When I was thinking about the May challenge, I kept coming back to the N*SYNC song, “It’s gonna be ME!” and I couldn’t get it out of my head.
And now you might be stuck with it in your head too, and you’re welcome. 😉
So I thought, and maybe I had too much spare time while I was on holidays in Bali, that we could turn the May photo challenge into a month of ME. And by ‘me’ I mean YOU, of course.
So the May photo a day challenge is all about sharing a little bit more about you. Each day you can finish the prompt, and share a little more. Fun right?
MAY REEL CHALLENGE
I had a meeting with Meta/Instagram this week, and it was really insightful. As much as us photo-takers might feel dismayed by it, reels really are the way forward on Instagram, and I thought why not embrace it with this challenge.
Reels don’t have to be lip-syncing and dancing videos, and that was confirmed by my talks with Meta. They prefer really simple videos over highly-edited professional videos, so that means people like you and I have a great opportunity to have some fun with it.
Instead of complicated videos, think 6-second snapshots of your life. Are you up for it? At the bottom of this post, I am going to share some ideas for reel, including some audio suggestions, to really nudge you to get creative.
I would love if you joined me. You don’t need to do everyday. You can pick the ones that work for you. You could do a mix of video and photos. The idea is that you just have fun, and that’s what I plan to do.
HOW TO PLAY PHOTO A DAY
+ To play on Instagram, simply check out the list for the daily prompt, and then snap a photo using that as inspiration. Share the photo to your feed and include the hashtag #FMSPAD in your caption. We also have daily hashtags to find photos better {see below}. Over on our @fms.photoaday Instagram account, we love showing off photos from our community. You can look at the #FMSPAD hashtag to see all the great photos from our community.
+ To play on Facebook, you can share to your personal feed, or jump over and join our private Photo A Day Facebook group and share there.
We have a beautiful bunch of moderators in our Facebook group who select the photos from each day to highlight and give a little extra love in the community. It’s a fun, friendly place to get involved.
HOW TO REMEMBER THE DAILY PROMPTS
+ To make things easier, you can download the prompts automatically into your phone or PC calendar. For Smartphones & Mac Calendar, click here. For HTML for web viewing, click here.
+ You can also save the list as your screensaver or save it to your camera roll.
A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE PROMPTS
The idea for this monthly challenge is quite simple, just finish the sentence in whatever way feels right for you. You may need to pick photos/video from the archives, and that’s absolutely OK.
1. I AM…
Share a little about yourself. You might like to share a photo of you (current or old) and 5 things about yourself. Your likes, your dislikes, and anything interesting you think we should know.
REEL IDEA: Share a short video, or series of photos, of you, and then some interesting facts/bits about you in the caption. I love this Instagram audio (Jay Z) for this post, and the reel is a great little inspiration too.
2. I HELD THIS…
You might have held your partner’s hand at your wedding, your baby’s hand after they were born, a trophy the you won, a vacuum as you cleaned the floors, a graduation cap… it can be a big achievement, or even a relatable everyday moment (holding the leash of your family pet).
REEL IDEA: Hold the hand of someone you adore, and use this audio.
3. I WALKED HERE…
Oh the places you could go, or have been! Don’t overthink this one, because people love traveling the world through photos. You may have walked your streets millions of times, but a person on the other side of the world has never seen what you see. Share a photo of where you have walked. Or if you’ve visited somewhere beautiful in the past, dig through the archives for an old photo and share where you’ve been.
REEL IDEA: A short video of a beautiful (or not beautiful, real works!) view from somewhere you walk. I made this video, and think it would work really well with this prompt.
4. I FEEL…
This could be a check-in, how you’re feeling right now… or you could share more on a topic you feel really passionate about.
REEL IDEA: Share a video capturing how you’re feeling. This audio is a great option. I also like this one.
5. I SAW…
Share a photo of something you saw today, or something you’ve seen in the past that you remember fondly.
REEL IDEA: Create a short video of a view you saw today or something you’ve seen in the past.
6. I LOVE…
Share a photo of something you love. A person, an object, a feeling… you get the drift.
REEL IDEA: You can share a video of something you love. Some people REALLY love their morning coffee. It could be your child, your partner, a clean laundry, a book you’re reading. This audio would be a great fit. Or this one too!
7. I LIKE TO EAT…
What’s your favourite thing to eat? It could be a restaurant, or something you make at home.
REEL IDEA: Shoot a video of your favourite food, or maybe a series of small videos compiled together of delicious things you’ve eaten. A good idea is to slow the speed down on the video to make it really feel delicious! This audio is SUPER fun, and would work well!
8. I HAVE…
There are so many ways to answer this! You could be sharing how many pets you have, how many kids you have, or share a collection that you have.
REEL IDEA: I love this audio to go with what you answer this one with.
9. I READ THIS…
Share a book that you’re currently reading, or even books that changed your life.
