Often times during these cold mid-winter months I can feel very uninspired when taking photos of my family. There really isn’t much happening that elicits much excitement and I feel unmotivated to pick up my camera.
But that’s where I’m so very wrong! There is magic in the everyday moments we don’t think about. Those day to day things we do that make up our family culture. Those moments are important too. Let me give you some ideas on how you can be more observant and document those regular daily moments with your own family.
Day In The Life
What does a typical day look like for your family? Is it crazy and chaotic, or is it pretty chill? One of my favorite ways to document our family’s everyday moments is to set a timer for every hour and simply take a picture, no matter what is happening or where we are. Give yourself a time frame, like 7am to 7pm, and set a timer on your phone to take a picture of whatever is happening in your day at each hour. It’s really fun to look back on these images at the end of the day and see what you’ve been up to. You could do this every month, or quarterly. You could even choose to do this with a specific time of day, like I did in the images below. You could choose to do it on a busy week day, or on a lazy weekend. It’s a great way to tell your family’s story.
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Pick A Person
Another great idea to dig yourself out of that creative rut is to choose one person in your family to focus on for a day or a week. I used to do this with each of my kids on the week of their birthday. It’s a great way to dive into their changing personalities and document what it is they truly love during this time of their lives. As we all know, our kids interests are ever changing as they grow. One minute your kiddo loves playing with their Lego collection, and the next thing you know they love playing guitar and writing their own music. Document those ever evolving interests. You can also do this for yourself, your partner, or even a family pet you love.
One Thing We Love
Does your family really enjoy hiking together? Or do you have family game night once a week? Maybe you really love cooking breakfast together on a Saturday morning. Whatever it might be, find one common thing your entire family enjoys doing together and document that. Choosing a common interest will give you lots of opportunity to document the family as a whole, but also individual family members during this time. Don’t forget the details of what it is you’re doing too! Find the layers and tell your story.
No matter what you choose to spark your creativity when it comes to documenting your family, always make sure you have your camera at the ready! And don’t forget, whatever camera you have it is the best camera for that moment. Don’t be afraid to snap away even if it’s just your camera phone!
If you’re looking to have your family’s story documented in an honest and artful way, let’s work together! I’m still accepting a few more families into my Year In The Life Sessions.
