Grain75 Monthly Photo Dump Ideas
The secret to a good monthly photo dump is shooting for it all month: one place, one person, one detail and one feeling each week. Below are 75 ideas: a starter list that works any month, then five things to look out for in each month of the year.
The any-month starter list
Aim to catch at least six of these. Together they give you the range a dump needs.
- A mirror selfie in the month's best outfit
- Your coffee order, from above
- The view from a window you sat by
- A meal you'd eat again
- Your hands holding something: a ticket, a glass, flowers
- A street you walked down, wide
- A friend laughing, slightly out of focus
- Something you read, watched or listened to
- The sky at golden hour
- A five-second clip with sound: rain, a band, waves, a toast
- A new thing you bought, styled on a table
- A photo of you that someone else took
- A night shot with lights
- A small detail nobody else would notice
- The last photo you took that month, whatever it is
Month by month
January
- New-year walk in cold light
- Your desk on the first workday
- A cosy night in
- Winter breakfast
- Frost or snow close up
February
- Flowers on the table
- A long dinner
- Handwritten note or card
- Matching outfits
- Candlelight
March
- First blossom
- Coat off, sunglasses on
- A market haul
- Spring cleaning before and after
- Rain on a window
April
- A picnic
- Fresh haircut
- Pastel everything
- A day trip
- Tulips in a basket
May
- Long evening light
- Rooftop drinks
- A bike or a walk with a view
- Strawberries
- Something you grew or made
June
- The first summer dress
- An outdoor table
- Midsummer sunset
- A festival clip
- Ice cream mid-melt
July
- Holiday packing
- The plane or train window
- A seaside town
- Fruit at a market stall
- A late-night street
August
- A slow lunch
- Sun-faded colours
- Friends around a table
- A film-camera roll
- The last swim of summer, from the shore
September
- New notebook, new routine
- Back-to-work outfit
- First knit
- Apples or figs
- A gallery or museum
October
- Leaves underfoot
- A cosy café corner
- Candles and a book
- Costume or dress-up
- Moody evening walk
November
- Fog or early dark
- A warm drink in gloved hands
- Comfort food
- A weekend away
- Sunday reset
December
- Lights in the street
- A party outfit
- Wrapping paper chaos
- A toast clip
- The last sunset of the year
Make it easy on the 1st
Favourite photos as you go, so on the 1st you can filter Photos to favourites from that month and you're nearly done. Then drop them into a template. In Grain, the This Month card already knows which month you're on, and templates such as Monthly Dump, Month Receipt and Calendar add the date for you.
Questions
What should I put in a monthly photo dump?
A mix of places, people and small details from the month: something you ate, somewhere you went, an outfit, a view, a moment with friends and one shot that sums up the mood. Six to twelve frames is the sweet spot.
When should I post a monthly photo dump?
On the last day of the month or the 1st of the next. People are already looking back, and the date gives the post a natural reason to exist.
What if my month was boring?
Small moments make the best dumps. Morning coffee, the walk to work, a new book, a sky you stopped for. Shoot the ordinary on purpose and the month looks full.
