The Benefits of a 365 Project

I love 365 projects. I did one two years ago. I loved getting to capture my life, family, and surroundings. I enjoyed putting my own spin or meaning behind the prompts. I loved pushing myself to capture things each day, and to keep going when I fell behind. I did fall behind, a lot. Sometimes I would simply forget. Sometimes I could NOT think of wha to capture. Other times I just wasn’t feeling it. I always caught up, and eventually I had 366 (leap year baby!) images to document my year. I also had grown as a photographer. I had learned more about what I liked in images and in editing. I also was seeing things around me I may have otherwise ignored. I had a 7 month old when I started, and I loved how I could translate some prompts over to my motherhood, and sometimes it helped me step out of the motherhood role and focus on just me. That year I did it mainly on my phone.

This year I am doing a 365 Journey through Meg Bitton Live. It includes a facebook group where we discuss our images, as well as interaction with Meg Bitton and her team. It’s pretty awesome. I love the fact that we get our prompt each day, so I don’t know what’s coming. I have committed myself to doing this year all on my dSLR, and I’m doing more post-processing on some. It’s a little more involved for me, and a little more on the fine art side in a way. Some days I still do simple snapshots. It just depends on where the prompt, and the day take me.

If you enjoy taking photos, or maybe just want to capture your life and family more, try out a 365 project! You can find TONS of free lists online. You can even create your own. Don’t hesitate to just jump in on one. Catch up, don’t catch up, do whatever works for you! But challenge yourself to go out of your norm, to test your thinking and observations. I fully believe that anyone can have fun and learn from a 365 project, not just photographers!

My January…