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Project Life

Storytelling & Memory Keeping

2017 Project 365 – Preparations and Lessons Learnt

by Bronwyn Orsatti
written by Bronwyn Orsatti

Last time I attempted and successfully completedProject 365 was in 2010.  This was my first time in attempting it and I think I got alot out of it. I did it then as my youngest ‘Little Miss’ was only a few months old and I thought it would be fun to capture her first year. That year ended up being a very big year for us as a family .. including the death of my father, the death of our family cat (after a long battle with cancer) and the diagnosis for ‘Little Man’ with Autism and commencement of intensive ABA therapy.

I have since tried and been unsuccessful in attempting to complete Project 365. So I thought that before I started was to reflect on lessons learnt and to get together

Lessons learnt

  1. Don’t make it too hard for yourself – Last time I did it I put additional rules on myself. I wanted to get at least 1 photo of each of my kids a day plus another one if possible.
  2. Take part in challenges. This for me was one of the keys. Look for challenges that can inspire you and give you ideas of topics for photos.  I am still a fan of Fat Mum Slim and recommend also getting her app.
  3. Get involved with communities of people also doing Project 365. They exist in Instagram, Facebook and loads of other places. Get involved. Share your work and be inspired by others.
  4.  Get a photo light tent – trust me .. especially in winter you will find there are just some days when you need to take photos after dark and one of my go-to ideas when I am stuck is to take pictures of everyday items that you use (remember what you use today might not be the same thing … or even type of thing that you will in 12, 24 or 48 months).
  5. Use this as an opportunity to explore your photography. One of the things that I loved about the project was that I was taking so many more photos and just started to experiment more with the settings, light and composure.
  6. Do courses that inspire you to try new things. A couple I would recommend are
    1. Be Your own beloved – I did the Beloved Beginnings Course last year and really enjoyed it. I plan on revisiting that again this year and maybe doing another course. I love this course as to me it doesn’t feel narcissistic but it is more about exploring and feeling more comfortable in your own photos. I am sure that many of you are like me in that you take alot of photos but find that you are not in almost all of them. It is about taking self-portraits in the same way you would a loved one. Highly recommend.
    2. Ali Edwards – Well it is a well known fact I am a AE addict. I love her work and especially her courses.  Courses of hers I would recommend
      1. Lens of Joy. This course runs once a year. I did it in 2016 and really enjoyed it. This is a great course to take if you want to focus more of your photos from storytelling mindset.
      2. Storytelling with Project Life – Project Life can be a great way to share your pictures. I am planning on using either (or both) the Project Life App or Digital Project Life to record my P365 photos.
      3. 31 things (and 31 more things) – I bought this course when it was on sale last year but haven’t done it yet. These are self-paced workshop includes a collection of 31 prompts that invite you to document some”thing” about your life right now via a single photo and words. Some of the topics include: jewellery, conversation, technology, shoes, think, chores, and smell. I am sure that this will provide some great inspiration for days ahead.
      4. Story Kits (Monthly) – I am a subscriber of AE’s monthly kits. I find that each month I get alot of inspiration from the themes and I am sure that they will both help provide inspiration for photos and a great way to record them.
      5. Week in the Life/Day in the Life – There are courses that go with both of these or you can just do them on your own (and get inspiration from Ali’s blog.
  7. Don’t forget to also tell your story with some of the photos. Project 365 can be a fantastic resource for those of you that like memory keeping or scrapbooking or Project 52. Just remember that while pictures do tell 100o words .. this only multiplies when you have some written context surrounding them.
  8. Share your photos and build it into a schedule. If you get into the habit of sharing your work and turn it into a habit. This will make it easier to remember when you get busy during the year.
  9. BIG LESSONS – Forgive yourself if you miss a day or 2. The best thing about this project is it as a whole. There are going to be days you will miss but don’t use them as an excuse not to move forward.

