Many are sharing festive pictures at the moment, and it’s easy to feel underwhelmed by our ordinary story and it’s many imperfections. As we work on the For the Love of the Photograph Creative Journal together, Chloe and I decided to share inspiring tips and images for telling your festive story. Let’s embrace our real inspirations and connections.

Chloe’s images on the left, and Cindy’s on the right. Enjoy!

Observe: Wake up each day, and allow things to happen. Observe light shifts, interactions and connections. How that day feels from the outside in and back again. Keep your camera close, let life unfold hour by hour and then when something catches the imagination, when the light weaves its way, explore it, dance with it, and let it bring you home.

Listen: Pay attention to what your children are saying, and not just that never-ending list of presents. Listen to their ideas about how to celebrate, ways they’d like to decorate, and the things they’d like to make. Let them be curious and play. Their ideas will be the start of new traditions, new stories, new adventures that will be treasured memories. The images you capture will be filled with their moments, their story, and the beautiful mess of childhood.

Let go: There are many seasons in life and sometimes you find yourself in a different place. We often feel nostalgic for the way it was or should be during the holidays, and this can dull the beauty of this current season. Whether it’s a family member who is not coming home for the first time, or you are living in a different hemisphere, or parents that are no longer with us, it’s OK to feel a deep longing. Sometimes, we just need to acknowledge it and let go. It’s not easy but today is a future memory, and this story is waiting to be told. New places are an opportunity to create new traditions. So embrace this season with all of its flaws and imperfections, find the beauty, look in the ordinary, and tell this holiday story.