it’s amazing looking back at them now. Here they are. Thanks for watching and supporting my journey. I look forward to having you with me once again in 2026.

Thanks for reading and for your continued support.