Photo Jouranling // A Photo a Day Challenge

This year I have chosen to take on the Photo A Day Challenge in hopes to document more of the every day moments in 2017.  Photographs have a way of speaking to our hearts and keeping memories alive. There is a story within each photo and these stories are what shape our lives. It’s very simple really. Keep your camera or phone close by and take more photos of the big moments, the small moments and even the every day moments that may seem mundane. There is so much emotion in everything we do. Some moments are filled with happiness or silliness and sometimes even sadness. All of these emotions play a part in who we are and help shape our children into who they will become.

I had the opportunity to Skype in with Brooke Walker on Studio 5 to talk more about the photo a day challenge. If you want to see the segment click here

I have heard some mom’s say that they have a hard time taking a lot of photos at home because their house is a mess or doesn’t look picture perfect. Life may be a little bit (or a lot) crazy right now but that’s exactly it. Capture it. Maybe your laundry is always in piles because you are a busy mom trying to keep up with your kids while driving them to piano lessons and basketball practice.  This is life right now and although it may be a crazy mess it is real and that’s okay. Plus, I think that some day when you kids grow up they will actually appreciate the fact that you captured the real life moments, crazy mess and all.

There have been so many mornings that I am busy getting my two oldest ready for school only to find my 17 month old up on the table helping herself to breakfast. Yes, she probably shouldn’t be up on the table but this is my life right now. I could write about this in my journal and maybe some day I will but for now this photo will always help me remember those crazy mornings getting kids off to school and baby girl helping herself to breakfast.

Since we love to eat around here it won’t surprise you that many memories are made around the kitchen table. My oldest tends to be pretty self sufficient as well. Always coming up with creative ideas for lunch. This particular day he decided to make himself a peanut butter, jelly and ham sandwich. With three pieces of bread of course so he could have two sandwiches in one.

 So what do you do when you pull out your camera to capture a candid moment and your child turns to smile at you with a great big cheesy grin?  I say embrace it. Take a photo of that cute little face looking up at you and then sit back and wait a few minutes. Your kids will get use to the fact that you are holding your camera or phone and most of the time they will go back to doing what they did before. Kids tend to be very repetitive. You just have to be patient and keep your camera close by.

So do you really need to have a professional camera to capture all of the daily moments? The answer is of course not. It’s actually pretty amazing how far camera phones have come. While, there are benefits to capturing photos with a professional camera the most important thing is to capture those memories just as they are. Ofcourse there are a few things you can do to help improve the quality of photos no matter what you are using to capture them. Opening up your blinds and pulling back those curtains to let natural light in will make a big difference.

Also, don’t be afraid to move around the room and take photos from different angles. You will be amazed at the difference it will make to get down low eye level to where your child is playing or from up above or maybe just beside them. Different perspectives bring out details that you may have not noticed the first time. Another tip to improving those photos is to keep on shooting. Although this is a photo a day challenge most of the time it will take more then just a few photos to get the one that really captures the moment.

The question then comes, what do I do with all of these photos? How do I compile them altogether to create a photo journal for the year? One simple and easy way to compile all of those photos into a book for the year is to use Chatbooks. If you want to only use the photos you specifically took for “a photo a day challenge” then create a hashtag that’s unique to you and then use it for each of the those photos. Be sure to make your hashtag very unique and check to make sure it’s not already being used.

*Remember that while this may be a photo a day challenge if you miss a day or two that’s okay. Keep your camera close and look for little moments to document each day.

If you want to follow along with my personal photo a day challenge you can find daily posts @feltfamilyof5