a disneyland photo book

The most magical place on Earth – Disneyland. You can see my 2011 photo book version here along with ideas for photos to include.

For our summer 2012 book, I continued to publish through Blurb in a 10 x 8 standard format style. For these yearly Disneyland vacation books, I try to make each a little different. In this book, I decided to stick with the primary colors which feel very Disney (think Mickey Mouse, Goofy, etc.) in swatches, large stripes and in frames around the photos using Blurb’s BookSmart layouts and editing software. I am making good use of the Kingdom font for headlines and Futura for the body of the text.

This Disneyland sign sits atop the water slides at the Disneyland Hotel. It was so hot while we were visiting, we spent quite bit of time attempting to stay cool in and around the pool.Disneyland 2012-1

This year’s story.Disneyland 2012-2

Our arrival.Disneyland 2012-3

The waterslides.Disneyland 2012-4

Refreshing drinks and Harry silliness.Disneyland 2012-5

Water features and the Lego Store at Downtown Disney.Disneyland 2012-6

Duffy ears and finally being tall enough for California Screamin’.Disneyland 2012-7

Enjoying the new Carsland.Disneyland 2012-8

Luigi’s Flying Tires.Disneyland 2012-9 Disneyland 2012-10

Mater’s Tractor Tipping.Disneyland 2012-11

Carsland at Night.Disneyland 2012-12

Radiator Springs.Disneyland 2012-13 Disneyland 2012-14

The story of Harry spending his money.Disneyland 2012-15

Character photos.Disneyland 2012-16

Astroblasters and trying on Star Wars hats.Disneyland 2012-17

Harry and I playing Power City and winning!Disneyland 2012-18

Space Mountain and playing at the hotel.Disneyland 2012-19

World of Color is fun and festive for photographs.Disneyland 2012-20 Disneyland 2012-21

More character lovin’.Disneyland 2012-22 Disneyland 2012-23

Playing in the Sorcerer’s Workshop.Disneyland 2012-24

Animation class and drawings.Disneyland 2012-25 Disneyland 2012-26 Disneyland 2012-27

The story of the earthquake while we were there, yummy treats and the tattoo consolation prize.Disneyland 2012-28

Leaving.Disneyland 2012-29

The details – maps, buttons, receipts, coasters, schedules, toy instructions, etc.Disneyland 2012-30

 

 

Have a magical day!

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the essence of a school year

How do you capture the essence of a school year? Every year varies. Some years there are lots of projects, sometimes I can take a ton of photos or the teachers take photos, some times there is a plethora of field trips, shows, stuff, etc… Whatever your experience, there is always a story to tell about your child’s school year.

Here are some ideas on what to capture both in photos and/or words to characterize your child’s school year:

  • the obligatory first day of school photo
  • the school’s sign
  • what your child likes in their lunch or what they eat from the cafeteria
  • new clothes or school styles
  • new back pack – why did they choose it?
  • a picture with their teacher
  • what the inside of the classroom looks like, posters, bins, class library, the backpacks lined up, markers, areas (reading area, make believe area, science area, etc.)
  • Questions for your child – How old are you?, How tall are you?, Do you like your teacher? What are you excited about the school year? Goals for the year?
  • the class photo
  • your child’s professional individual photo
  • drawings, art
  • writing samples, stories, answers to questions
  • what is classroom life like? do they sit groups, facing the board, at a big table, rug time?
  • are there specialty classes? language? music? technology? library? science?, P.E.?
  • what is popular at recess? what does your child like to do?
  • photos of your child working on homework
  • carnivals
  • songs they sing, poems to memorize, etc.
  • craft projects
  • holidays, parties
  • projects, making the project, presenting the project
  • special days – like pajama day, spirit days, crazy hair days, etc.
  • field trips
  • sleep away camp
  • science fair
  • after school classes
  • self – portrait
  • rehearsing for a project
  • book reports
  • examples of tests
  • strengths, weaknesses
  • performances – a choir concert or a play ( include getting ready -nerves?excitement?)
  • moments with friends – who are there friends? what do they like to do together?
  • sports at school
  • reward systems
  • special events, – parent parties, picnics, end of the year party
  • homework folder, binder, books, pencils, pens, etc.
  • are they organized? or disorganized?
  • daily schedule
  • books read during the school year – reading logs, etc.
  • awards, certificates
  • report cards, notes from the teacher
  • blog posts from the teacher
  • trends – silly bands, colorful shoes, trendy toys ( Minecraft or Rainbow Loom)

This is a sample of the book I created for Harry’s second grade year. ( I know I am behind, but at least it got finished).

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For this book I used the following:

capture life – finale

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.” ― Henri Cartier-Bresson

To capture our life in photos is a lot of hard work but absolutely worth it. It pushes me to try new things. Shooting the everyday involves shooting the same thing or similar events,  so I have to find new ways to photograph moments or objects, whether it is in different light or from different angles (otherwise, it would be incredibly boring). You start seeing what works and what doesn’t work. You learn to wait for the perfect moment that captures life for a fleeting instant. The only way to get better is to shoot and shoot a lot. Bad pictures are the norm with a couple of good ones thrown in, but eventually those good pictures start appearing more and more. When I started, my philosophy was if you take 100 photos you might get 5 good ones. The percentages of the good ones keep getting higher and higher each year. To experiment is to get better. Try new things!! I truly believe that if you take photos everyday you eventually have to get better. You have to!!!

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