August 365 Project Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

How is it September already? August was a whirlwind of waiting it seemed. The month flew by despite the weeks of patient and not-so-patient waiting for new baby Sanchez to arrive.

I found myself savoring our last moments as a family of three and documenting my son's last days as an only child. The pregnancy hormones had me extra sentimental, but I'm so grateful for the story all the images from August tells. And I have some fun video projects in the works as well to share later!

My mother in law graciously came to stay with us in early August and we enjoyed many special outings with her and our son. An extra pair of hands, especially ones that come with grandmotherly love, is a wonderful thing to have in the last month of pregnancy. It was a lovely mix of lazy days, activity-filled ones, and bored, anxious, climbing-the-walls ones too.

And towards the end of it all, we got to come home with a healthy baby boy. We're thrilled at the promise of two rambunctious, loving, adventurous boys to run after.

Here are my favorites from August. For tips for starting your own 365 project, check out my post on documenting the long term. 

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July 365 Project Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I made a lot of pictures in July.  And even though I missed shooting a couple of days, I made up for it on others.  With baby number two almost here, it suddenly became really important to me to document these last days of our being a family of three.  It's such an exciting time, if still a bit nerve-wracking even though we've been through it once. :-)  Here are a few of my favorites from this month.

Despite the heat (and pregnancy!), I love summer in Northern Virginia.  There are so many things to do outside and plenty of respite from the heat inside or in the long evenings as well.  

We love our local parks and access to the Potomac River.  The variety at Jones Point Park in Old Town Alexandria (first three images) is fantastic, as is the family-friendly hiking at Mason Neck State Park in Lorton (last image).

Other than these mini adventures, it's just been nice to enjoy some leisure time at home and in our own neighborhood park.

Interesting in starting your own 365 project?  Check out my tips or see previous 365 shares here and here.  And please keep in touch!  Sign up below for my newsletter to receive more tips on documenting your family!

June 365 Project Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

June was a fun month with lots of time spent both outside and staying cool inside.  I can't believe summer is already passing by so quickly!  And even though it's been hot and humid here in Northern Virginia, I'm still relishing the longer days, pretty light, and carefree fun that comes along with it.  :-)

These are my June documentary faves from my ongoing 365 project.  Find tips for starting your own long-term photography project here and come follow along with me (and share yours!) on Instagram!

May 365 Project Faves | Northern Virginia Family Photographer

I mentioned last month how much fun it can be to look back over photos and remember what family life was like at the time.  That’s the wonderful thing about documentary, candid photos.  The images help you remember what life felt like in that moment, whether it was last month or two years ago.  And if my propensity to click on the "See your Memories" prompts from Facebook is any indication, I'm not alone (and it only gets more fun the more time passes). :-)

A continuing personal documentary project is great for daily glimpses into the progression of your family's life.  May was a busy, but happy, month of travel for us.  Thankfully, we got to escape some of the unusually rainy weather in Northern Virginia for fairer skies elsewhere, but it’s good to be back home.

These are a few documentary faves from my 365 project last month.  There was a lot of much-welcomed outdoor time, time spent with family, and time spent marveling at growth (both my toddler’s and my own – pregnancy is going by so fast!).  June is already well under way and I’m looking forward to all the fun of summer and nesting before our new baby’s arrival in August.

I hope summer (even though it's not technically here yet!) is off to a fun start for you!

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Tips for Documenting the Long-term | Northern Virginia Family Lifestyle and Documentary Photographer

"We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then is not an act but a habit." - Aristotle

I started my first 365 photography project two years ago.  I wanted to document our quickly growing son - the milestones and moments in between. My project expanded into telling a daily story of our family's life and interesting things we encountered along the way. Committing to taking and posting a photo a day for a year was intimidating, but now that I'm in my third year, I can't imagine not having these images from our life.

I now consider my 365 projects to be my personal form of daily journaling.  As much as I see value in writing down daily thoughts, photography as a medium comes more naturally and fits into my life more easily.  I naturally take pictures of things I find important or interesting, and when I do have an opportunity to write down snippets about our life, having these images evokes emotion and helps the words come more easily.  

Here are a few tips that keep me going when motivation is lacking or life gets busy:

1. Don't let rules get in the way of committing to a 365 (or any long-term) project.  Sure, the goal may be to take a photo a day, but the real objective is to create a body of work that represents a period in time. Missing a day or two here or there isn't going to prevent that big picture development.  Giving up because you're focused on perfection will.  The best part of a personal project is that you decide the rules yourself, so commit to what makes sense to you.

2. Find a supportive community.  There is a lot of support for 365 projects online - places to post, friendly feedback, and prompts for shooting ideas.  I also love participating in photography community challenges for inspiration, like National Geographic Your Shot and the CM Glimpse project. Facebook and Instagram are also full of groups for challenges, themes, and support from fellow photographers, no matter your skill-level.

3Celebrate your progress.  Whether you decide to post your project online or share on social media, having a place to see your work all in one place is wonderful motivation.  And there are bonus points for social sharing, if you enjoy receiving feedback and inspiration from others.  I use Flickr to keep all my 365 images in one place, but I also love Instagram and the variety of super-easy printing options for making quick prints. Which brings me to...

Print your images.  Having tangible evidence of your project is so gratifying.  I'll be sharing more about how I print and display my personal images in future posts, but I can't say how fun it is to see evidence of my work around my house and office.  I print a yearly compilation of my 365 images in a photo book and also make prints throughout the year for framing, displaying or sharing with family and friends.

If you're considering starting a 365 or other long-term personal project, I highly recommend it. And if you already have one, I'd love to hear about it and any tips you have!  Oh, and these are some of my favorites from April of my 365. :-)