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WITL 2012: Perfectionism and the Magic of Capturing a Week In Your Life

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Why yes, that is a photo of dirty dishes on our counter…

A funny thing happened yesterday morning when I went out to our kitchen, camera in hand, ready to start capturing a week in our life. Two thoughts instantly ran through my head:

“I really wish I would have cleaned up a bit more yesterday.”

“We really should have hung some art on these walls.”

And I’ll admit for a split second I was tempted to grab my trusty hammer and nails and make things look extra pretty. And then I got over it.

Because here’s the thing, capturing a week in your life is not about perfection. It’s not about waiting until your house is photo-worthy or perfectly organized and neat and tidy.

Because that’s not real life.

Real life is crazy. Real life is messy. Real life is a pile of mail on the counter, your kids neon-colored toys strewn about the living room and yes, a pile of dirty dishes on the counter.

And capturing real life IS what Week In the Life is all about.

So if you’re one of those people out there thinking maybe you should wait to do Week In the Life until your life is a bit more photo-worthy or perfect, I ask you to reconsider. Because not only will that “perfect” week never come, but because the magic of Week In the Life isn’t about the individual photos.

It’s about the story those individual photos tell when you put them all together. 

And I promise you – once you see the big picture of your week all together, you won’t care about the less-than-perfect photos or the tiny details that seem like a big deal right now.

You will see your real life captured.

Dirty dishes and all.

And that is magic.

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Psst…I’m spending this week capturing a week in my life – find all my 2012 Week In the Life posts here. You can also find my 2011 WITL posts here. Want to know what this whole crazy Week In the Life thing is about? Get all the details here.

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  1. michele h says:
    April 24, 2012 at 5:33 pm

    This is so the truth!

    I will have to say that I tidied my kitchen on sunday in preparation to capture the week and in about 10 minutes after cleaning…it was a mess again. But…that is my life. I took a photo of my husband ironing and when I uploaded it I saw the bed and all the covers a mess…my first instinct was to not use the photo…but you know what…it is what it is.

    By the way…i loved your WITL last year and am so looking forward to seeing your 2012 book unfold.

  2. JayEssJay says:
    April 25, 2012 at 7:37 am

    While I’m certainly not cleaning up before I take each picture, seeing the week through a photographer’s eyes IS inspiring me to tidy up a little bit here and there more than usual. That’s probably not a bad thing 🙂

    • Lynnette says:
      April 25, 2012 at 6:15 pm

      Oh I agree with you on that – I move little bits of clutter out of the way all time even when I’m not doing Week In the Life. This is more aimed at the people wanting to quit because their house isn’t as perfect as they would like. 🙂

  3. tracy says:
    April 25, 2012 at 11:45 pm

    thanks for this reminder. i am doing witl and i sometimes feel the need to clean or take perfect photos. you are right – real life can be messy! especially with two little boys… thanks for posting your thoughts and the inspiration to document my real week. oh, and i super love your 2011 witl book design!!! i will be buying your templates and using them to create my 2012 witl book – my very first one 🙂

  4. Saire says:
    May 4, 2012 at 8:12 pm

    I have the same kitchen counter. It is featured in a lot of my photos, not on purpose exactly. Love your website. Just found it today from Everyday Storyteller.

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