A lot of criticism has been thrown around about our newfound tendency to over-document our lives.

Cell phone cameras and the ever-increasing number of social media outlets makes it insanely easy to make a permanent record of every little thing we do, regardless of whether it’s truly noteworthy or not.

Taking too many pictures can also accidentally take us out of the very moment that we’re trying to appreciate.

We end up focusing so hard on getting the perfect shot and choosing the right Instagram filter that we miss out on soaking it all in through your eyes.

While it’s important not to get carried away with our virtual existence, taking photos with an intentional, mindful mindset is a wonderful way to see your own life and surroundings through a different metaphorical lens. Use these little photography assignments to help you get started:

Ordinary Beauty

Taking a picture of a golden sun setting over the Tuscan hills on your Italian vacation is a no-brainer. The same goes for your child’s first birthday or your pet doing something hilarious.

But the fact is that these spectacular moments are actually quite few—the majority of our lives are spent doing things that are pretty ordinary. But is there not beauty in all of that ordinary? The answer is yes; it’s there for those who are looking for it.

But you must actually look for it. On your daily commute, instead of fuming about the traffic, look around and snap a picture of the amazing shadow the fire escape ladder throws onto the concrete. Did you just change your sheets and make your bed with all the decorative throw pillows? There’s beauty in that too.

Channel your inner artist to frame the freshly-made bed in a creative way, and you just may find that you have a new appreciation for your own peaceful bedroom.

Portraiture

There’s a difference between taking a picture of someone and creating a portrait of them…and you don’t have to be a pro photographer to do the latter. The main difference is mindfulness.

Most photos you take of the people you love are done quickly, without much planning or thinking, which is perfectly fine. But as a mindfulness exercise, it’s better to take a bit more care. Think about the setting, the lighting and just what you want to capture about the person.

And when you’re shooting, really try to focus all of your energy and attention on the subject. You might want to talk to them or have them talk to you to put them at ease and get a more natural facial expression. Regardless of the outcome, the experience of focusing on a loved one in that way will be a good bonding experience and can even renew your love and respect for them.

Capture a Moment

Most of the pictures we take get a quick glance and maybe a spot on our Facebook timeline, but that’s it. But there’s plenty more you can do with a photo if it’s a special one that has deep meaning for you. A great exercise in mindfulness is to use one of your pictures as the jumping off point for a journal entry. This is especially effective very soon after a photo was taken—though we often think we’ll remember a moment forever, pieces of it fade into the ether as time goes by.

Hold onto it by writing every tiny detail you can remember from the time a special photo was taken: what you could hear, feel, taste and smell; the thoughts and feelings you were having; and what was happening outside the frame. Just the act of writing about it will further cement the memory in your mind, and it will be a great way to revisit the picture in future years.

Go Small

Sometimes we try to pack too much into the frame of a photo and end up getting not much at all. But often the most poignant and beautiful photographs are those of tiny portions of a bigger picture. Go ahead and take the wide shot of a beautiful view, but then take a few minutes to focus in on small details or unique perspectives. Whether the pictures turn out better or not, you’ll most certainly notice things you didn’t when you stood so far back.

Think Before You Shoot

I sometimes laugh when I see people scrambling for their phones or cameras the very second that they see something beautiful. Unless it’s a wild animal on the run, there’s no need. This is the kind of photography that does prevent you from being present.

Before you try to get the perfect shot, why not enjoy it for a few minutes through your own five senses? More than likely, your pictures will look better after you’ve taken a bit of time to appreciate the reality of the scene and decide what it is you’d like an image to capture of it.

Print and Enjoy

Digital photography is still amazing to me—the fact that we can take pictures, see them right away, manipulate them on a tiny computer in our hands and store them forever has liberated the medium in many ways. But the downside to this technology is that we rarely have physical versions of pictures anymore. They live in our phones or laptops forever.

But it’s still pretty easy to take the time and spend the few bucks to print out your most treasured photos to put around your home. The daily reminder of people, places and things that you love will remind you of what really matters when life gets a bit hectic and you’re in danger of losing perspective.

The thing I love most about photography is that, unlike many art forms, anyone can do it and enjoy it without any training whatsoever.

The important thing is not necessarily the quality of your pictures, but rather the thought you put into them and what the action of taking them helped you to truly see and appreciate about your life and your surroundings.

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Editor: Emily Bartran

Photo: Courtney Carmody/Flickr