100 Days of Summer
In May 2018, Jane was 7, Anne was 4, and Sarah and Alice were a year-and-a-half old. Two or three days in a row, I happened to take a photo of the four of them all in the same frame. Previously I had seen a couple of photographer friends chatting about taking on a project called “100 Days of Summer”: the idea was to take a photo every day from Memorial Day to Labor Day (approximately 100 days). Since the serendipity of multiple days in a row making photos with all my girls together coincided with the unofficial beginning of summer, I challenged myself to take on the 100 Days project but to have every day’s image include all four girls.
The photos that started it all: my first three images from Summer 2018.
(Link to full album of the first 100 Days.)
In just a few days, I will begin my fourth summer of this project. I’ve learned a bit along the way and I thought I’d share some of the techniques, lens choices, editing hacks, and other lessons that have helped me through the years.
Five Tips for Tackling a Personal Project
1. You make the rules.
Keep in mind that the scope, parameters, and “rules” of your project are entirely up to you. For me, the only rules I made for myself were that I wanted all four girls in the frame, and I wanted at least one photo taken and edited for each day of the 100 days. I needed to keep it simple and open-ended with clear boundaries, but I also wanted an element that would challenge and grow me as an artist.
2. Plan ahead.
Even if you’re using a documentary/photojournalistic approach with your project, I think it’s a good idea to make a plan for how you’re going to accomplish each element of your project. Planning ahead might mean something as simple as charging your camera batteries the night before if you have somewhere to be (or something interesting to photograph) early the next morning. Or it might mean making a quick, on-site decision about where to position yourself to make the most interesting composition. The main thing to remember is that keeping your project in the forefront of your mind will result in better, more intentional photographs that are likely to make you happier with your work in the long run.
3. Edit right away.
When you’re working with a daily project, the sheer number of photographs to be edited can be overwhelming. Especially if you’re a chronic overshooter like me, getting behind on editing after a couple of days can suddenly make playing catchup a nearly impossible task. I try to make time each evening to quickly edit and post that day’s photo(s). For me, sharing the photos in an album on Facebook keeps me somewhat accountable and not as likely to get behind.
Here’s a tip I read recently: when you go to edit, look at each series of shots from last to first (instead of the order in which you took them.) It’s likely that if you are working out a composition through a sequence of photos, your final shot will have been taken later in the progression rather than earlier. If the last shot you took is the one you love best, then you don’t have to waste any time even looking at previous photos.
4. Give yourself Grace!
If you miss a day, then take two pictures the next day. If you get overwhelmed, then take a break for a few days. If you have a few days in a row where you think your work is all crap, then stop and remember that not every one of these photos needs to go in your portfolio. I might get ten really strong shots out of the entire summer project, but those ten shots are likely ones I would not have gotten at all if I hadn’t been working daily.
5. Print your work
I have a stack of photo books from all the previous summers of the 100 Days project, and my girls love looking through them. I’ve even found that there are lots of photos that I didn’t love as much until I saw and held them printed in my hands. And as you go along, make individual prints of some of your favorite images to frame or hang on your fridge as visual reminders of the value of your work.
If you’re interested in reading my answers to specific questions about my experience with the 100 Days project, check out this Instagram Story highlight.