How to Document a Special Event or Occasion with lots of Photos
It’s no secret I’m memory-keeping minimalist. I prefer to document several years’ worth of memories in one photo book.
But every once in a while a special occasion, one with lots of great photos, needs its own photo book.
Recently, our family celebrated the end of our longest military deployment.
When we finally got a homecoming date, I reached out to my friend Sarah Heinz, a gifted photographer and fellow aviator spouse, and she agreed to photograph our reunion if the timing worked out. I told her I’d have my sister there as back-up, so no worries if she couldn’t make it over to capture the big moment.
Well, she did, and the photos are spectacular.
When we finish this tour in California, I’ll document these years in one photo book, and I’ll absolutely include a few of these photos.
But she sent me so many amazing shots, so I wanted to design a project that would include as many of them as possible.
You might have special occasions or events like this for your own family - reunions, special birthdays, weddings, births, graduations, perhaps even your own homecoming or deployment.
Here’s how you might document a special occasion with lots of photos (and how I documented one of ours).
1 / Designate a photographer (or a few!)
Every memory-keeping project starts with making and capturing the memory.
If you’re documenting a particularly special occasion, hire someone or hand your phone to someone to make sure you get the moment(s) on camera.
In the case of our homecoming day, I lucked out with a professional photographer, but I would have been just as happy to have my sister capture the moment.
In fact, this is the first time I’ve ever had a pro capture our military homecoming (and this was my husband’s fifth deployment!). In the past I’ve had my sister or a friend take a few pictures of that day.
I didn’t need a ton of pictures, but I knew I didn’t want to be responsible for juggling the kids, my emotions, my responsibilities, and the photos that day.
While a professional certainly can make those photos shine, what you really want is the moment captured.
Maybe you’re going to be the one behind the camera, but if you’re photographing a family reunion or a weekend with friends, a special birthday dinner or event, tap a friend or a few people and ask them to snap some pictures and be prepared to share them with you.
A little bit of a heads’ up will ensure you get some gems.
2 / Plan what you want to capture
It’s worth considering ahead of time a few moments you hope to capture on that special day.
Thinking ahead about what you want (or hope) to capture will go a long way toward getting photos you’re happy with in the end, and mitigating any disappointment.
I didn’t have a detailed shot list for my wedding reception and somehow missed getting a picture with my little sister, which was a total bummer.
For our military homecoming, I knew I wanted a combination of video and photos. And I wanted some particular shots, like the jets overhead with us below them and the moment we reunited with my husband after such a long time.
For a birthday you might want to get the guest of honor blowing out the candles or opening gifts.
For a family reunion, make sure you have a tripod or set a timer and get a shot of the whole group together.
For our son’s birth, I knew I wanted pictures of him being measured and weighed and photos of his first bath and our first moments together.
It might not all go perfectly, but it’s totally worth a quick conversation or jotting down a few notes to remind your photographer of the pictures you hope to get.
3 / Stay present and enjoy the moment
It’s so important on a special occasion to get the planning done ahead of time so you can enjoy the moment.
You’ve designated a photographer, and even if that’s you, my hope is that you’ve given your occasion some thought and come up with a rough shot list so you can get your photos and then enjoy the moment.
Rather than posing and herding cats - I mean, kids - for formal photos, let the event unfold naturally.
Be yourself, smile, don’t be afraid to be on camera.
The joy of the moment will come through if you can let go and let your photographer do their thing, whether you’ve hired a pro or asked a friend to do the honors.
I absolutely love the photos both my sister and Sarah captured from our homecoming day.
I think they perfectly capture our family because we were relaxed. I trusted them completely and let go of control (not always easy for me). I wasn’t worried about the photos, and that helped me stay present and enjoy the moment completely.
The result is a set of photos that feel genuine, raw, and perfectly tethered to the moment.
4 / Print your favorites in a simple photo book
If you end up with hundreds of amazing photos (like I did!), choose your favorites and print them in a photo book.
If you’re documenting a wedding, then it’s important to get those photos printed in a luxe, hardcover, layflat book if possible.
But I love the idea of printing more informal (but special!) occasions in smaller, softcover photo books.
In this case, I picked a Milkbooks premium softcover book in a 6x8 inch size.
I have a more in-depth review coming, but a couple things I loved: the ability to print on the inside cover and flaps and the quality of the photos.
Softcover books are generally less expensive than hardcover books, which makes them a great choice for documenting a single event or occasion.
I added a few designed pages but stuck to the native layouts on the Milkbooks website. I kept the design of this book really simple and put it together in an hour or so.
More to come on this project including a full video flip-through and a review of the Milkbooks premium softcover I used to print it!
If you’re ready to work on a project of your own, start by downloading my project planner and photo book checklist.
This beautifully designed workbook will walk you through my simple, step-by-step process to get your memories off your devices and into your hands.
