Summer’s Photo Bucket List - The Top 5

For me, summer is like a movie. Memorial Day hooks you with the promise of long, fun-filled days in the sun and reuniting with friends. Plots and subplots play out week by week with activities, travel, and reunions. All leading to a rush of precious moments in the suddenly waning days before the curtain comes down on Labor Day. And like a good movie, I often think back on the experience throughout the year until the next summer rolls around.

Photos are a natural way to make your summers a richer, sharper memory, and even though we’re in the last act, you still have time to add some critical details, fill in open-ended story lines, and make sure that everyone and everything is accounted for.

So here are the top 5 entries in my Summer Photo Bucket List:

Home away from home - If you have a regular summer hangout - beach cabin, camp, RV, club, summer school, back yard, whatever - make a photo story of the place. The stuff you saw so often that you stopped seeing it. Having a picture of it in the dead of winter will take you back. Having a picture of it in 20 years is priceless.

The way we were - Selfies are all well and good - well, most selfies - but we love people more for how they are than how they smile. Get those shots of close friends and family doing what they naturally do. Reading, cooking, just hanging out, walking the dog. Contrary to popular belief, people don’t have to be looking right at the camera to make a great portrait or memorable photo.

Family Portraits - Yes. This sounds contradictory to #2, but we’re talking about a professional portrait here, not all your besties taken with a self-timer. A great portrait photographer is like a great chef. They can take every day ingredients and create something extraordinary. Treat yourself. This year more than ever. It can make a wonderful (and fun) climax to your summer’s story. Works with friends and special events too.

Stuff you saw - Photos are how we see the world. If it made you smile or stare, it’s fair game. Think of it as your visual diary. A shot that whisks you back to the moment you took it or makes you ponder something again and again. They may seem dated and irrelevant over time, but that’s okay. You will be surprised to find that one day they refresh your memories in profound and delightful ways.

Marking Time - Summertime is a pause of sorts, a time to explore, reflect, and ignore the “real world” for a bit. But the real world goes on, and the end of summer often means a transition of some kind. Moving to a new home. A child off to college. Newlyweds starting a family. The details of daily life from who’s around now to what new thing we’re doing. There’s a before and after that you can capture in photos like the pencil marks on a doorframe where your kids grew up.

So from anticipation to reflection, summer is a wonderful time to pay more attention to your photography. Be thoughtful and deliberate about it and you will get some gems you’ll treasure for years to come.