Create order from the chaos of photos on your phone ... Make a "Story of Summer" documentary slideshow or photobook, and relive all the good times your family had!

1. www.donnagreenphotography.co.uk
Create your family's
"Story of Summer"
in photographs!
Make a “story of summer”
documentary slideshow or
photo book and relive all the
good times your family had!
Create order from
the chaos of
photos on your
phone . . .
in 7 easy steps

2. FOLLOW ME AT:
03
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facebook.com/donnagreenphotography
instagram.com/donnagreenphoto
pinterest.co.uk/donnacgreen
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RELIVE IT
© Donna Green Photography 2017 | All rights reserved
www.donnagreenphotography.co.uk
07749 068 204
05 QUESTIONS 07 BOTTLE IT
BE
PREPARED
27 DISPLAY
YOUR
STORY
28 SHARE
YOUR
STORY
C O N T E N T S
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3. RELIVE IT
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See if you shut your eyes for a wee minute? And take yourself back in
time? What did summer mean to you when you were in school?
Holidays! LONG holidays. Endless with possibilities.
It’s bright long before you get up, and it’s still bright long after you’re sent
to bed. It’s warm, and you just want to be outside, all day and every day.
Can you smell the sun cream? Feel its stickiness? Can you hear the bell of
your bike? Hear the waves whispering (or tearing at!) the shoreline? The
smell of the seaweed, or the chlorine, or the freshly cut grass. (Never
mind the hay fever. We're dreaming, right?)
R E L I V E A N D E N J O Y Y O U R
F A M I L Y ’ S S U M M E R
- A L L Y E A R R O U N D

4. Are you smiling yet? It was great wasn’t it, all that freedom? Endless days,
stretching into what felt like endless weeks. Responsibilities and homework fly
out the window as bikes, swimming, and ice creams demand your attention.
Fast forward to now.
Has some of the sparkle gone? Has all of the sparkle gone? Working all day
and dealing with extra childcare, never mind the massive organisation that
goes into taking your family away somewhere on holiday, often makes
summer much less of a “break” than it used to be.
Don’t you wish you could just bottle up summer to bring you right back to the
carefree joy that sometimes seemed as though it existed in another lifetime?
Well, you know what? It IS possible. It’s possible by creating your family’s story
of summer in photographs, so you can all look back over them and feel those
feelings again, smell those smells, hear those sounds. Relive it. Experience and
enjoy it all over again.
And you know what the secret is? It’s actually fairly simple.
The secret of photographing YOUR family’s
summer is telling the WHOLE story, rather
than trying to just get individual, unrelated,
beautifully perfect images.
The school summer holidays may be over now, but you’ve got a phone full of
pictures, don’t you? Of where you went on holiday, the things you all did over
the last months, what the children got up to?
So read on and find out how to pick (and take!) the best images possible
to document your family’s summer and bottle it for good.
You don't need a fancy camera; a phone is just fine. (In fact some of my
images here were taken with my phone.)
All you need is to put together a great collection of images, and here's how.
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5. BEFORE YOU START
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Before you go through the five gazillion pictures you took this summer, to
help you pick out the best images for your story, answer these questions:
1. What are your favourite childhood summer memories?
T H I N G S T O T H I N K O F
B E F O R E Y O U S T A R T
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6. 2. What summer traditions does your family have already?
What traditions would you like to begin?
3. What are some season-specific things that are typical of summer
where you live? (For example, trees covered in leaves which the
children can hide in; nettles which they have to avoid; warm rain
showers etc.)
4. What are some local places that you and your family frequent
during the summer months? (For example, the Edinburgh
Festival, museum open days, afternoons on the beach at
Yellowcraig etc.)
5. What five words encapsulate summer for you? Which of the
photographs you took illustrate them?
Once you have the answers to these, it’s time to start going through all
the pictures you took this summer.
And remember just because the holidays are over, the summer as a
season is not over! You still have the chance to add to this in the coming
weeks. (Let's be optimistic, yes?)
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7. THE SETTING
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Although close-up shots of your wee lad’s peeling nose or your daughter
in a vintage sun hat are fabulous, you also need environmental context.
This could be a number of things, depending on where you’ve spent your
time this summer, and remember, it doesn’t have to be some exotic
location!
The places you see every day throughout summer are just as important a
part of your story, and it’s good to get images which both include your
children and don’t have anyone in them at all.
0 1 - P H O T O G R A P H T H E
S E T T I N G
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the sun setting over the sea
your tent all lit up in the evening twilight in the camp-site
the swimming pool with the moon shining on it
the local cuisine on your plate, Instagram style
road signs in the place you stayed
the view out of the plane window
your local shop which sells the best ever ice creams
the woods which had the best ever trees for climbing
This shot of a ferry – and particularly a CalMac ferry – sets the scene instantly, telling
of a boat trip to an island. The grim weather also provides a pretty strong clue that
it’s somewhere in the north of Scotland! Can you believe this was in July?!
For example:

