4 ways to get the most out of a short personal project

Are long, time consuming personal photography projects too stressful for you?

Do you start out super pumped but after a couple weeks end up falling short?

Consider participating in a short personal project. Something fun and exciting. That’s what I did this summer!

The object of the game is to head out with your camera or mobile phone, searching high and low to try to capture as many as you can.

No, it’s not PokémonGo, it’s the annual Clickin Moms Scavenger Hunt!

Clickin Moms hosts a sun-infused photographic scavenger hunt each summer. This year, hundreds of photographers took part, heading out over the month of July equipped with a shot list of 99 splashy fun-in-the-sun items to find and shoot – and one of them was me! As a first timer, I got my feet wet (literally!) and am already looking forward to doing this again! As we wrap up this year’s event, here are just a few tips I learned about how to get the most out of short personal project like the #ClickinMomsHunt16.

Theresa Ratermann

Bethany

1. It’s a great way to jump start creativity and get you out there shooting.

Feeling like a new project is in order? The shot list is a perfect ready-made foundation for a summer personal project! Whether you pick and choose your shots or try to capture them all, the scavenger hunt provides inspiration for a mix of images that document fun times with family, nature in full bloom and vacation memories. And if you’re like me, you may even want to print an album when you are done!

If you’re not in it for the prizes, there’s no reason why you can’t use the previous year’s list all summer long and aim to capture all those fun days with the kids!

Beth Cagnoni

Megan Arndt

Amy Moisuk

2. Sharing is caring…

Not only do I love sharing my own personal projects with an online community, but I love seeing everyone else’s, too. It’s refreshing to see how others interpret a theme in their project or capture an important time in their life like those warm summer memories.

As much as it is incentive to pick up a personal project for the summer, the scavenger hunt experience really comes to life on social media, where images are shared on Instagram, Facebook and for members, on the photography forum. With contributions from hundreds of photographers around the globe, social media provides a perfect platform to transform the annual event into a huge, collaborative, global group project- one with thousands of images, united by hashtags. Viewed together, the photos give rise to dazzling and diverse imagery of sunny days, gentle rains, warm breezes and moments to cherish with family and friends enjoying lazy, hazy days together. Being a part of that felt really good, and seeing the work my fellow hunters were producing spurred me to keep going!

Kelley

Rishelle Barber

Kelley

Click Away photography conference in Seattle 2016

3. It’s easy!

A one month personal project is much less daunting to tackle that a year long project like a 365. Choosing a shorter project, or even one that doesn’t have a time frame, immediately takes a level of pressure off your shoulders and can allow you to fully enjoy it more.

With the scavenger hunt, the rules are simple: have fun, be creative and play fair. That’s it! The scavenger hunt is an all-inclusive event, anyone with a camera or photo-taking device can take part, just a fun way for everyone from absolute beginners to masters of photography to get inspired and relish the things that make summer most special. There’s no pressure and no expectations, it’s just pure fun.

Nichole Quinn

Kristey Fritz-Martin

Sarah Keene

4. Your kids are going to love it, too!

The real fun comes from opportunities to involve family and friends in the experience. There’s usually no shortage of volunteers willing to help when it comes to shot list prompts like “ice cream shop,” “splash” or “campfire.” Even young children can lend a hand as spotters, pointing out items they find that you may have overlooked. It’s pretty much a sure thing and the proof is in the pictures – a good time will be had by all! Regardless of what personal project you choose to do, involving friends and family, especially kids, is a great way to keep the motivation going.