Finding Time For Photography When You Feel You Have No Time At All

Oh, how I hear you mama.  You feel like every minute of the day is planned and filled even before you step out of bed in the morning.  You feel like squeezing in a little time for yourself is a stretch, let alone making time for photography.  And while it seems like finding time for photography is a struggle, the idea of not photographing our kids and these little moments of our everyday is heartbreaking.  Our little ones are only little for a short while (a repetitive phrase we hear constantly) and it is more important than ever that we really implement ways for finding time for photography as much as we can.  The effort we put in today to photograph will make us so grateful in the years ahead, as we savor our everyday images.

But how on earth do we do that?  How do we make the time?  Lord knows it would be a blessing to add a 25th hour to the day, but I have been praying on that one for awhile now and…nope.  Finding time for photography starts with being intentional.

Last January we welcomed our second baby girl into our family, making me a mama to a 20 month old and a newborn.  The 12 months that made up 2018 were crazy, beautiful, stressful, irreplaceable, and busy!  And while most days found me feeling like I was eating oreos while brushing my teeth, I ended the year with over 1,100+ final edited images of my family.  I don’t tell you this to brag or to say, “Look what I did!  Cheer for me!”  I say this to tell you that, if you are intentional about finding time for photography, you can do it.  I promise you.  It is possible.  It’s not about praying for a 25th hour of the day, but it is about learning how to use the 24 that you already have and building photography into your everyday.

Do you set goals for yourself?  It could help you when finding time for photography!  See what goals I set daily, weekly and monthly to make time for myself, while being a mama!

Finding Time For Photography When You Feel You Have No Time At All

Build It Into Your Everyday

One of the biggest ways that I manage to still photograph my family while having two very young children is to simply build photography into my everyday.  If we are outside riding bikes, I will intentionally bring my camera.  I will bring my camera to the park with us or bring it into the girls playroom to photograph while they play.  My photography is very family based so I try to just incorporate my photography into whatever we are doing in the moment.

Read The Everyday Photograph

The concept of everyday photography is a beast!  So much so that I wrote an entire book about how to photograph your everyday and create beautiful images out of ordinary events.  If you haven’t read The Everyday Photograph: The Art of Seeing Beauty In Ordinary Moments, it’s a must read for learning about everyday photography.  Not only does it help you to see your surroundings in a different way, but it helps you to capture them with your camera.  Plus, everyone is really excited to watch my editing videos and this includes a 1-hour video to see how I edit!

Keep Your Camera Out

When finding time for photography, one of the most simple things you can do is make your camera available at all times.  Whether this is keeping it on the kitchen counter or on a coffee table, make sure that your camera has a home where it always sits.  This will help when spontaneous, photographable moments happen throughout your day.  Instead of stumbling over yourself, trying to find your camera, you can quickly grab it and snap a few pictures.  Like during lunchtime, when the light is just right and your little one has their oh so precious elbows propped on the table, enjoying a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  If my camera was stuck in a camera bag somewhere, I would have missed this simple everyday moment that takes me back to singing the peanut butter and jelly song with my toddler everyday during lunchtime.

Aim for A Monthly Project

I definitely don’t pick up my camera every single day.  In fact, there are weeks that go by without picking it up because life can be busy.  To ensure that too much time doesn’t go by unphotographed, I make it a monthly goal to do one session with my girls each month.  Each month, I do a short sister session with them and use it as an opportunity to write a little monthly letter to them.  This accomplishes two things: documenting my kids through photography and documenting their childhood in writing.  And it also reduces the guilt, if I haven’t had time to photography lately.  No matter what happens throughout the month, I know that I at least have one session with my kids to photograph this chapter in their lives.  And once a month is super manageable, right!?

Let Your Family See It’s Importance

Honestly, just be honest with your family.  You would be amazed with how much honesty brings results.  If you simply tell your family how much photography means to you, they can help you with finding time for photography.  Maybe this means reminding you to grab your camera when heading out on a family item, or maybe this means helping you scramble the kids together for a quick photo before church.  If your family knows how much your photography means to you, they can support and encourage you.

Finding time for photography can really seem like a struggle, with all of the hats we wear as mamas.  But remember, one of our most important hats is being a documentarian.  It’s important that we photograph these little moments with our family because, if we don’t do it, it will not get done.  Being really intentional about photography today will make you a very grateful mama tomorrow, as you look back on years of family yearbooks that contain irreplaceable candids of your everyday.

To read more about our everyday to inspire your own everyday and photography, be sure to check out the posts that are trending below.

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