Disclaimer: Today's post is sponsored by the Share Your Photos app. All opinions are my own.
As I look back on the last 5+ years of my life, my college days are getting further and further behind me. I realized quickly after getting through college, that I didn't take many photos at all. Today I wanted to share my thoughts on this as a college graduate and let you know how to avoid my mistakes.
Why I Wish I Took More Photos
Okay, let's get down to business. Why do I wish that I took more photos? Simply because memories fade, y'all. When you are in college you think that you will remember your time for the rest of your life, but you simply just won't.
There will come a time when you don't remember so much of your past. The best way to commemorate even the simplest moments is a photograph.
The great thing about today's generation is that so many of us have a picture taker on us all. the. time. For much of the first years of my college career I didn't have an iPhone (shocker, right?!) I actually got my first iPhone at the tail end of my Sophomore year of college.
So that means that it was pretty hard to take pictures during the entire first half of my college career. So most of the pictures I do have are filtered through the lens of the people around me, and not through me. I mean, I had a phone that could take pictures, but not super quality pictures.
If I could give any advice I would say write your own story by taking your own photographs. If you don't have an iPhone or an Android like I did, bring something else. Get a cute Instax Mini or a point-and-shoot camera. Whatever you can do to make sure that you are preserving your college memories.
I am not going to say that your college years will be the best four years of your life. That's simply not true. People who say that are just like the people who say that high school will be the best for years of your life. College, on the other hand, is a great transitional period in your life. You learn so much about who you are as a person in college and it really shapes your adulthood. So, don't fall for the best four years of your life b.s., but know that these four (or five, or six) years will be important.
Take photos so that you remember this time.
How To Train Yourself To Take More Photos
If you are like I was in college, photos just aren't at the top of your mind. There were many things that I would have rather done than take pictures of a moment in time. I always thought that it would be better to just live in the moment than try to take pictures of it. Living in the moment is cool, but sometimes you just need a picture to remember that moment.
Here are a couple of tips on training yourself to take more photos:
Understand that one quick snap won't hurt
One quick snap in the beginning, middle, or at the end of a wonderful night won't detract from the moment. If you are out with friends don't hesitate to gather everyone up for a quick snap. You don't have to go crazy and have an entire mini photo shoot, but don't feel bad about taking a few seconds to take a picture.
Remind yourself to take a picture when you are leaving for the night
Before you leave your room to go out, actively remind yourself to take a picture that night. Often we get so caught up in the moment that we forget to take a photo. Tell yourself a couple of times to take picture or even have a cute note or poster on your door to remind you to take pictures of your favorite memories.
Remember that the mundane is picture worthy
When we attend concerts or do anything super fun it is SO easy to remember to take pictures. The day to day dinners with friends, class walks, etc. are the memories that get the most neglected. I am not telling you to live your life through the lens of your smart phone, but don't be afraid to take a snap. Does your outfit look cute? Take a selfie. Do you see some cute squirrels that make you happy? Take a photo. Are you going out bowling with some friends? Take a group shot.
The super fun things like concerts and plays need pictures, but they are so few and far between. Those mundane, every day tasks are important to your life story too, and you will wish you captured more photos of them.
Hang out with friends who love pictures
Last, but not least, hang out with friends who love to take pictures. If you aren't good at rounding up everyone in your friend group, you probably know someone who is. Then throw your phone in with their request. Ask your friends to take one more photo on your phone versus initiating the picture taking. This is a great tip for all you introverts (like me) who are afraid to initiate the action.
What to do with all the photos you take
Okay, so now you have a whole bunch of beautiful photos of all sorts of memories on your phone. What do you do with them? You use the FREE Share Your Photos app of course!
Share Your Photos is a great application for anyone who wants to share photos among family, friends, co-workers, and anyone at all. It is SO easy to use this application to upload your photos and share them with friends.
If you are not great at taking pictures, you can use this app with all the people in your life who are. You can easily create “Events” for your friends and family to use. Then once you create the event you can upload photos as well as let the people in your life upload photos. After that you can go through the photos and download as many as you want, without worry because these photos will be available for a long time (so you can always go back to the pictures you don't download later.)
If you want to cherish those memories even more, you can even buy prints straight from the Share Your Photos app. You can buy things like photo prints, phone cases, posters, and more with all your favorite memories on them.
I LOVE this app because we always want photos from people in our friend group, but wouldn't it be so much easier to just upload all the photos to an app where our friends can decide which images they actually love and download them from there. This app clears up room on your phone and helps you connect with your friends by sharing pictures. Win/win in my book.
Also for all my sorority girls and just people in various student organizations–the Share Your Photos app would be perfect to share with all your group members. For sorority social media chairs, this app would be perfect because all of your sisters can upload their photos to the app and then you can download the ones you want to use on social media. Yes, please!
#ShareYourUber Giveaway
Share Your Photos is doing something really awesome right now. They are giving away a $300 Uber gift card to one lucky Share Your Photos lover. To enter all you have to do is:
- Download the Share Your Photos app
- Join the event: #ShareYourUber
- Upload a photo of how you get around town
It really is that simple. Joining an event is as easy as clicking the button on your Share Your Photos app home screen that says “Join An Event” then typing in the Event ID on the next screen and clicking the next button. So simple.
Uploading a photo to an event is as simple as pressing the Upload/Share Photos button and then finding the photo you want to upload in your camera roll.
Once you upload your photo to the #ShareYourUber event you are entered to win the $300 Uber gift card and you can check out all the other cool entries (including mine.)
If you love Uber and want the chance to win I definitely encourage you to upload a photo. The winner will be selected on September 28th, 2017!
Conclusion
College is such a fun time period in your life. You will grow so much, make so many friends, and create so many memories. Don't forget to take a minute to snap a photo and then share those with your friends and family using the Share Your Photos app. It's fun, easy, and free to share all your memories with the people you love by using this application.
Remember to collect moments, not things.
