4 Months and 11 days…
Posted in Photography Class | 24 Comments »
24 Comments »
Remember THIS post? It was when the site first opened and it was all about PROJECT 365 — a project to take a photo a day for an entire year.
Well here I am, 4 months and 11 days in and things are going great. I did miss one day — but I will excuse myself since i had just gotten back from an international trip and then spent two days in the hospital with my oldest daughter. Other than that, I have a record of each day of 2009. And you know what? I love it far more than I ever thought I would.
Honestly, I was actually a little afraid of starting it. I thought that I would get bored, or that I would forget, or that I would run out of things to take pictures of. However, that hasn’t happened. It has been the opposite, really. I am constantly thinking of things to take pictures of. I am seeing my life, and the little moments that are in it, in a whole new way. I am able to treasure the every day in a whole new way.
If you are participating in Project 365, how is it going? Are you loving it? Dreading it? Or are even more inspired? Are you more thankful for the little parts of your day? How has it affected you?
If you haven’t started, why not start now? I regret that I thought I had to wait until January 1 to start. I spent half of 2008 just waiting for January to come so that I could start. But there was no reason — you can start any day. Any time. Why not have a Project 365 that runs from May 12, 2009 – May 11, 2010? No ones says you can’t! Or, you can start on a significant day — a child’s birthday, the day you move into a new home, or a day that you decide to start exercising. It doesn’t matter when you start; you’ll love the results!
And after four months and 11 days, here are my suggestions:
- Always be on the lookout for the ordinary. So much of who we are is made up of the the little things we do or say every day. Make sure they find a place in your project. Things like your daily cup of coffee, medicine you take every day, the television shows you watch every day, the tennis shoes you put on every day before you run. Don’t skip it because it seems so “ordinary.”
- Take pictures at different times of the day. Don’t always wait until bedtime to get around to taking your picture. Your photos will be much more representative of your life if you vary the times.
- That said, I often take a photo first thing in the morning. That way, if I forget the rest of the day, I still have a photo. I haven’t had to use it much, but it has saved me a few times.
- Keep your camera out in the room(s) you use most often. You will be more likely to grab it at the perfect moment.
- Hand your camera to someone else so that you can be in a photo every once in a while.
- Let your spouse take the camera to work so that you can have a sample of his day.
- Take your camera out with when you go, even to do routine things like grocery shopping or the daily carpool. I have a picture of picking up my daughter from school that I adore.
- Try to download and edit (if necessary) your photos every few days so that they don’t pile up and you see it as a chore.
- Don’t worry about having technically perfect photos every time. Your real life isn’t perfect, so why should your photos be?
- Vary your photos. If you tend towards close-up head shots, learn to step back and take in more of the scene around you.
- Don’t forget about food! What we eat is a huge part of our day. Include some food and/or cooking shots in your project.
- Take pictures of the messes. Do you have a spot in your house that always seems to be cluttered? Take a picture of it. It is part of your life at this point.
- Don’t feel like you have to scrap all of your photos. I don’t intend to scrap any of it. Sure, the pictures may end up layotus but I don’t intend to scrap my Project 365. Instead, I plan to have it printed, along with the captions, in a Shutterfly book. I love that the photos are powerful all by themselves.
- Make sure you are having fun. This project is something that is supposed to inspire you, make you happy, and be FUN. If you view it as a chore, maybe it isn’t the right project for you.
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May 12th, 2009 at 7:21 am
I love doing the 365 project, I like to think I’m getting better at taking photos… and it also gives me an excuse when I bring out the camera in awkward situations. I would like to scrap them and put them all in a book… but so far, I’ve only done like 3 weeks and want to change my template… AGAIN! LOL!
May 12th, 2009 at 7:43 am
I am still going strong with my P365. Haven’t missed a day, but I have to admit, that sometimes I have to take a pic before I go to bed.
I am not scrapping my pics either. I put them on my blog and will make a blog book at the end of the year.
Looking through your pictures gives me hope that my package with the parmesan will still arrive at your house. I sent it off at the end of January.
May 12th, 2009 at 8:05 am
Congratulations for keeping up with this wonderful project goal. After doing a photo a day for December I knew that I’d have a hard time pressuring myself for a 365, so I opted to do a 52 instead (even though I do take photographs almost everyday). I post the photo of the week on my blog and I also plan to put them into a photobook at the year’s end.
May 12th, 2009 at 8:28 am
here is my 365 project…also up-to-date. I LOVE this project!!!! Thanks for blogging about it again. I think it is so true that we don’t have to start at Jan. 1. That’s a hard concept to convey I think! My pictures are below from the last 4 months 11+ days.
http://www.heritagemakers.com/?event=projectBrowse&projectId=94eee819-3048-6168-a4eb-c2fd6240d6e4&productId=11&projectSponsor=294366
May 12th, 2009 at 8:45 am
I am still going strong with my project 365. I am using my blog to store mine and I’m not totally sure if I want to put it in a book. I thought I’d get tired of it by now but it’s on my mind every day. I sure am glad I decided to do it!!
May 12th, 2009 at 9:43 am
I didn’t get started January 1 and decided to start doing it June 1 when we move. We are moving to a new country and I thought it’d be neat to capture our first year there – but thank you for the reminder to capture the ordinary too!!
I do have a question for everyone not scrapping but just doing a photo book: How are you planning on laying it out especially if you are including captions — a week’s worth on a page or what?
I just can’t decide what I want to do!!
