The winter months can be slow for a natural light photographer, but I’ve kept my creative energy alive by starting a Photo 365 Project: one edited picture every single day for one whole year. I was surprised at how quickly I found myself committed to this — I even have two daily alarms set on my phone to remind me to take my photo because I REALLY don’t want to miss a day!
My favorite part of the project is that it forces me to notice things when otherwise I might ignore them or overlook them. My personal goal is to make some sort of artistic choice about composition or color or light in every picture I take, and in doing so I find myself seeing art all around me, just in the everyday activities of my family. Sitting in the carwash, unloading the dishwasher, dancing spontaneously in the living room — this is the fabric of my family, and I love seeing how it opens up before me.
You don’t have to be a photographer or have a fancy camera to do a project like this. Your cell phone can be the lens through which you document your everyday. I’ve already had many days when my photos seem less like art and more like obligation, but I always find something meaningful I can document — bedtime rituals, a sweet drawing that one of the kids left on the table, or the piles of dishes and toys and other detritus that are left behind once they’re asleep at night. I’m already excited about the prospect of creating a photo book when this project is over and giving my kids an artifact of their childhood. I started my project on January 1st, but you can start anytime. Give it a try — I don’t think you’ll regret it!
