I belong to several volunteer organizations, and for 2 of them I'm the official historian - mostly 'cause I love to scrapbook (when did that become a verb?). There's a few events we do yearly, and I'm finding it more & more difficult to come up with new ways to document events that are, in essence, the same every year.
Does anyone else have this problem, and what are some of the ways you've dealt with it?
That's a great question! Can't wait to hear if anyone has any advice.
Sometimes I find even for my regular pictures I get in a bit of a slump, because they also always seems to be the same.
One thing that keeps things fresh for me, is finding new designs to use with the photos. Obviously, every Christmas I could just use the same Christmas bundle, but that would be so boring! So if you have a frequent theme in your life, I'd keep my eye out for products that would work with those layouts.
Other ideas?
You could always try adapting the "Not My Style" Layout Challenge by creating layouts outside of your norm. Um, using completely different elements, ones you normally wouldn't use. A lot of good stills (candid shots) can come from video recordings rather than pictures, if you have the capability to create stills from recordings.
All in all, I agree with Marisa: Find new and exciting elements, papers, and kits, designs that are really eye-catching.
I have several events that I document via scrapbook every year. Two for the business and one for the church. It does make it hard to think of something new, but it's worth the effert. I agree with Vidia Jade, try something completely different. If nothing else it may kick-start the creative process. I have found that using a specific color scheme or style often works. Good luck and happy scrapping.
Yes, I struggle with that too. Somehow I end up pulling something together afterall.
Are you the photographer too? Maybe you can try taking pictures from different perspectives next time.
What if you just go ahead and use the same elements and basic kit but change the layout? I do that for our 1st day of school pics. I use the same background but change the layout and add/subtract some elements. Maybe someday you can put together all the layouts in one book and it will have a nice cohesive look.
I like what everyone else has said - look for different kits and/or take some inspiration from the gallery to find significantly different layouts or general styles for your pages. Another idea would be to spend some focus on what stays the same. For example, "what a difference a year makes!" with two similar pictures spaced a year apart, showing growth in the number of attendees, the recently planted trees, or the kids & pets. Or have you used the same banner for 10 years now? Scrap a picture of the first time you used it next to this year.