May 12th, 2009 at 11:07 am
I haven’t missed a photo yet! I am loving it, even though I do process and upload photos to my blog everyday, so it can seem tedious sometimes. My husband and friends love it. They compete to see how many photos of them will make it onto the blog! I scrap a weekly page of 7 photos, and it’s been quite fun and enjoyable. When I put the photo of the day on my blog, I journal right on it with a font. So when it comes time to make my weekly pages (I do it two weeks at a time so that the left & right sides match in the photobook), I never forget what the photo was about, because I journaled on it already. I also love the small community of Project 365 “regulars” who are coming to my blog everyday and commenting, and I do the same for them.
May 12th, 2009 at 11:37 am
I’m planning to start soon. The only thing I still need to decide is how I want to ultimately print it (cost) so I can design my pages accordingly. I’m leaning towards a Shutterfly book, which means i’ll be doing my pages at 8×8. I want to do a 365 pictures but 52 LO project!
May 12th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I’m LOVING this project.
I haven’t missed a day yet and I’ve gotten SO much better at composing a shot and getting my exposure correct. It’s been a great way to celebrate the every day. 
May 12th, 2009 at 12:43 pm
Meisie — If you’re looking for the best price cost wise I would check out viovio.com. A 52 page layout with soft cover from Sutterfly would cost about $52. An 8.5×8.5 hardcover from viovio would cost about $31. I’ve gotten two 10×10 scrapbooks printed with them, and have been happy with their products. Plus their customer service is great if you have any questions or concerns. Happy scrapping.
May 12th, 2009 at 12:58 pm
I have been doing project 365 since January 1st but I only take pictures of my daughters. Everyday I take a picture of both of them together and that’s our “picture of the day”.
Next year I think I’ll go with ordinary pictures of our daily life. It seems a lot easier than what I chose to do…
May 12th, 2009 at 1:11 pm
I started out alright, and got layouts done for the first 4 weeks, and my layouts have ceased since then lol. I’m still taking pictures though, and I do plan to get them caught up. Templates may be my rescue and the layouts may not be as elaborate as I would like, but they will be done, and I plan top have them printed in a book as a year in review to give as Christmas presents.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
I’m so proud of myself for sticking with this too! Everything you said is true – I pay even more attention to the details of my life and I haven’t run out of things to photograph yet. The biggest thing for me is that I allow myself to use photos taken the day before/after to count, because the point is to keep the camera in my hand as much as possible. That way I don’t stress out about it!
I’ve scrapped a few pages showing a week’s worth of photos, but for the most part I plan on doing the same kind of album at the end of the year.
May 12th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
I didn’t start this year because I felt my plate was already full enough so I quit before I gave myself a chance and I regret it. I think the idea of not adding the pressure to scrap all of it would have helped my initial thoughts about taking it on. I did a photo-a-day project in December that I blogged and I absolutely *LOVE* that I have such a great record of our month!! With school getting out in 2 weeks I think I may try a “summer of photos” that I make into a book. Summer flies by so fast it will be nice to remember the things we get to do … especially since summer brings lots more family time than the school year does! Thanks for the encouragement
May 12th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
I’m doing this and so far I’m keeping up! My kids will often ask if they will be the picture of the day. My youngest will sometimes take his own picture of the day, too! I’m putting mine together on a poster that will be 24×36. I plan to print it, frame it, and hang it in our home. Here’s a link to what I have so far: http://s257.photobucket.com/albums/hh219/susalove_photos/?action=view¤t=May11365Poster.jpg
May 12th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
I too have not missed a day!
Loving it, and loving keeping up scrapping the weekly summaries too. Seem to be doing less general digi scrapping, but this way all the significant photos and events will be scrapped anyway.
What are you planning to do at the end of the year – print it into a year book (or books!)? Would love a post about some suggestions as to how we can use this wonderful record of a time in our family’s lives.
May 12th, 2009 at 6:43 pm
My first attempt in January lasted two whole weeks. Oops! I started again on May 1 and I’m doing ok so far. Already missed a day, but I was sick. I’m going to digiscrap them in very simple templates, maybe with a few embellishments, put them in an existing scrapbook binder. I haven’t decided whether to do weekly layouts or just monthly… I’ll figure that out as i go along!
May 13th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Janet – did you add something special to your blog to get the grid of pictures where you display your photos, or is that something that comes standard with wordpress? I use Blogger and haven’t noticed anything like what you have.
Do you have any suggestions for us in how to display them on our own blogs?
thanks!
May 13th, 2009 at 3:40 pm
I’m doing Project 365, too. I started March 12th, the day my son was born! I’ve missed a few days here and there (understandable with a newborn), but I’ve taught myself not to stress about it and just substitute an extra photo from a different day. I’m scrapping mine, and I have only one week to get done before I’m up to date!
http://thisisina.smugmug.com/gallery/7796934_ceF7k#504674222_Ka7nS
May 13th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I’m keeping up pretty well too. I make sure that I choose and label the photo every day or at the most every 2 days so I don’t get behind. I have also done a LO every week for my intended Shutterfly book so that I will have it all ready to order after the last week of the year. Congrats to everyone who is sticking to it!
May 14th, 2009 at 1:19 am
I loooooooooooooove p365!! And honestly I’m proud of myself… sometimes I don’t follow through on stuff like this…but I’m doing it and I looooooooove it!!
I love the teeny tiny snippets of my life. I wish I had started this years ago… we’ve lived so many fun places that I would love to remember daily about.
I’m lucky and got a Becky Higgins kit… but I’m only caught up in my album through March.
May 14th, 2009 at 11:01 am
I was wondering if you could tell me what software program this is?
May 14th, 2009 at 11:22 am
I LOVE Project 365…..so far I’ve kept up with it, but get behind in posting my pics. Actually, I just went over to blogger to upload, but it was opening so slowly so I came over here instead LOL.
I always have my little camera in my purse, sometimes my DSLR comes along, too, especially if I know I may have some plans that day.
May 20th, 2009 at 10:30 pm
Thanks for the inspiration! I will start…now!