MY 365 VIEWPOINT, FROM BEHIND MY LENS
I have seen lots of different types of 365. I, one time, saw a girl take 365 photos of herself. I have seen 365 photos of nature. I have seen 365 photos of someones dinner. There is no rhyme or reason as to what you can or can't do for a 365 project.
My 365 was two years in the making, but only in my head, of course!
I knew it was something I wanted to try and complete but I always had excuses. I let my fear of failure and my fear of doing it wrong get in my head.
This was the year where I FINALLY said DO IT!!!!
WHAT I LEARNED
I, initially, had one goal in mind, learn how to better use my big camera.
Somewhere along the days I ended up learning more about myself, my kids, and that I am not the only Mom that serves cereal for dinner. ;)
Vulnerability, I got a lot of messages about my photos. All kinds of things like: "Where did you get _____from?", "Is this really what your life is like?", and then there were the parenting things. We are just normal parents who love our kids, we get mad at them as much as they get mad at us! We are not perfect in anyway, but we do believe in the fact that there is something perfect in every day.
As a photographer I have learned my camera and we have become really good friends. It took me awhile but I feel like I have found my photographic voice and I am loving it. I have learned to get creative, staying inside our house has taught me to see things from different points of view. I have learned that people will think you are crazy anyway, so take your camera wherever you want! I found that I prefer to shoot horizontally, a weird fact, but true.
As a Mom, I have seen my girls grow this last year. They are becoming more and more independent and I am finding my balance between letting them go and keeping my hand within their reach. They are creating that sisterhood life bond, I am LOVING watching that!
The girls had no idea what I was doing until June or July! They still don't really know, but they do know its a "photo of the day" project.
Not every photo is what I would consider "frame worthy",sometimes I forgot to take a photo until the very end of the day. I only cheated one time and used a photo from a previous day, at Ryan's request. Sometimes I didn't have my camera on me and had to use my phone as it was on hand. More then a few times I took a photo early in the day, then later on caught a much better moment.
Every month is blogged and every month has been made into a book, nothing fancy, but just so I have them in print.
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| Both girls like looking through the books :) |
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| December's book is currently on order! |
My project proved to me that the quote "Every day may not be good.......but there is something good in every day."
It also proved that I can complete a goal!!!!!!! Can I get a WOOT WOOT on that please!!
I won't stop taking photos of my kids, I don't think any Mom could do that!
For now, I have started another 365 on my Instagram (cheryl.henry) after all, I know I can do it now! :)
I think it is really important to take photos of days that are normal as well as those days that are just so important!
MY FAVORITES
I am constantly asked what my is my favorite photo. WHAT? Just one?!?
Well I made a list, which took FOREVER, but I picked one photo from each month so here we go:
January.
When our furnace broke and we were waiting on the part to come in, the girls were LOVING the chance to "camp out" in Jenni's room for a few nights. They ask to sleep in each others room just about every weekend now <3
February.
Father daughter dance dress shopping. I just remember her spinning and saying she looked like a princess and that she thought Daddy would like the dress because it was blue!
March.
Jenni and her Bear Bear! She got him when she was 7 months old, it was her first and only Christmas present on her very first Christmas. He makes her feel safe, and at bedtime when we can't find him we find ourselves going on bear hunts through the house.
April.
A new family member! The girls begged and begged and begged for a kitty. They worked very hard for a few months to earn the right to get a kitty. They named her Charlie and they are really great kitty Moms :)
May.
We are so beyond blessed to have our Daddy home with us every day! When Ryan was given the opportunity go to Florida for a week for work we missed him terribly! Skype was great but nothing is better then the real thing XOXO!
June.
This girl! She is beautiful, so smart and knows what she wants, sometimes she is just afraid to ask for it.
If I could give her one thing it would be a box of confidence! She is so much like me :)
They always ask to go on my photo shoots with me! This was a photo walk we did and they got to take their own photos. Grace decided she really like taking pictures of flowers and nature, while Jenni liked it for about 10 minutes and then just wanted to watch and walk along.
August.
Shaving with Dad! I remember watching my Dad shave and him letting me do it also. They just want to do what he does so a little shaving cream, a mirror, and the back of a comb is all they needed :)
September.
It was open mic for kids! Grace fought with herself for about an hour before getting her courage, getting up there and singing "I don't dance" by Lee Brice! I was soooooooo very proud of her and I cried like a baby :)
I have a wonderful younger brother whom I am very close to! With that being said, I did always want a sister. They have something I will never know, but I am loving watching them grow and be each other's support and cheerleaders!
November.
Jenni is beautiful, imaginative and smart. I love to listen to her play with her stories of good guys and bad guys. If I could give her one thing it would be a box of "you can".
December.
I think I picked this photo purely because of the girls faces. The joy and excitement of the whole evening was so fun! We never told them where we were going until we walking into the Huntington Center and they saw all the Disney stuff. I love the small things that happen every day, but our few big ones are always fun too!!
YOU CAN DO IT TOO!
I encourage you to do your own 365. If you don't think you can commit to a 365 then start small and go for a once a week photo (52 weeks) and grow from there. You do not have to be a photographer, you just have to want to catch one single moment in every day. You don't need a fancy camera, use your phone or whatever you have! I can promise you two things; 1) you won't regret it and 2) you will have just saved some awesome memories!
