March Photo A Day 2014: Get your glad rags on, it’s time to have fun

Hey you.

How has your year been so far? Mine has been running away from me, and I’ve been desperately trying to catch up to it. THIS week will the week that I find my feet. Has it been running away from you too?

THIS month, will be the month that I take my best photos. I’m promising myself that. I want to put my creative hat back on. Stress and busyiness is the worst thing for creative people, so I’m hoping to throw those out the window. Stress is out, creativity is back in.

Before I get to the list, I wanted to update you on the App. It’s amazing guys. I couldn’t have dreamed for it to be so beautiful. SO beautiful. And the features are so so so so cool. I can’t wait to share it with you. At this stage we’re looking at May to launch it. We’ve just finished all the designs and March will be the month that development starts. If you want to be one of the first to see it, to be able to download or hear news of it’s release, sign up here to get emails.

Now the list. This month is just SO much fun. Natala, the uber talented sod behind Ma and Grandy has designed this list, and it’s just ace. She has an online store filled with beautiful cards and homewares that you just won’t be able to resist buying {sorry Paypal account}.

Without further ado, here’s the fun, fun, fun list. Awesome, right?

I hope you’ll play along. If you’re new to this thing, everything you need to know to play along is below…

HOW TO PLAY PHOTO A DAY

Playing photo-a-day couldn’t be easier. It really couldn’t. Here’s how to play:
♥ Grab your camera or phone or photo-taking-device.
♥ Look at the monthly list to find the prompt for the day. {The number corresponds to the date of the month}.
♥ Take a photo using the prompt as inspiration. So for March the prompt for day 1 is ‘yellow’. So take a photo of something yellow. Colour prompts are my favourite, it’s fun to see all the photos in the hashtag turn yellow.
♥ Now you’ve taken a picture, it’s time to share it. This is the fun part. You can share to whichever social media platform you like, for me I like Facebook and Instagram best, oh and Twitter too. Make sure you add the hashtag #FMSphotoaday to your caption so people can find you, and others know what you’re doing.

If you’re sharing on Facebook, you might like to join our Facebook group. It’s a big, lovable community of photo-taking-people. Click here to find it.
♥ Now you’ve shared, check out other people’s photos. You can check out the #FMSphotoaday hashtag on Instagram or Twitter to find them all. OR look at the Facebook group. It’s nice to comment and get to know other photo-takers too. We’re a friendly bunch.

WHERE TO PLAY

I’ve touched on this above, but there are loads of places for you to upload your photo-a-day photos. Here’s a bit more details:

♥ Instagram: Just upload your photo, and add a caption and the hashtag #FMSphotoaday and then share.
♥ Facebook: There are a few options here. You can simply share on your own personal page, among your own friends. Or you can upload to my page’s wall, or to the FMS Photo A Day Facebook group. You can join it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/FMSphotoaday/ Now that Facebook has hashtags, simply add the hashtag #FMSphotoaday when you share your photos and you’ll be able to see which of your friends are playing along too. It’s cool!
♥ Blog: If you have a blog, you could share each day or do a wrap up of all the photos at the end of the month.
♥ Tumblr: Add your daily photos to your Tumblr feed.
♥ Flickr: You can get their app and share your photos there, or upload on their web version. We also have a photo a day group here.
♥ Twitter: You can share on Twitter by uploading the photo and sharing the hashtag #FMSphotoaday.

HOW TO REMEMBER THE PROMPTS EASILY

I know it can be hard for people to remember to do photo-a-day each day, particularly for those just starting out. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so stick at it. Until then we have have these tips:
♥ Come back here each day and click the button on the right-hand side to check out the list.
♥ Right-click on the list above and save it to your desktop. Or if you’re on your phone you could take a screenshot and save it as your wallpaper. {To screenshot click the power button and home button at the same time}.
♥ The lovely Doug has created prompts for us that we can download straight into our calendar, so we won’t forget. Just click on the below to get them in your phone. They’ll be ready on March 1st, so pop back then {or if you get the download now it will give you February’s prompts and automatically download the March prompts for you too when they’re available}. {If they don’t work, try copying the link and pasting it into your browser}.

