Annual Photo Memory Books

 

It’s been eleven years now since Ryan and began our annual tradition of having a fall photo shoot. We had just gotten engaged and planning our photo shoot felt like the first “real” thing I did as a bride.

            We actually had two separate photo shoots. The first was at Matter Park in Marion – a place that became so dear to us over the years we lived in that city. Ryan’s mom took the pictures for us, and we had the best time scampering all over the park, finding the best of the changing leaves and golden hour before it grew too dark to continue. A few days later, we took a few more pictures at the cabin where Ryan’s mom and Allen lived for the last decade of their lives.

            I loved that photo shoot, and we still have a couple of pictures hanging in our home that came from that very day.

            From that year forward, every fall, we’ve had photos taken. We’ve landed in a variety of cities, towns, parks, fields, and even our own backyard! We’ve worked with a handful of photographers. I’ve had probably as many haircuts and colors as years of photography!

            Each year is a story. Each year is a memory. And each year supplies us with our Christmas card photo(s).

            I make a spread of our favorite photos from each year to include in our chronological photo albums, but I realized this week that I should make a little album of each of those photo shoots, highlighting the fuller spectrum of the photos taken. After all, the photographers have given us a rich gift in capturing our smiles, our love, and our personalities. It would be a grand delight to be able to see their work on display in little books.

            While I work on this project, I thought I would share the idea with you, along with these reminders:

·         Fall is a great time to take annual pictures, but it’s not the only time. Winter can make an equally stunning backdrop…as can spring…and summer! Pick a season and run with it.

·         Even if you don’t have kids – and even if you’re single! – you still can qualify for a photo shoot. When we went to our friend Jamie’s wedding last weekend, I loved it that their wedding video included photos of her from photo shoots throughout her single years. I was so proud of her for choosing to have photo shoots even on her own.

·         Keeping a quick bullet list of the year, the location, the photographer, and anything else that was particularly meaningful about that photo session could be really helpful down the road when memory fades and you wonder about the details.

Happy photo sessions, friends! I encourage you to make the memories and then preserve them for years to come!