Scenes of Summertime

Some of the best summer movies are remembered for their iconic scenes. Parent Trap has the chaos of summer camp pick up and drop off—piles of bags and girls emotional over their hellos and goodbyes. In Moonrise Kingdom, we see the spectacular scene of Suzy atop a lighthouse, her tangerine minidress, and knee socks with binoculars to her face. She is perfectly framed by the lines of the lighthouse and the cool blue water behind her. It is a glorious sight of vintage summer color tones. The Sandlot transports us to our own summer trips to the local pool, as well as scheming and dreaming with our childhood friends. In the show Parenthood, the opening credits show us what it feels like to have a big family—string lights glitter the tree line as everyone gathers around the endlessly long table to feast on a meal and laughter. I’m pretty sure a lot of us were persuaded into having a big family thanks to this opening scene (just me?)

Capturing the Iconic Moments of Your Summer

There is something to savor about a moment that iconically represents the themes of a season of life. In the moment below, I had taken my one-year-old and three-year-old at the time to the Yuma County Fair. To say the least, Yuma is a small town in the desert with little to do. The county fair is a huge to-do—schools schedule their spring break around it. We arrived at a uniquely gloomy moment in sunny Arizona. A thematically captured moment baptizes you anew to experience everything about the season surrounding the moment. It reminds me of the appreciation for a gloomy day, the famous cinnamon rolls we could not wait to enjoy; it reminds me of the good friends who met us there, of the long nights of work for my husband, and my desire to chase joy and memories for our children anyways.

Planned vs. Posed

It goes without saying to acknowledge that these great scenes involved a massive amount of planning. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find it hard to let go of control as a mother. This is the part where I want to nervously shout, “I’m not controlling, I’m not!” But let’s just say there is evidence that points otherwise. And truthfully, we want to authentically tell our stories. We are not looking to put our children in trendy poses, stand still, wear perfect outfits, then click. I think that’s why scenes can often be so inspiring for thematic photographs—even with all the planning, there is movement and unpredictability, and maybe that’s what is most inspiring.

As the Lazy Genius has taught us all, start with what matters. What intentions have you set around your summer and the time you will have with your kids? What you have prioritized in your summer will guide what moments you have already planned, and those are going to be great opportunities to document. Set a goal of having 3 summer experiences you would like to bring your camera along for and try and capture an iconic moment of your summer. Spend some time journaling the scenes of summertime you envision for yourself and your family. And use this printable summer photo scavenger hunt to document your iconic summer.