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Just seeing that one name on a road sign can instantly bring back all sorts of great
feelings of your time spent there, leaving you longing to go back.
Map extracts add to the narrative of your summer, adding to and fleshing out the
story you’re telling. Have you anything else you can photograph, like tickets,
postcards, leaflets etc? Is there a page of a particular guidebook you referred to over
and over again, perhaps?

10. THE ACTIVITIES
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Certain activities just shout “summer”! Sometimes they can be so
commonplace you might not think to document them, but you should
include them as they’re still part of your story. Such as:
outdoor sports like surfing or mini golf
walking the dog with no coats on
leisurely bike rides
floating in the outdoor swimming pool
bodyboarding in the sea
0 2 - P H O T O G R A P H
T H E A C T I V I T I E S
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A summer day out in shorts and t-shirts at Lauriston Castle in Edinburgh
– plenty of things for children to climb on!
Out for a bike ride … How about noting in your calendar to photograph your wee girl
in exactly the same place in a year’s time? Chances are the bike will be different, and
she certainly will be. But in the meantime, this reminds you all of the fun you had
whilst out and about doing “stuff”.

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This is the Atlantic, off the west coast of the Isle of Lewis. This image screams
“summer” to us because my children would get hypothermia in that water at any
other time of year!
Bubbles! A simple part of summer fun. What do your children like doing when left to
their own devices, just messing about? What will they enjoy looking back on in years
to come, thinking "ah, yes, I used to love doing that!"?

13. THE DETAILS
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Now you’ve got images of the settings you were in, how about the details?
What are the little things that feel most like summer to you?
How about zooming in and appreciating the small things which make this
time of year what it is? Detailed up-close shots are like richly descriptive
adjectives in your pictorial story of summer. Like:
children’s feet in flip-flops, covered in sand and mud
hands holding seashells
sunglasses with your reflection in them
beautiful wild flowers in full colour
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D E T A I L S
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Remind yourself of the plant life and the insect (ugh!) life of the places you went to
Closer to home, remember how excited the children were, finally picking the carrots
and beans they helped grow? (With any luck they'll even EAT them!)

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KEEP IT REAL
Don’t leave out the not-so-good bits, like the utter abomination in the shed which
was the “behind the scenes” of all that vegetable growing activity.
The important thing about documenting your summer is that you show all different
aspects, not just the pretty ones. (We’re agreed this isn’t pretty, right?)
Extra props if you include an image of your horrified face when you saw mess the
children made!
BONUS TIP!

16. THE UNUSUAL
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If you do something extra special or unusual over the summer, be sure to
take some shots in between times of being present and enjoying the
moment.
Every time you look back on them you’ll enjoy the experience all over
again.
And your children will be reminded of all the special times they’ve had
with you.
0 4 - P H O T O G R A P H
T H E U N U S U A L
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In this photo we decided to go and visit the reindeer up Cairngorm. They’re semi-
wild, spending the winter months ranging the mountains, and my children will love
looking back on this and remembering what it felt like, feeding them.
This odd chap is a model of one of the c.
1200 AD Lewis Chessmen, and stands
about 9 feet high. He guards the Uig
Community Centre, just above Uig bay
where the Chessmen were found.
It's great to see reminders like this of the
peculiar things you see on your summer
holidays!

18. THE TRADITIONS
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Is there anywhere you regularly go, or anything you regularly do, most
summers?
What activities, events, and places do you and/or your children enjoy
every year? Be sure to photograph them and include these things in your
story of summer – you’ll have a visual timeline of how the people change
and grow whilst these other things remain unchanged.
A great way to preserve and remember your family traditions, these
photographs will be valued immensely by you and your children in years
to come.
0 5 - P H O T O G R A P H F A M I L Y
T R A D I T I O N S
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A VERY significant part of our summer is watching our boy play in his various pipe
band competitions and performances.
Do your children do anything regularly over their summer-times? If so, add these
pictures to your collection as they're a central part of your story of summer.
Every new location simply MUST be hide-and-seeked!

