Update - Instagram December Photo Journal

NOTE: This post isn't just for iPhone users, as Instagram recently announced an Android app is coming soon! Also this sort of photo a day journal could be done with any camera, I just happened to run everything through an instagram filter and I'm so happy I did.

Back on November 30, I talked about how I wanted to do a December photo journal by taking instagram photos each day. Looking back over the experience I must say it was quite fun. I found after awhile that when I was out and about, my eyes were peeled on my surroundings for something interesting. Some days a certain moment just stuck out as "OMG I got to get a picture of this". On December 17, I came down with a nasty cold and for the rest of December there were days here and there where I struggled to take a picture of anything.

I didn't miss a day posting a photo with instagram, but I also didn't stick with just one a day - I ended up with 46 photos total. You see, running a photo through an instagram filter can be kind of addicting. Not to mention there is actually a social aspect to the app itself and the ability to follow/comment/like other instagram users and their photos. It's a great little community....of 14 million users! From within the app itself you can tweet, FB, email, or post your photo to Flickr all at the same time it's being posted in instagram. I usually always tweeted, often posted to my Flickr account, and sometimes posted to FB.

Sample Photos from December

Once January 1 came I was so excited to order 4"x4" prints using the free app Postal Pix that I ordered them first thing in the morning. I ordered 36 prints and the order came to $13.57 including tax and shipping. That works out to $.38/photo. Since I have a crap printer, own zero photo paper, can't cut a straight line to save my life, and these were delivered in the mail, I consider them worth every penny. The pictures arrived on January 7 and I fell instantly in love! They came out great! 

My Postal Pix prints! That's a straight out of the camera iPhone shot of what they look like. So awesome! 

Here's what I learned:

1. 4"x4" photos were much bigger in person than what I was envisioning. I was quite happy with this.
2. I wish I had used borders every time they were available on an instagram filter. I kept thinking a border might take up too much space because of the small photo size, so I would turn them on and off. My personal preference is ON at this point. The photos are plenty large enough.
3. I created a December Instagram Album in my Photo library on my iPhone. (Did you know with iOS 5 you can create albums directly on your phone?) I would copy the instagram photos into this album periodically. This made it much easier to find the photos for my Postal Pix order instead of searching through my camera roll for them. However, I need to move them into there each day and not just once a week. I missed a few of my favorite photos when ordering.
4. #3 shows you don't have to use an instagram photo to order prints from Postal Pix. ;)
5. I don't use instagram to take the picture. I take the picture with the standard iPhone camera app then run it through an instagram filter. The quality is much higher this way and since I'm printing my photos this is important to me. 
6. I have yet to figure out how I'm going to display/store my printed photos. Suggestions? I'm wrestling with a few ideas. 
7. As I look at each print they definitely invoke a memory....lunch with friends, the holiday season, the gorgeous weather we had in December, the exhausting office move at work, etc. 
8. In 2012 I'm going to continue on! I might take more than one photo a day. I may miss a day. Not going to stress over it. Whatever instagram photos I have at the end of the month I will print! I also hope to get more pictures of me and my husband together. 

Take more photos! If you see something interesting or have a moment you want to remember take a photo. Sometimes the most random photos are the most memorable. Overall this was a super fun project and at this point I'm eager to continue.