When people hear that I am completing Year Two of my 365 Project today, December 31st, 2019, I typically get one of two responses.

The first: wow, I could never take a picture daily!

The second: how do you manage that with three kids?

I attribute my growth as a photographer over the last two years largely to this project. So as I head into Year Three, I thought I’d share 5 Tips for success in 2020. (read about my 2019 tips here)

Top 5 Tips For 365 Success in 2020

1. Have your camera out and visible
2. Don’t try to create epic pictures daily
3. Use available light
4. Download + edit weekly
5. Remind yourself quarterly of the end goal

Have Your Camera Out + Visible

If you’re a mom of one or multiple children, you’re pressed for time. You’ve got a million things going on in your head at one time and the idea of adding one more daily task is daunting. I am here to tell you that on a typical day, I spend less than 3 minutes taking my 365 photo. When my camera is out and visible, SD card inserted and lens attached, it’s so simple to grab it at a good moment and snap 1-3 frames. Once I have captured a moment for that day, I don’t continue to shoot– unless it’s a special occasion! When I am done, I am done. Letting go of the idea of capturing the “perfect” moment each day is essential to success.

Don’t Try To Create Epic Pictures Daily

In an entire year’s album, I would say I have about 20 photographs that I would print individually and frame on our wall. The rest are everyday moments that tell the story of the year. On their own, they may not be anything special. But together in an album, they create a spectacular story. If you put pressure on yourself to take epic photographs daily, you’re going to stop shooting. Capture the little details, the every day mundane, the good and not-so-good moments.

Use Available Light

This tip is SO, so important. If you’re a professional photographer, you are used to trying to create perfect portraits in perfect light for clients. This is not possible to do daily. Should I repeat this? THIS IS NOT POSSIBLE TO DO DAILY. A successful 365 project is going to have a lot of images taken in “bad light”. You’re going to have photos at noon and photos in artificial light. You cannot and will not shoot at golden hour daily. Not all special moments happen in ideal lighting. Don’t let this intimidate you…learn to shoot in every kind of available light there is.

Download + Edit Weekly

Everyone’s work habits are different. I prefer to download and edit my personal pictures every 1-3 days. When I go longer than 3 days, I start to feel behind and disorganized. For other people, this threshold of disorganization might be shorter or longer. My advise is to download and edit at least weekly. When you’re trying to create a daily habit, I feel that going longer than this will cause you to lose the motivation to power through an entire year.

Remind Yourself Quarterly of the 365 End Goal

By reminding yourself quarterly, I mean I want you to visually remind yourself. Part of the reason you’re completing this project is to tell the story of you/your family for an entire year. Looking at each photo separately as you edit doesn’t do this project justice. I want you to take these photos and organize them in a way that you can view them all together. That might mean creating a Flikr account, using an album in your album hosting site if you’re a pro, or creating a Facebook album. Upload your chosen daily image weekly or monthly to the method you select. Every couple of months or at least quarterly, I want you to view this album as a whole. Seeing all the images together will motivate you endlessly, I promise!

Other 365 Tips

1. Seek out interesting light
2. When you feel unmotivated, take your camera out of your house
3. Challenge yourself to use shadows
4. Use a different angle to photograph the same room
5. Take quarterly simple portraits of your kids
6. Capture the seasons
7. Practice compelling black and white conversions
8. Take your camera to mundane places: grocery stores, parking lots, the car, restaurants, doctor offices

At The End of the Year: Make A 365 Album

Doing anything daily for an entire year is a huge accomplishment. Committing to taking one photo every single day for an entire year, plus editing and organizing them is a feat! Reward all of your hard work by turning this compilation of a year-in-the-life into a printed album. In today’s day and age, many photos stay digital and get forgotten in a folder on your computer. You deserve to have your hard work turned into an album for everyone to enjoy. My kids look through our 2018 album all the time and marvel at all the things we did over the last year, how little they look, or that funny haircut. Print your photos!

Happy Photographing! xo- Lyndsay