20. THE WEATHER
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Summer weather can vary greatly depending on where you are, but some
things are for sure: we’re always interested in it, and it often affects what
we do at any given time.
Think about how the weather made you feel throughout the summer …
Was it sunny? Rainy? Roasting? Mild? Cool? Humid?
You can show this in a variety of ways. Really harsh light and shadows can
indicate blistering sunshine whereas puffy clouds – or storm clouds! – in
the sky can reflect the opposite. Even showing someone sweltering or in
sunglasses can tell the story of the weather.
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T H E W E A T H E R
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Dull, overcast weather is often part of summer here, it has to be said. Include this in
your collection, but remember, dull weather is better as a supporting feature in an
image - a shot which only shows a grey sky might be slightly, well, dull.
Meanwhile, five minutes later down the
road, it was glorious sunshine - that's
Edinburgh for you!

22. THE COLOURS
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Colours in a photograph can really affect how we interpret it.
For example, what season does a photograph full of deep reds, oranges,
greens, and browns bring to mind? I don't think summer would be your
first thought, would it?
Just as light pastels are springlike, bright and cheerful greens and yellows
reflect summer foliage, and vibrant blues put you in mind of a cloudless
summer sky. Bold red is bright and happy, something summer usually
makes people feel. (Well, when they’re on holiday anyway!)
0 7 - P H O T O G R A P H
T H E C O L O U R S
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23. Not only do you want to pick a colour palette which conveys “summer”,
but make sure you’re using colour to draw the eye to the most important
thing in the photograph.
For example, a bright pink top on someone in a green field will
automatically draw the eye and be the centre of attention.
If you’re photographing a beautiful sunset on a beach or over mountains,
think about the whole colour palette of what you’re seeing.
Blues, purples, and pinks can suggest peace and tranquillity, or orange or
golden tones in the sun or sand can suggest warmth.
By really thinking of the colours in your images, what you’re doing is
making sure you’re documenting your summer in the way which matches
how you personally experienced it.
And the result will be so much more authentic – you’ll all enjoy looking
back on it all the more.
The cool colours in this picture I took in Turkey at 5.00 am reflect peace and
tranquillity, which was certainly the case as I was the only one daft enough to get up
at that ridiculous hour!
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Same place, but at the other end of the day. The warm fiery tones of the sunset that
evening perfectly illustrate the baking heat of the day.
Don't forget your non-human
family members!
They are likely to be a huge part of
your lives and much loved by your
children. Show their place
in your story too.
BONUS TIP!

25. BE SPONTANEOUS!
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Who doesn’t love being free of the daily grind and its myriad obligations
when on their summer holidays?
There are all sorts of things which crop up spontaneously on holiday
which don’t tend to happen in the working week – or weekend – such as
picnics, trips to the beach, a game of kickabout, and trips here, there and
everywhere.
Make sure you have either enough space on your (fully charged!) phone
or a proper camera with you to photograph all these beautifully
unplanned happenings or things to see as they present themselves.
0 8 - B O N U S A D V I C E -
B E P R E P A R E D T O B E
S P O N T A N E O U S
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My daughter climbed up on the gatepost, threw her arms in the air and yelled “I LOVE
THIS PLACE!”, just as the wind whipped her dress round her to add movement to the
shot. The sun backlighting her adds contrast and drama. As ever, my phone was in
my pocket, so ..! A great reminder of how she felt on that holiday.
You never know what you'll spot in the trees ...

27. DISPLAY IT
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It’s all very well having made a beautiful collection of the photos which
document your family’s summer, but what can you do with them?
If you want to stay digital, you could create a slideshow video at
https://lumen5.com. You can then upload it to social media or share it by
email so others can see it too.
Or if you prefer to see it all in print, how about making a photobook? You
can do this very easily at www.photobox.co.uk. Why don’t you leave some
blank pages too, where you can paste in (flat!) things like tickets, objects,
postcards, or other memorabilia from your summer, to liven it up?
D I S P L A Y Y O U R
S T O R Y O F S U M M E R
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28. 2017
L E T M E S E E W H A T Y O U C R E A T E !
Would you share your Story of Summer on my Facebook page, so we can all be inspired ?
No two will be even remotely similar, and I’d really love to see yours!
And if you found this guide useful, please share it with your friends.
facebook.com/donnagreenphotography
instagram.com/donnagreenphoto
pinterest.co.uk/donnacgreen
© Donna Green Photography 2017 | All rights reserved
dg@donnagreenphotography.co.uk
07749 068 204
www.donnagreenphotography.co.uk
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