31 days of Family challenge
WEEK 5 - last 3 days!
Welcome to the Week Five of Our Family Photography Challenge - the last 3 days!
If you're new here his is a challenge where we find and capture the beauty in our everyday family life. Here is a post that explains it in more detail if you're new here! And if you want to see previous weeks prompts you'll find week 1 here , week 2 here, week 3 here and week 4 here.
So since we only have a few days, let's make sure we finish strong! By the way - you'll find more examples DAILY on our social media so make sure to follow us!
WANT TO BRING ALL YOUR CHALLENGE IMAGES INTO 1 COLLAGE?
We've got some canva collage templates for you!
SImply click on the heading or the image to be directed to a canva template that you can populate with your own images. Canva is a free online tool that is great for creating your own graphic designs and collages.
Monday: GIGGLES
Idea: From belly laughs to the kind of giggles that leave you gasping for air - this is the soundtrack of joyful family life. There is no faking them. And you know best what makes your family laugh. You must, must, must capture them on camera!
What to capture?
The essence of giggles lies in the expressions they evoke. Capture the wide smiles, the crinkled noses, and the eyes sparkling with mirth. Try to capture what’s causing the laughter - a funny face, a silly dance, a playful tickle attack, or a humorous story. This context can add depth to the photo and invite viewers into the moment. Giggles are always shared. Photograph siblings laughing together, a parent and child sharing a funny moment, or the whole family enjoying a humorous situation. Laughter often comes with animated body language. Capture the movement – a head thrown back in laughter, hands clapping in amusement, or bodies doubled over with giggles. Along with the main subjects, capture the reactions of those around them. The response of a parent to a child’s giggle or a sibling joining in the laughter can amplify the sense of family connection.
Photo by Dawn Creagh
Tuesday: MUMLIFE
Idea: Today, it's about pointing the camera at yourself. The #MumLife prompt is about capturing the essence of motherhood in all its forms — the joy, the challenges, the multitasking, the moments of reflection and everything in between. It's a celebration of the everyday realities of being a mother, from the early morning routines to the late-night cuddles. This is your chance to document what motherhood means to you, including the tender, the hectic, and the often overlooked ordinary moments that make up our lives.
What to capture?
Daily Routines and Rituals: This could include preparing meals, organizing the house, caring for children, or balancing work and family life. Don't forget to include the wider scene - the setting in which all of this happens adds context to the story - whether it’s a cluttered living room, a kitchen in full use, or an office space with kids’ toys around, these environments all tell bring an extra dimension to the story
Personal Time: Even if it's a cup of tea, microwaved for the third time and gulped down in a 5 min window where miraculously nobody needs your urgent attention, It’s important to also capture these #metime moments too. They matter.
Interaction with your family: Document what you do with or alongside your children — playing, teaching, comforting, or simply sharing a laugh. You were there. Be in the photo.
Details and Close-Ups: Focus on the details that are symbolic of motherhood — hands doing a task, a comforting embrace, or the various items that help a mom through her day, like planners, toys, or a half-drunk cup of coffee.
A Mother's Perspective: Try to capture some moments from the your unique perspective. This could be your view of the playroom while you rest, your hands as you prepare food, or your lap filled with children and toys.
Just make yourself be in the photo. It's important. Photographing #MumLife is about honoring the journey of motherhood, with all its ups and downs. It’s a tribute to the everyday moments that, while often ordinary, are the very essence of what it means to be a mother. These images are a powerful reminder of the love, resilience, and multifaceted role of mothers in family life.
Photo by Claire Cullingford
Wednesday: LIFE NOT CLUTTER
Idea: Alright, let's get real here. 'Life Not Clutter' is about tossing out that glossy magazine version of a family home and embracing the glorious bedlam that is real life. This is for those of us who’ve looked at an impeccably tidy living room and thought, “Do actual humans live here?” It's time to celebrate the homes where life is lived loudly, messily, and joyously. This prompt is an ode to the homes that show the evidence of life being lived - every untidy, love-filled, and chaotic inch of it. Capturing 'Life Not Clutter' is like creating a love letter to the reality of family life. It’s a visual diary that says, “Yes, we live here, we love here, and we haven’t seen the floor of the kids’ room in weeks, but hey, that’s life.” It’s about finding the extraordinary in the ordinary mess and realizing that in the grand, untidy narrative of family life, every crumb, every toy, and every misplaced item has its own beautiful place.
What to capture?
- The Beautiful Disaster: Picture this: a living room post-kids’ ‘artistic session’, like a glitter bomb went off. Capture that. It’s not a mess; it’s a masterpiece of memories.
- Those ‘Lived-in’ Moments: That mountain of laundry you’ve been scaling like Everest? It’s not just clothes; it’s the fabric of family life. Snap it before (or even while) you conquer it.
- Real Homes, Real Charm: Forget those sterile, catalogue-worthy shots. Show us the crumpled sofa cushions that have supported family movie nights, pillow forts, and impromptu naps.
- Life Amongst the Lego: There’s something poetic about a floor littered with toys. It’s a minefield of creativity (and occasionally pain, if you’ve ever stepped on a Lego).
- Textures, Colors, Chaos: Embrace the collision of colors and patterns that only a family home can boast. Where else would a neon green plastic dinosaur look perfectly at home next to a vase of wildflowers?
- Unstaged and Unapologetic: Capture those honest, unfiltered moments. A cereal-strewn kitchen table post-breakfast rush, or a fort of blankets and pillows in the living room. It's beautiful chaos.
- Light Dancing on Disorder: The way the morning light filters through windows, casting a glow on the disarray, can turn chaos into something magical.
- Detail in the Disorder: A lone sock on a radiator, a drawing taped haphazardly on the fridge, a teddy bear peeking out from under a cushion – these are the details that scream ‘home’.
- The Beauty in Bedlam: Find the charm in the clutter. A stack of well-loved books, a jumble of shoes by the door, a collection of mugs on a shelf. This isn’t clutter; it’s history.
- The Grand, Messy Panorama: Pull back and take it all in. Your house isn’t just a backdrop; it’s a character in your family’s story. Let it speak in all its chaotic glory.
Photo by Vicki Murawski
And this is it! Your month of capturing your family exactly as they are, a 100 of beautiful details and the beautiful ordinary memories. I hope your enjoyed it!
ALL 31 PROMPTS - Family Photography Challenge
Day 1 - A walk
Day 2 - Breakfast
Day 3 - Screen time
Day 4 - Bathroom
Day 5 - Storytime
Day 6 - Good morning
Day 7 - our table
Day 8 - sofa life
Day 9 - out and about
Day 10 - toy stories
Day 11 - chores
Day 12 - in bed
Day 13 - mealtime
Day 14- family together
Day 15 - in the kitchen
Day 16 - close up
Day 17 - window
Day 18 - cuddles
Day 19 - outdoor play
Day 20 - shopping
Day 21 - arts and crafts
Day 22 - quiet moment
Day 23 - sports & exercise
Day 24 - kids room
Day 25 - homework
Day 26 - music and dance
Day 27 - play time
Day 28 - little pleasuresDay 29 - giggles
Day 30 - mumlife
Day 31 - life not clutter