7 steps to a successful 52 photo project with your kids

Please note I have absolutely no skills in the daily photo projects and missed a good 4 months when I tried one about 6 years ago 🙂

However, I have done a successful 52 week project for two years now. I take a photo of both my kids together (except in one case when Connor was sick in 2015), preferably outside but that’s just because the light’s better.

Here are my tricks:

1. Decide to take the photo on the same day every week. It helps you and your kids (if they’re your subjects) remember. Kendra even told me last week that we should move the Sunday photo (as I call it) to the morning so it’s out of the way and I don’t disturb their playing in the afternoon. I’m happy to try anything.

2. Announce this day to your children and husband, and set a reminder in your phone and in your diary so you don’t forget. (I’ve still forgotten some days but I roll with it – see below)

3. Set very, very low standards. If you’re looking for perfection you’re going to be disappointed. If you get a sulky photo, great. If you get an Instagram-happy photo with 40 likes (that’s happened a few times this year), great. If you get one where they’re not even aware of you, great. The point is to get the photo. Also, the ones where everyone is smiling are not really interesting, are they?

4. Involve them. I ask the kids where they want to take the photo. One day Connor came to me to show me a place in the garden where he wanted to have the Sunday photo taken. I’ve also started asking them which photo they like best. The one they choose is the photo of the week.

5. Bribe your kids. I’m dead serious. I’ve never bribed with big things and sometimes they’re very agreeable all by themselves, but I do have to bribe during winter with a cup of tea and a few biscuits 🙂 Or I’ll say, “let’s quickly go take the Sunday photo, and then I’ll do X with you”

6. Be ready with your camera. Your kids are not going to hang around for you to get the settings correct or for you to find your camera. If the light is awful and you need to play with settings, do that before your kids get into position. They’re not going to wait around.

7. Have fun with it. If you’re going to keep up the project, you’ve got to keep the big picture in mind. Sometimes (most times) I have Canon photos and other times all I have is a quick pic in bad light with my iphone. It’s all good, and a black-and-white filter fixes many a bad photography moment.

Did you do a photo project last year? Do you plan to do one this year?

PS I also started a Sunday skies photo series and managed 32 of the 52 weeks. Generally, these photos are taken while I wait for the kids to get themselves outside 🙂

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