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Have you heard of the “365 photo challenge”? I’ve participated in this project multiple times, but could never keep up and gave up in a few months or even a month. I know… but I heard this thing called “100 days of summer photo challenge.” A lightbulb! Maybe I can complete a project… FINALLY!
1. Don’t set a big expectation
No one is going to be mad at you if you miss a day. Yes, it’s important to keep taking pictures and set your goal high, but if you forget or don’t feel like taking photos, take a break. This is supposed to be a fun summer activity instead of a burden for you.
2. Document kids while they are doing something they want to do
Instead of posing them all the time, I realized quickly I just had to go with the flow. Kids are eating cereal, snap. They want to play with Legos, snap. They want to go to the zoo, snap. It’s fun to have planned photo sessions and those are fun, but they are the main characters of this project and I had to let them be them. Tag along, bring your camera, and start documenting your everyday life with your favorite people!
3. Put a camera where you hang out the most
I had a “duh” moment when I couldn’t keep up with the 365 photo challenge project…as a professional photographer, I like to keep my gear in a safe spot where my kids can’t touch it. While this is a very important habit, it was hard for me to get my gear ready and go back to whatever my kids were doing in a different room because the activity was already over. I soon realized I had to leave my camera in the kitchen for a few days and just started taking photos, which made it SO much easier.
4. Think of a time of a day to take photos
When you don’t have anything planned (which is one of my favorite ways to spend the summer!), I like to set a goal to take pictures in the morning, at lunchtime, or in the early afternoon. When I go to the park, the pool, or have plans to do something with families and friends, kids are already doing something and I can easily document their summer fun. When we have a slow day with no plans, I tend to forget to take photos. I made a goal to take photos during ___(this time of the day)___ and that gave a lot of variety of pictures.
5. Set a reminder
As you can probably tell by now, I simply forget to take photos of my kids if I don’t plan. The reminder app on my phone has been a lifesaver for me. It sends me a notification every day that I need to work on it and I do it. It’s so simple, but try it! It really helps!
I don’t know why but I wanted to do all of my documentary photos in black and white this year and that’s been different and fun! You can take photos in different ways and that’s why this project is so fun for moms.
I hope that you have a fun summer and can document your kids with more intention. Please tag me @kristenlisaphotography (Instagram link here) because I would love to see how you capture your kids through your lens.
