Last Call For Christmas

START YOUR HOLIDAY PICTURE PLANNING RIGHT NOW

As I write this, I’m sitting on a high bluff overlooking Cape Cod Bay.

Blue sky.

Sea breeze.

Loudest sound is the surf about a hundred feet below.

It is THE most wonderful view I’ve enjoyed all summer, with the added benefit of a houseful of friends - old and new - to share the experience for a few lovely days.

And I’m thinking about Christmas.

It’s weird, I know.

See, Labor Day - the U.S. marker for summer’s end - is less than a week away. A sprint to the finish. And I know that come the end of October, with leaf bare trees and down jackets, I’ll be scouring my photo library for summer photos to put on the wall, populate my screen saver, or create a 2026 calendar. And yes, make our New Year’s card.

In the frenzy of activity in November/December there’s nothing more grounding than the reminder of relaxed summer days and the promise of warm outdoors activity that is only a few months away.

So while my parents would have started making jars of fruit preserves or frozen meats to last the winter, I’m laying in photos and videos to get me through the dark.

If you are like me and want to stretch the times of summer as far as possible, here are some thoughts about how to pull that off.

Start the exercise by taking inventory. Do a sense check on your photo collection starting with late April or early May to see what you’ve got. You can make notes, use the Favorites tag, or create some meaningful Albums to keep track of your summer activities. The Trips Collection can help as well as Imports and Recently Saved.

If you want to scroll through your Library view, be sure that the settings are set to All Items, Both Libraries (if you are using Shared Libraries), include Shared With You and Screenshots. The Full Monty. You never know when those ‘reminders’ shots will jog a memory. You should also make sure that the Sort is set to Date Captured to see photos in the proper order.

Everyone’s photography style is different, but let’s say you averaged 100 images per month. Fewer for the quiet, contemplative times and much more for a trip or event here and there. If we start with May, that’s about 400 images for the summer. Plenty to work with.

On this first pass you are looking for 2 things only.

- Photos that stop the scroll.

- Photos that make you smile.

You know them when you see them. The pictures that make you hesitate, think, and spark a full blown memory. These are the photos that support everything else. The reason we love to take photos in the first place. And it doesn’t really matter if they include everyone or everyplace. We’ll get to that.

If you stopped right there, you’d have good options for wall art, a calendar, and a Christmas/New Year’s card. You’d have a screensaver collection for your Lock Screen, Apple Watch, or Summer 2025 Memory Movie.

But you’re going to make a second pass too, and look for:

- Photos and videos that add context and detail to a moment or event.

- Photos of ‘must remember’ friends and selfies from the summer narrative.

These flesh out the summer narrative and add a little depth to support a photo book, slideshow, video, or personal one-off card to someone.

Got it?

But why now, you say. When you’re right in the middle of basking in the last few hours off summer tanning. Or beach volleyball. Savoring the 3 day weekend at hand.

Because if you missed the assignment and never got the summer photos you need, you’ve still got time. This is the make-up test.

Get to the beach. Climb that mountain. Go to that favorite summer getaway one more time. This is your last chance to take pictures and be sure your camera roll will get you through the winter.

Christmas will be here before you know it.

If you are interested in an online workshop for making Projects - book, slideshow, calendars, cards - in the newest version of Apple Photos, sign up here for announcements when it becomes available. Once macOS Tahoe releases next month and I see the final Photos changes, I will schedule the workshop and make announcements. There is no obligation and you can unsubscribe from that list whenever you want.