Isn’t it crazy that we get to live such beautiful, unique lives? But have you ever thought about the fact that the only real way to remember it and show the proof of it to other people is by documenting it with videos and photos. As you can imagine, as a photographer, I am constantly thinking about whether people are taking the time to document their lives, since it’s part of my job description.

Are you documenting your life? The big moments like birthdays, weddings, travels, family reunions? What about the small everyday moments or even the sad ones? I believe that the moments that don’t seem as significant will be the ones you look back on and cherish the most! They usually tell more of a story of your life at that current moment.

An example I have of this is the photo below on the left! This was the first photo Brett and I took together! Honestly I don’t even know who took it (maybe Kendra) and it was shortly after we became friends. If you would have told either of us that we would end up getting married 8 years later, we would never have believed you. I cherish this photo so so so much! It will be a great way for us to show our future family our love story, which is a part of our legacy.

Trust me, I know it’s not easy remembering to take photos—life is busy! Even I still struggle at it! But here are a few tips I have to be more intentional about documenting your life:

Do a 30-day photo challenge and take a photo of something in your life every single day. This will help create the habit!
Schedule an in-home lifestyle session with a professional photographer. This is an easy way to document and create the special moments that are going on in your life.
Do you have a weekly ritual or routine that you could incorporate taking a photo at the same time? After church, date night, or after an adventure.

Have you ever looked at photos from the Great Depression or any other event in history and thought how fascinating it was to see what life was like during that time?
Time’s like the one we are in with COVID-19 may not seem like photo worthy moments, but when we look back and see how far we have come, we will want those photos to look back on. It’s all part of creating, remembering, and leaving a legacy.

My friend and fellow photographer Emma (Love + Lichens) also realized how important it was to document this crazy time in peoples lives, so we teamed up, along with another local photographer, and started The Street View Project.

The Street View is an honest look into the lives of “Yoopers,” or residents of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, during the novel coronavirus outbreak. Collaboratively through a trio of photographers across Houghton/Keweenaw, Baraga, and Marquette counties, photographs will be taken of various households from the street or edge of the property to practice safe social distancing while still honoring a photojournalistic spirit, documented history as life as we know it has become uncertain and strange. If you are interested in booking your own Street View Session just follow this link for more info!

I hope this post helped to spark some excitement to start documenting more in your life and creating that legacy that lives on for your family to look back on. What are some ways you like to document your life?

Leave A Legacy By Documenting Your Life -- In Photos