Preparations

So to get myself ready I have

  1. My favourite camera – OMD-5
  2. Small Waterproof camera – Waterproof cameras are just great to have in your handbag. They are waterproof, dustproof, kids proof and extremely handy to just have in all situations
  3. Phone – I will be getting a new phone in the new year. I am either going to get a iPhone 7 or iPhone 7 Plus. Not sure which just yet. Some of the apps I will use will include
    1. Instagram
    2. Project Life
    3. Prisma – my favourite photo effects app
    4. Letterglow – great for importing your own digital stamps
    5. Dropbox
  4. Adobe Photography Subscription – I use everyday Photoshop, Lightroom and Adobe Bridge (for my scrapbooking bits and PSD files)
  5. RADLab – This would have to be my favourite photo-effects set. I learnt about this during the AE Lens of Joy class.
  6. Challenge lists – Fat Mum Slim to start with.
  7. Last minute list (will post about later) … for those times when it is late at night and I don’t want to miss a day .. trust me you will have those days.
  8. Photo Light tent
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Digital ScrapbookingStorytelling & Memory Keeping

Project Life Digital – Freebies Are Out There ..

by Bronwyn Orsatti
written by Bronwyn Orsatti

One of the great things about digital scrapbooking is that you don’t have to look too hard to find samples and freebies  out there. They can be a great way to get started, try designers and build up your stash … and for Project Life as this year it has  has been very popular within the digital scrapbooking community and many designers have done papers and elements that can help you get started on your Digital Project Life journey.

Here is a list of some of the ones that I have found out there that are worth looking at for your stash. Keep reading as I will be sharing more samples and freebies … as well as lots more tips and tricks for getting the most out of Digitial Project Life.

  1. Becky Higgins Freebies – http://www.beckyhiggins.com/freestuff/
    • Digital Grid Journalling Card
    • Simplify – The importance of simplicity
    • Life Quote Cards
    • Binder Labels
    • Doors of Tallinn
    • Fonts – Becky’s Font and CK Jot
  2. Third Party Project Life Freebies

What do you think about the freebies? Do you have a favourite? Am I missing Anything? Do you want to share some of your creations …

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Mobile Memory KeepingProject Life and Project 365Storytelling & Memory Keeping

How to do Project 365 and how do I do it with Instagram?

by Bronwyn Orsatti
written by Bronwyn Orsatti

Since starting doing my contemplations and preparations for my 2012 Project 365  I have had a few questions on what it is Project 365 is and how to get it to work with Instagram … I thought that this was a perfect opportunity for a post 🙂

What is Project 365 (P365)?

Project 365 is actually really simple … it is just the act and self-discipline of taking one photo a day for a whole year. It can really be that simple. But like many things that seem really simple … they don’t often end up being necessarily easy. I completed it in 2010 and really enjoyed it. LittleMiss was only a couple of months hold and LittleMan had just turned 2. My project in 2010 was alittle more complicated (but that was entirely my choice). I wanted to take 1 photo a day my two children. It made it harder (and trust me there are a few photos of them in bed at night asleep when I had gone … “bugger I have forgotten to take the photo” … and raced into their bedroom before the midnight cut off) … but also incredibly rewarding. I have so many pictures and you can really see how they change and grow over the year … especially with LittleMiss when they change so much in the first year. It was hard work (and I only missed 6 days) but the reward was worth it in the end.

But how does Project 365 relate to Instagram?

Well … my first tip for anyone thinking about doing Project 365 is to always have your camera with you at all times. If you don’t be prepared for Murphy’s Law to strick with a vengenance … at just the moment you think you could take the best photo you won’t have your camera. This is where your Phone and Instagram comes in. Most people take their phones everywhere and even compared to a few years ago the cameras in phones have improved incredibly. I am not saying that they are the same as a DSLR but most new cameras on the market have a 8MP camera. That is pretty darn good for a phone if you ask me.  So it makes it just perfect for Project 365.

While there are many phone photography apps out there. I think that Instagram is the best and has risen to be the most popular photography app for the iPhone (and I think android market). I have a few photography apps on my phone but I would have to say that Instagram is my favourite … and I use it everywhere. I love the filters it has, I love its sharing and community, I love how easy it is to share with Facebook and Twitter … and also update on my blog. For me it is great. So for doing Project 365 where I have my phone with me all the time and I enjoy using Instagram it just seemed to make sense.

But is that all there is to Project 365 and Instagram … taking a photo each day?

Well it can be. That is one of the things I love about Project 365 is that you can make it really anything you want it to be. However for me the 2 things I like to get out of it are … improving my photography (and that is why I will be taking some photos with my ‘normal’ camera) and sharing with others.

