Here’s a little secret. I hate to take photos. I hate to be the subject of photos, just as much as I don’t like actually taking them. This presents a little problem for this online space, because photos are such a big and important part of having a successful blog. It’s no secret that I love the writing aspect, but not so much the photography part. On top of that, photos are important for sustaining memories and documenting the adventures of everyday life. Even though I don’t particularly like it, I have been making a sincere effort to take more (and better) photos of our experiences.

I came across the online Phone Photography Project on one of my favorite blogs and signed up earlier this summer. I take practically all of my photos with the camera on my iPhone 5. Being that I already don’t like taking photos, hauling around a hefty camera just isn’t for me…not at this point anyway. So, if I can get some tips for making better use of my phone camera, then maybe…just maybe…I might learn to not despise the process quite so much.

Here’s how it works. Everyday, they post a new photo challenge with instructions and reviews of their favorite apps. You go out and capture what that challenge is asking for and upload it to the classroom gallery and to Instagram with the #bpcphonephotographyproject hashtag. (My apologies to those who follow me on Instagram and have been confused by the random photos.) In an ideal world, I would have more time to search out interesting shots for each of the photos, but the real estate world has me pretty busy right now. Nonetheless, I’ve already learned a ton and I’m slowly starting to develop a more loving relationship towards photography.

What have I learned so far? As of today, I’m 12 days in to the project. (It lasts the entire month of July.) The first thing I’ve learned is that it can be tough to search out photos to fit a certain theme if you’re a busy girl. I’m sure photos don’t have to be posted on the exact day that the challenge is issued, but I just can’t deviate from that way of thinking. So everyday, I snag whatever spare minute I can and try to capture that day’s photo. For example, I ran out of daylight night before last and had to take that day’s photo at night. It wasn’t ideal, but like Tim Gun says, I “made it work.”

The second thing I’ve learned is the value of editing. Other than slapping on a filter in Instagram, I’ve never been one to really edit my photos. However, the reviews of all of the wonderful apps have forced me to download and try some of my options. I’m still not an expert, but doing a few minor edits have proved to make a huge difference in the quality of my photos. I know this is a mute point to all of you photographers out there, but I always maintained that I “didn’t have time” to edit photos. However, with some of the new apps I’ve been exposed to, I can see that it doesn’t have to be a cumbersome process and makes such a big difference. Here’s to me learning how to edit!

I’m happy to share my photos of the project so far. We also completed a photo scavenger hunt, in addition to the daily projects, that I’ll try to share soon. You can see the daily tasks by following me on Instagram!

Also, here’s a special thank you to my husband for being willing to be the subject of my “jump” photo. I love that he doesn’t even ask many questions when I say, “Hey, will you come outside and jump so I can take a photo?” Thanks for being such a good sport, honey!

Let me know your thoughts of my progress so far by leaving a comment below!