Happy Labor Day!
With the official holiday to close out the summer, it’s time to start thinking about what you want to accomplish by the end of the year. And if you want to make a photo book, one of the best ways to start is to organize your photo library.
An organized library saves you time whenever you decide to print your photos. You’ll know right where to find your favorite photos and they will already be edited and ready to print!
Let’s get started with an easy challenge finding recent photos you love.
Challenge: Selecting Your Favorite Summer Photos.
I want you to go through your photos from the summer – Memorial Day through Labor Day (for those not in the US, basically June, July and August photos) and select 10 of your favorite photos.
They could be all from a vacation or you could select photos that sum up your summer.
Don’t overthink this: just select up to 10 photos from the summer that put a smile on your face.
Now here comes the organization part. Make sure you rate, star or tag the photos you select with your preferred rating system.
If you’ve never used a rating system before, start now. Most photo organization programs allow you to give a star or number rating to your favorite photos. Here’s a screenshot from iPhoto showing how to rate your favorite photos by quickly hitting the “heart” on a photo you love.
Don’t skip this step. It’s what helps you organize the photos that you love so they are easily accessible.
Here are my favorite 10(ish) photos with some suggestions to help you select your favorites from the summer.
PORTRAIT
It’s always good to include a classic and a creative portrait of your kids. They grow up so fast, it’s great to have a static frame showing who they are at this very moment.
BEACH OR POOL
Select an image from time spend at the beach or the pool.
HOLIDAY
Select an image from celebrating a Holiday. This summer our kids had fun with sparklers for the first time.
EVENT OR MILESTONE
Select a photo from the summer for any special event or milestone achieved in your kids’ lives. My daughter’s second ballet recital occurred at the beginning of the summer.
SIBLINGS
A favorite of mine is whenever I get these two in the frame together.
PLACE
Usually summertime includes travel to exciting places…or exploring fun places close to home.
EPIC LANDSCAPE
If you traveled to an expansive place – like the beach, lake, mountains, forest – chances are you have a great photo of an epic landscape.
FAMILY TIME
Include a photo that documents a visit with family.
EVERYDAY
Even though summer includes vacations and fun trips…and it also means times at home. Here’s a photo of my son and his stuffed bear while watching a movie.
EMOTION
And I’m sure you have a photo of extreme emotion – happy, sad, anger, laughter – from the summer. My daughter was not too happy to learn that an animal had been messing with her fairy garden.
SOMETHING NEW
If you worked on your photography this summer, challenged yourself with a project, or tried something new, include a photo from this experimentation.
Feel free to share your favorite summer photos on instagram, #favesummerphoto and tag @bookthisproject to hold yourself accountable. Plus, I’d love to see your favorite moments from your summer!
