Christmas Mini’s 2022
mariajanaelindsey
October 25, 2022
An Accidental Grid Challenge
What is an Instagram grid challenge?
The JAM challenge stands for the “Jude and Miles”. But that doesn’t mean you have to repeat exactly what I did. The best part about this journey was the accidental creative challenge I invented based on what worked for me as a mother, creator, and freelancer. I learned its not always about the end result and sticking to your discipline, but knowing when it’s not working, when to start over, and try again.
I CREATED THIS CHALLENGE BY FAILING ANOTHER
Back in March of 2019 I had this empty feeling. Like I was losing my creativity. I had a hard enough time setting aside 15 minutes for a shower. A tiny bit of creativity and fun every day seemed nearly impossible. I saw a challenge going around on youtube/instagram and excitement swelled inside me. One day, for 365 days, you upload a photo to your Social Media. Not taken with your phone’s camera, but with your DSLR. I had a 5 month old breastfed baby, a 2 year old, and had just started a new job in February. Sounds like a great time for a stressful time-consuming challenge, no?
My first mistake, announcing it on Social Media.
I learned much in those first few weeks. Where to keep my DSLR that was in my reach, but out of the kids. The best time to upload the media to my laptop computer. Funny stories to write alongside my carefully thought out pictures. This challenge was supposed to loosen up my creativity. Every day I felt like I needed to do BETTER and BETTER. I started questioning if what I was posting was “Good Enough”.
These photos from early in the process summarize our everyday life when I first started. You can see where the busy Mom life came in (toddler eating ice cream on a fake potty), as well as a freelance photographer capturing cute cake smash photos and weddings. You even see a bit of my 9-5 in there with Laser Tag Equipment.
@margemedia instagram grid during 365 challenge
Eventually, I would forget to upload one or two days. Then try to catch up by uploading all three photos at once. I became so obsessed with taking quality photos and having interesting stories that I forgot why I had even started this challenge. I faded around day 26 out of 365. I archived the post announcing I had wanted to do the challenge. I had lost sight of the reason I started this adventure in the first place. In my efforts to become more creative daily I completely dismantled my creativity and inspiration.
WHY THE 365 CHALLENGE DIDN’T WORK FOR ME
Phone vs. DSLR- I prefer using my Canon DSLR but due to the size its not always convenient with a busy lifestyle. Putting a restriction on using my phone for photography was the biggest part of why this failed. It also took up too much time to upload my memory card everyday.
Incentive- My grid looked really polished, but other than feeling rushed and drained, the pressure to always produce high-quality photos weighed on me more than the thought behind the photo and story.
Time- The rules I placed on one upload per day ended up being too much. My life was rather boring most days. Consumed with work, travel, or being a Mom. All these came before my side project.
Laptop Editing- The process for uploading, editing, and sending myself the photos to post took much too long.
HOW IT BEGAN, A HAPPY ACCIDENT
Spring of 2019 I noticed the last 12 photos on my grid had an interesting pattern. Every other post would be an up-close of Jude or Miles cute face. Rotating them evenly. The photos in between I had edited more dark and moody. Capturing a nostalgic feel. I liked the pattern so much I decided to keep it up. It had become a serious habit to the point where I wouldn’t upload anything else out of order. If I had a cute photo of the husband and I, I would need to fulfill Miles adorable little face square before uploading anything else. For every other upload in between the required single images of each child, there are no rules. This really gave me the freedom I needed to keep this up over a year later.
ALMOST IMMEDIATELY I SAW A FEW BENEFITS COMING FROM THIS METHOD OF POSTING.
Aesthetically pleasing structure in my profile and when scrolling through my grid I get to watch their faces slowly change and re-live the small memories written in each post.
THE POSITIVE EFFECTS OF CREATING A POST CHALLENGE FOR YOURSELF
Phone vs. DSLR- This time around I didn’t limit myself to only DSLR photos. Most my images I upload are from my phone and edited in the Lightroom Mobile App.
Incentive- I look forward to posting cute stories documenting my children becoming independent tiny humans. All while working on my phone photography and editing. Normally life can get in the way as a parent when it comes to taking pictures of your family.
Time- I’m better at managing and allowing myself a creative outlet. This fun hobby is now apart of me and how I post.
Workflow Optimization- I had to really clean up my workflow and optimize my time. I did that by switching my editing to Adobe Lightroom Mobile and if I did shoot on my canon DSLR, I would drop the files into my adobe cloud account. Then I could easily edit and upload from my phone.
The best part?
It is a constant reminder for myself to keep up with the individual pictures of each my children. Memorable stories Jude and Miles will get to look back on and read. They get to experience my perspective as their parent. Its not always happy and perfect. I try to document the frustrating days as well. Sometimes I wish the photos from my phone were a little bit better, or the lighting was more bright/dramatic. I understand that I don’t always have time to grab my 2lb camera. What’s most important is capturing the moment before I forget.
Within the last few months I had the opportunity upgrade to an iphone 11 Pro Max (Spoiler alert: The camera is AMAZING).
At the end of the day I get to quench my creative thirst, challenge myself, and document memories.
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