I love to shoot photos, yet I often find myself in a rut. I shoot the same pictures. I capture the same expressions. I have many years of similar photos. But they capture a moment in time and for that I’m grateful.
I have to really work to step outside my box, but when I do – I’m never left disappointed. Some of those outside the box photos are my very favorite images. But it’s easy to fall back into what’s comfortable in photography. Many times I’ve given myself photo projects to give motivation to my shooting. Sometimes they’re small projects and can be completed relatively easy – other times I get a quarter through the project and ask myself what in the world was I thinking. Cannon’s first year photos are some of my very favorite images but more than a couple times I was willing to throw in the towel because I was tired and didn’t want to shoot. But the need to finish superseded my wanting to stop. I cherish the finished project.
I was ready to step out of comfort zone just a little recently and set a goal to shoot more video. Not like the home videos you might remember from your youth – the five minutes solid of you twirling in the living room over and over again. Instead, I set a goal to shoot a second or two every day – enough to tell a short story. Sometimes it was at the end of the day when I remembered I still needed footage, but I got it in! Some days I had several small clips and I chose which one fit best (typically based on who was in the clip – It made me realize who is more willing to be in front of the camera!) other days, I had just one.
But I made it 31 days and not only do I love it – my kids love it and have already watched it over and over again. And then the thought occurred to me, could I really do this for a year? I’m not sure if I can handle a daily project. But I’ll try it out another month and see how it goes. Who knows!
Never before have video cameras been more accessible to us – could you shoot for just one second for a whole month? A year?
This is so great! Such an awesome idea! Compiling all the videos I’ve taken of our life on my phone seems daunting but for some reason this doesn’t. Imagine what a whole year could look like and how special that would be to have? What program did you use to put them all together? (And kudos to getting yourself in there, too 😉
Sorry, Kara, I can’t open it. Sooooo sad!
Yea! It finally opened. What a wonderful idea. Loved spending 30 seconds with your family. Love you all!!!
Oh please please please tell me… did you record on your phone or on your camera?
Also, what program did you use to put it together!
What a fantastic idea!!!
I didn’t use my phone camera (although there was a clip from my husband’s phone). I use my DSLR camera. I put them together using iMovie. I store all of my videos in lightroom and exported them edited to the length I wanted each clip. I imported them into iMovie in order and didn’t even put transitions in between the clips. It went way faster than I originally anticipated – hardly any editing – except getting the clip to length. I’m currently doing it for February and going strong!
Love this!!!! How did you put all the videos together, I’m hoping to find an easy way to do this . You inspired me to take video
I put them together using iMovie – which sounds way more time consuming than it was. I store all of my videos in lightroom and exported them edited to the length I wanted each clip. I imported them into iMovie in order and didn’t even put transitions in between the clips. It was really an easy process.
Hi Kara! Long time reader. Love the idea and video. I started doing the same this year. I’m not sure if you knew but there is an app called 1 second everyday that helps you do the same this. It can send you reminders and makes the process so easy. Might make it more achievable for an entire year. ?
I haven’t heard of that app but I would love to look it up. My phone is like those google commercials where the phone is always running out of space…like all the time. So I don’t a lot of recording on my phone, most of it is done on my DSLR camera. But it would be fun to have my kids do their own version of the video!
Love this. Are you filming with your phone? What did you program did you use to put it together and add the cute music?
What program did you use to compile this! I love the idea. Still frames are powerful, but watching our kids glance in our direction with that slow smile that is only their own…that’s priceless. Love all you are doing!
haha! Next time I need to read the other comments first! Hope you are doing well my friend!