Guest Post
Hold on to them, the most beautiful moments of your year!
The New Year always triggers conflicting feelings in me. I look forward to what lies ahead, but look back on the old year a bit sadly at the same time. I reflect. Go through the months in my mind. February. Feel transported back in time and see the O-shaped mouth of a child trying to blow out the three candles on the birthday cake. Applause, bright eyes. June. Feel the salty sea air on our skin, the warming sun on our face. Ice cream dripping creamily on children's bellies. Sep Hold on to them, the most beautiful moments of your year!
The New Year always triggers conflicting feelings in me. I look forward to what lies ahead, but look back on the old year a bit sadly at the same time. I reflect. Go through the months in my mind. February. Feel transported back in time and see the O-shaped mouth of a child trying to blow out the three candles on the birthday cake. Applause, bright eyes. June. Feel the salty sea air on our skin, the warming sun on our face. Ice cream dripping creamily on children's bellies. September. Hear my little daughter’s first words.
Simple everyday moments also flash through my mind. I try to hold onto these thoughts. I want to take these memories into the New Year with me. And that's where this idea comes from. I still should ... Oh if only I had ... Where’s that one particular snapshot again ... Where on earth do I start? I’m talking about a photo book. Every New Year I resolve to create an annual photo book with our most beautiful moments. But I have to honestly confess: I keep putting this project off.
Less, but better
In the age of digitisation, there are so many photos from last year on my mobile phone, camera and hard disk that I find it difficult to choose the pictures for my annual photo book. In addition, there’s a fixed idea in my mind of filling page after page with lots of pictures to immortalise every imaginable moment. The effort this involves, which shoots out of the ground like a huge, unconquerable mountain in front of me, therefore feels immense. That's what happened to me in recent years. Until I changed my strategy. And - tadaaah - it's already in front of me, my 2018 annual photo book. My tips:
- Move your favourite pictures over the year into a special folder
- Fast-forward through these favourite pictures at the end of the year and select or reduce them again using your gut instinct
- Less, but better: Limit yourself to a few good pictures per photo book page
- Deliberately plan in time for this after Christmas (during the holidays)
I no longer have the need to capture all sorts of moments with hundreds of pictures in the photo book. But to limit myself to selected, but good photos. So the work doesn’t feel like an expedition to the Himalayas with ice axes and crampons, but more like a cosy family hike in the Appenzell Alps. And now that I'm holding my work in my hands and leafing through the pages, I'm glad I embarked on this hike. For me, for my children, for my family.
Incidentally, I used a few photos from my selection of pictures for other photo products. A wall calendar, which will accompany them through the new year, is hanging in my parents’ kitchen. My husband is reminded of his family every day by his desk calendar in the office, and a mobile phone cover with photos of my children adorns my mobile phone. Oh, and on cold winter days, we drink hot chocolate from our photo mug.
So ... bring on the new year!
All the pictures in this feature were taken by Isabelle Kade / Mini & Stil and are subject to copyright.
Isabelle Kade from Mini & Stil
Isabelle Kade is the founder of the mother and lifestyle blog "Mini und Stil", she is a mum to three girls and lives with her family in Zurich. On miniundstil.ch she regularly writes about her life as a mum and inspires more than 26,000 followers on Instagram with her beautiful soft image style.