The Story Behind Missed Photo Ops
What do you do when the perfect photo op - or, in this case, an entire weekend of a holiday - passes by, and not a single photo is taken? That sinking feeling when you realize there’s no visual proof of the memories you made. But here’s the good news: not all is lost. While you may not have the photos, you still have something just as powerful - your memories.
Our memories are detailed and meaningful, sometimes even more so than a photograph.
They hold the essence of the moment, the emotions, the sounds, and the connections we shared. So, what if instead of relying solely on photos, you took a few moments to jot down your memories of the day or weekend? These notes can serve as a way to capture the feelings and significance that a photo might not.
Screenshot from our year-in-review photo book.
Take it a step further: scan or photograph a handwritten note and add it to your photo book, or type up your recollections and paste them right alongside other photos in your collection. You can include as much or as little detail as you want - the laughter at the table, the unexpected moments, or the way the warm sun came through the window during your holiday brunch.
This very situation happened to me a few years ago. We breezed through the entire Easter weekend, enjoying ourselves, but it wasn’t until the workweek started that I realized something important: I hadn’t taken any photos. Well, other than one that had nothing to do with the holiday itself! Easter had come and gone, and with it, all the little moments that I typically love to document in my family’s story.
For my family, it wasn’t a total loss. We celebrate Easter twice - once for the “new” calendar and once for the “old.” Though I had already documented the previous Easter, I knew I needed to step up my game so I wouldn't miss capturing any future holidays. However, that weekend was unique because we had chosen to celebrate in a more untraditional way. We stepped outside our usual customs, did non-typical Easter activities, and I simply didn’t pull out my phone aka, my camera.
While I was initially disappointed at not having captured those moments visually, I realized I didn’t need to lose them entirely. I took time to write down what we did, and the joy we experienced. That write-up became a part of my year-in-review photo book, preserving our family’s memory of the holiday in a different, yet equally meaningful, way. After all, my photo books are more than just images - they’re the story of our family, and stories can be told in more ways than one.
Even when a photo opportunity is missed, memories can still be captured and preserved through storytelling, making them just as meaningful as the images themselves.
So, if you ever find yourself leaving an event, a trip, or a holiday weekend without any photos, it’s okay. You can still capture those moments by writing them down. Include that story in your family archives. Because these stories, your stories, are just as meaningful, and while photos help add a visual layer, memories come alive through the words you choose to preserve them.
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