The sharing component with Instagram is one of the reasons I want to do Project 365 using that app and one of the easiest things you can do is use the hashtags to be able to share you photos with others (including those that you don’t know … yet). People who are familar with twitter will know all about hashtags and they work in the same way.

A hashtag is a “symbol” (or code) that allows web search engines to find and categorize messages, keywords and in the case of Instagram, pictures. For instance, if you type #cat or #cats in the subject or comment on  one of your pictures, any user anywhere in the world looking for “cat” or “cats” will easily find your picture and others user’s pictures using the same #keyword

So for Project 365 I use the following hashtags – #project365 , #p365 , and #Instagramp365

So how do I use hashtags?

You can use hashtags in every in the following ways

  • With your Instagram User name – Not a huge fan of this method but it can work for some
  •  With the Subject of a picture: – Add a name or a description to each one of your pictures. For example

Pic of my #cat called Ginger in the #garden – #project365 #p365 #instagramp365

The idea here is not to tag every single word, only the most relevant and important. Adding a hashtag on your cat called Kitty is probably not very relevant for searches; it would be better to add keywords such as #pet or #pets.

  •  With the comment of a picture: – I often use this one as I like to pick which picture of mine at the end of the day is my ‘pic of the day’. So I use the comment for my hashtags.

What else can I do with Project 365?

For me I like to do a few things with my Project 365 photos … here are some ideas on how you can make the most of the photos that you collect.

Other places to share

There are many options for what you can do with your project 365 photos and ways to share. Here are a few I know of and (most I have tried)

  • Flickr
    • Check out the Project 365 group on Flickr. It is a great community of people to share photos with and get some inspiration. Here you will also find some old hands who have done it for several years.
    • Let’s Do 52 – This is a group from the Photographer and Photoshop Action and Textures Designer Paint the Moon. This is a great group of people that like to take their photos from their camera and do some additional edits to take them to the next level. Might not necessarily be the best with the Instagram photos but a great way to enjoy P365 in a slightly different way
  • 365Project.org – I have only just found this. It looks like a nice community of people sharing their photos, ideas etc

Other Apps I can use

There are alot of photography apps out in the market and a few Project 365 specific apps. Here are some I use

  • Hipstamatic – My 2nd favourite photography app. I have lots of fun with all the different options and combinations … sometimes I use Hipstamatic to take the photos and edit … and then use Instagram for the share.
  • Pudding Camera – A friend on mine recommended this app for me to try. It is a bit out there as all the instructions are in Korean (I think) … but like Hipster it looks very interesting … so it is worth a mention
  • Project 365 Remember Your Year One Photo At A Time – (watch out there are 2 with the same name … the one I like has the camera as part of the logo. Not the one with the yellow background)  I have only just downloaded this app. It costs $0.99 and it is worth it. Great way to collect your photos in one place and see them from a calendar perspective, has a reminder to alert you to take a photo (I set mine to 1pm … so plenty of time to remember) and also can share via email, facebook, twitter and flickr.
  • Flickr app – This is a great way to keep up with what your friends are doing and see your own photos on Flickr
  • Tweegram – I have only found this one as well but I am really liking it. If you want to put a message on Instagram .. here you can. And if you get the premium version you can also add a photo (see the featured image foran example)

Scrapbooking Project 365

Project 365 is very popular within the scrapbooking community. Here are a couple of designers that have some cool things you can use to enhance your Project 365 photos

  • Biograffiti – She has some wonderful templates from her 2010 project. However they are easily updated for any year. You can buy her templates as part of her ‘Buy her Store’ Offer for $25. Just the project 365 component involves over 100 templates and all the dates and bits and pieces you need to do your project. If you want to scrap it .. it is the easiest (and now very cheap way to do it)
  • Kate Hadfield – She has some cool bits and pieces … including a couple of free templates from when she did it last year. But I also think some of her doodles are essentail for a P365 scrapbook album 🙂

I hope that this has been helpful … and if you are doing Project 365 (or Project 366 this year) … Project 52 (just one photo a week) … Please let me know. I would love to see what you are doing… Also if you any other apps, tips or tricks you think are useful I would love to hear … Good luck in 2012.

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