To subscribe on iPhone/iPad/Android/Mac:
http://bit.ly/15KFbZw

To view on the web:
http://bit.ly/16Tad4H

WHAT’S THE FAB FOUR?

Each day I spend some time scrolling through the photos shared on Instagram and Facebook, selecting four from each platform to put a bit of a spotlight on. The Fab Four isn’t a competition. There is no prize. It’s just a way to share some of the awesome photos being shared for Photo A Day.

On Instagram I’ll be sharing selecting the Fab Four with the lovely Nicole {@nicoledamario}. We’ll write ‘selected by’ with our username so you know who has selected which Fab Four for the day.

Over on Facebook the lovely admins of the Facebook group select the Fab Four each day. You can find it pinned to the top of the group. The admins are Leesa, Barbara, Sarah, Kim and Natalie.

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT THE PROMPTS

The prompts really are up to your own interpretation. Don’t feel like you have to follow any rules. Do as you please. Some people like to know what I’m thinking when I create the prompt, so below is just a suggestion:

1. YELLOW: Take a photo of something yellow: the sun, a banana, a sign, your favourite t-shirt…
2. SOMETHING BORROWED: Is there something you’ve borrowed? Take a photo of it. It could be a cup of sugar, a toy, a book, anything!
3. MY NAME IS…: This is fun. This is when we get to know each other. Share your name. Write it. Take a photo of a name tag. Get creative.
4. ON MY MIND: What’s on your mind today? Is it that huge pile of washing begging to be washed? Is it a project at work that needs finishing? Is it your beautiful children? Share it.
5. SOMETHING BEGINNING WITH i: Take a photo of anything starting with the letter i.
6. CHAIR Find a chair and take a photo. Think outside your dining room perhaps – a park bench, a funky one at your local store, one at a friends house.
7. FLY: Snap a plane in the sky, a bird flying by, or an insect with wings.
8. IN THE CORNER: What’s in the corner? Take a photo of something in a corner {I love these prompts because you start seeing things in corners you didn’t know existed – spider webs, plants…}
9. 10AM: Whatever is happening at 10am today, we want to see it. Share it.
10. FAR AWAY: Take a photo of something in the distance, or something else far away.
11. SOMETHING GOOD: Put your positive hat on. What’s something good in your life right now. Share it. Feel the warm and fuzzy already?
12. PARTIAL: Take a photo of something, but just part of it. This might be a good one to explore negative space.
13. FRESH: What comes to your mind when you read the word fresh? Is it the morning air? Food-related? Share it.
14. CARE: This could be a photo representing care, someone you care about, the way you like to be cared for…
15. EVENING: As the sun starts to go down, and you go about your day, snap a photo and share it. We want to know what you’re doing on this evening.
16. BEAUTIFULLY ORDINARY: You know when you see things everyday you often stop seeing how beautiful they are. For example, a flower out in your garden, or the smile on your best friend’s face, or an artwork hanging in your home. Just anything beautiful.
17. TODAY’S WEATHER: Rain, hail or shine – share a photo!
18. FIVE YEARS AGO: What were you doing five years ago? Share an old photo! Or something else that represents what you were doing five years ago.
19. CROPPED: This is our photography prompt for the month. I’ll share a post later in the month.
20. LETTER: It could be a handwritten letter, or a letter of the alphabet.
21. FULL: Is your cup half full? Or really full? Share a photo of full.
22. MORNING: Share how you’re spending your morning today.
23. I’M LOVING: What you loving right now? Share a photo.
24. ONE OF A KIND: What’s something you see today that is like no other? Put your thinking cap on buddy.
25. SOFT: Take a photo of something soft.
26. I AM HERE: Where will you go? Share a photo.
27: SOMETHING I MADE: Dinner, a craft, a child, something most excellent? Share it.
28. NOSTALGIA: What makes you feel nostalgic? An old photo? What brings back memories for you?
29. STICKY: I immediately think of honey dripping from a spoon. What do you think of?
30. FAST: How can you share fast in a photo? A car whizzing by. Experiment with your camera. Sometimes blur works great for this one {move your camera as you’re taking the photo}.
31. FAUX: Share something not real. A piece of fake fruit. A fake plant. A cheap necklace.

Happy photo-taking. x