REEL: Share books you loved/love using this audio.
10. I STOOD HERE…
Where have you stood? Can you go somewhere beautiful today and stand there? Feel free to dig into the archives and share somewhere you’ve been in the past that would be interesting to share.
REEL: Take a short video of where you stood, and what you saw, and use a audio like this to give it a vibe.
11. I WORK HERE…
Share a photo of where you work – I love seeing where people work.
REEL: Share where you work using this audio.
12. I LIKE TO…
What’s something you like to do. Share it in a photo.
REEL: Share a video of a handful of things you like to do. This audio would work perfectly.
13. ON WEEKENDS I…
How do you spend weekends? Mine are usually at weekend sports. Share how you spend yours.
REEL: A video like this with tiny snippets of your weekend (and it doesn’t have to look this stylish) is a great way to capture this prompt.
14. I LOVE THIS VIEW…
What’s your favourite view? I love watching my husband cooking, my kids playing, sweet babies smiling, the sun rising. Share a really short video of your favourite view.
REEL IDEA: If you love a view with water, this audio/video idea would work well.
15. I KNOW…
Share a photo of something you know. This might be challenging, so you can make the caption what you know, and the photo can be more generic.
REEL: Share a video of something you know with this trending audio. Or this one is great too.
6. I CREATE…
Share something that you’ve created or create on a daily basis.
REEL IDEA: Share a video of something you made – it could be as simple as your breakfast – or as complex as a masterpiece! This audio is a fun way to show this one.
17. I BOUGHT…
Share something you recently bought, or have bought in the past.
REEL: This video is a super fun way to share something you bought.
18. I LOVE THIS TIME OF DAY…
What’s your favourite time of day – I love mornings. Share yours in a photo.
REEL: Share a photo of your favourite time of day. A beautiful sunset, or sunrise, would work well. This audio is fun for this prompt.
19. I LIKE TO DRINK…
Whether it’s alcoholic or a coffee (mine is boring; water!), share yours.
REEL: This audio is perfect to team with your drink of choice.
20. I DON’T LIKE TO…
I don’t like to put the quilt in the quilt cover, or fold laundry, amongst many other things. What don’t you like? Share it in a photo or video.
REEL: Create a video of something you don’t like to do. (That could be saying goodbye, doing the laundry, working, replying to emails, making dinner). This audio will work well. You can share a video of you, like in the example and add text to share what you dislike.
21. I WENT TO…
Share a photo/video of somewhere you’ve been to. You could share where you went today, or even where you have been in the past.
REEL: Use this reel idea as inspiration to share where you went. This one is great too (and fun!).
22. ON MONDAYS I…
What do your Mondays look like? Share them in a photo or video.
REEL: Share a series of photos of things you do one Mondays – catch the train, open your laptop, buy a coffee, do the laundry, whatever – and this audio will work well.
23. I ONCE…
What’s something you once did? Perhaps it’s a big achievement, a wedding, a work win, a graduation, giving birth, or as simple as walking on the beach, eating a taco. This one could be anything!
REEL: Use this audio to share somewhere you’ve been. Or this audio to share something you did in the past (place video and then text over the top of something you’ve achieved).
24. I SAT HERE…
Where is somewhere you sat? In cafe, at your desk, on a bench in a park?
REEL: Use this audio and tips to create an upbeat video of somewhere you sat.
25. I CAN…
What’s your secret talent? Can you juggle? Dance? Paint? Cook? Show us!
REEL: Share a video of something clever you can do. I can clean a kitchen in under 5 minutes. A before and after would work well. Or maybe you can do magic tricks. This simple audio feels confident and suitable.
26. I CAN’T…
People love to connect over common things they can’t do – because perfection sucks – so share what you can’t do.
REEL: Share a video of things you can’t do, and you trying to do them. I can’t hula hoop, and it would be fun to see me fail at it. This audio would work really well.
27. I LIVE…
Where do you live? Share a snapshot of the town you live in.
REEL: Share where you live, this audio will work well when you sharing the beautiful parts of your town.
28. I DO THIS ON SUNDAYS…
What do you like to do on Sundays? Is it a day of rest for you? Do you catch up with friends? Share it in a photo.
REEL: Using this template, share 3 photos of things you like to do on Sundays.
29. I WORE THIS…
Share something you wore. It could be something grand like a wedding dress (use an old wedding photo) or a fun 80s throwback, or even what you’re wearing today.
REEL IDEA: Share a week of outfits using this audio/video as inspiration.
30. I FOUND…
Share something you found. Did you find your partner, a friend? Or perhaps a treasure?
REEL: Use this audio to share a location or spot that you’ve found.
31. I DID THIS GOOD THING…
Show us something good that you’ve done. Or simply do a wrap up of this month.
REEL IDEA: Do a wrap up of this month. This style of video would work really well.
