Do you want to start documenting your every day life but aren’t sure how to start?? A photo a day project or a ‘Project 365’ is REALLY Fun but they are also a huge commitment and sometimes that can be overwhelming!! Sometimes starting with a photo a week project can seem easier to tackle, but i personally find them easier to forget about when i have so long in between a challenge!
A great and very non-committal way to start a photo project is with a day in the life or hour-by-hour project. Choose a day – a normal day for you and your family – and set a goal to document the things that you do. There are a couple ways to do this – you can just photograph as you see fit throughout the day… or what I like to do is set a timer for every hour (and then when it goes off restart the timer). Now this doesn’t necessarily mean that i take a photograph right when the timer goes off (though i think that is a super fun challenge too and i might try it next!), but it reminds me that if i haven’t been inspired by a moment within that hour – i need to take one. yesterday we completed an hour-by-hour project and i think i only had 2 timers go off where i hadn’t taken my photo already. i also don’t stress about photographing RIGHT at a certain time. my goal is to document life as it is – on our normal day.. i don’t want to force things, i want to be documentary of our day (ideally in nice light of course!). so heres our day, hour by hour.
So if you haven’t tried a photography project – i urge you to try one like this! its really fun to look back on all the things you accomplish in ONE day. and your kids will love flipping through the photos of the day too. You can do this with your phone, your SLR camera… whatever you’ve got. just start documenting these days – because though these days are hard, we’re not getting them back, and they can be pretty darn beautiful. and when you get your project done – be sure to send me the photos so i can see how your day played out!
I think of my photographs as love letters to my children. i know that they will have these images that tell our life story in 30 years, printed in books and albums, in prints scattered throughout our life. i love the idea of looking back on this day when they are in their 20s thinking of this crazy time in our life, and all the fun we were able to have despite it all!