The arrival of summer brings an explosion of colors, warmth, and joy. It’s the perfect time to create beautiful memories and freeze them in time through the art of photography. Whether you’re lounging on a sandy beach, exploring breathtaking landscapes, or simply enjoying quality time with loved ones, capturing the essence of summer can be a delightful and easy experience. In this blog, we’ll explore some expert tips and tricks to help you take amazing summer photos that will make your memories last a lifetime.
Embrace Natural Light:
One of the key elements that set summer apart is the abundance of natural light. To make the most of it, try shooting during the “golden hour” – the hour after sunrise or before sunset – when the light is softer and creates a warm, flattering glow. If your summer activities necessitate taking photos in the middle of the day, seek out shaded areas to soften harsh shadows and create a more balanced exposure.
Compose with Care:
When framing your summer shots, pay attention to composition. Utilize the “rule of thirds” by mentally dividing your frame into a grid of nine equal parts and placing key elements along the intersecting lines. In beach or landscape shots, incorporate leading lines, such as a shoreline or a road, to guide the viewer’s eye toward the main subject. Experiment with different angles, perspectives, and points of view to add intrigue to your summer photographs.
Tell a story:
Your summer photos should do more than just capture a moment; they should tell a story. Look beyond posed shots and aim to capture candid moments. Whether it’s a niece or nephew building a sandcastle, friends laughing on a picnic blanket, or relatives sharing a meal at a family reunion, these authentic moments are special and sentimental to look back on for years to come. Be observant and ready to capture those fleeting, magical instances that define summer.
Preserve and Share Your Memories:
Now that you’ve preserved precious memories and created an extraordinary visual collection of the season’s magic, it’s time to showcase the beautiful photos you’ve captured. Nixplay digital frames allow you to display entire playlists of photos so you aren’t forced to choose just one. Plus, you can share playlists with friends and family to stay up-to-date on each other’s summer activities. They can even add their own photos to collaborative playlists, making shared memories a treasured part of your summer.
Who says you can’t have tons of fun from the comfort of your own home? Sure, going out can be exciting and provide you with a much-needed change of scenery, but given the current climate and safety precautions people are taking, staying in is becoming more and more common- especially among families. With all the adjustments taking place, such as students adapting to remote learning and parents getting used to working from home, it’s nice to have a night in to look forward to at the end of the week. With a little creativity, there are plenty of ways to make a family night in feel like a family night out. Keep reading to gather some ideas on how to make your next family fun night a success.
1. Camp Out, Living Room Style
Camping in the great outdoors is an old family tradition for many, but why not create a new one by bringing the campsite to your living room? Pull out those sleeping bags, pitch a tent and get your favorite scary stories ready to tell around the fireplace or a faux campfire. Speaking of campfires, is there even a point if you don’t have s’mores? With all the prep work you’ve been doing to make this family night in perfect, grabbing the ingredients to make these tasty treats may have slipped your mind. Have no fear, with an app like goPuff, you can order all the fixings needed to make the perfect s’more, and maybe even an adult beverage or two. You can even have them delivered to your living room so you don’t have to miss out on any of the fun! Not only is camping out living room-style a great way to spend quality time with your family, but it also guarantees you’ll avoid any stormy or rainy weather – as well as hungry bears ransacking your tent after you’ve fallen asleep!
2. Get Creative in the Kitchen
Going out to eat, especially if you have a larger family, can be quite costly. It may also be tough for everyone to agree on where they want to go based on different tastes. A family night is the perfect time to gather around your favorite cookbook and get creative in the kitchen with your crew. Whether it’s making an old family recipe like Grandma’s famous chocolate chip cookies, or trying something completely new like sushi from scratch, the kitchen is a place where memories are made. Assigning each family member a task ensures everyone is included, as this makes the final product that much better. It’s likely you’ll have many laughs and may even make something totally inedible, which is why it’s important to keep a frozen pizza or two handy just in case! But however your culinary creation ends up, it’s still a bonding moment you’ll remember for years to come.
3. Take Game Night to the Next Level
Sure, board games and card games are fun and will keep your family entertained, but why not take things to the next level by creating a scavenger hunt?? This will take a little extra prep work but it’s sure to make a lasting impression on your family. It’s totally up to you when it comes to how creative you want to get, but the more thought you put into it, the more exciting it will be. Begin by creating clues based on areas in or around your home. Be sure these clues are tailored to the ages of your family members. For example, if you have little ones, you’ll want to make things more basic, but if you’ve got teens or adults participating, you’ll want your clues to be a bit trickier. You can break up into teams or make it every person for themselves. Either way, whatever prize you choose should provide the winner with bragging rights for a while, or at least until the next hunt! If you’re looking for inspiration on how to plan your family scavenger hunt, check out this article.
4. Have a Dance Party
When in doubt, dance it out! This idea may sound crazy, but you’d be surprised at how much fun you can have while dancing. Cutting a rug has many benefits that stem beyond breaking a sweat. Not only are you getting some cardio in, but you’re supporting your mental health as well. Dancing helps to boost your mood and is one of the most inclusive activities you can partake in. A dance party at home provides you with an opportunity to learn about other cultures as well. For example, you may want to explore the world of salsa dancing or learn the Viennese waltz. There’s also nothing wrong with getting down to a little hokey-pokey every now and then. Whatever your interest, moving your body to music is a great release for everyone in your family. If you want to invite a couple of friends over to include them in the fun, check out these social-distance approved dances on YouTube.
These ideas are just a few of the ways in which you can take advantage of this time together – and with a little creativity and some help from the internet, the possibilities are endless!
Want to make sure it’s a night to remember?
Regardless of the current climate and safety precautions, we’re taking to protect our families, staying home doesn’t have to mean being stuck at home. There are so many fun activities you can plan for family members of all ages and priceless memories to be made. Want to make sure these precious moments can be looked back on for years to come.? Don’t forget to get snap-happy with your camera when spending time with those who matter most. A few pictures and videos can make the world of difference when creating memories, and a Nixplay digital photo frame is the best way to savor them forever.
Giving is truly better than receiving. Just ask Harrison Ford Bulldog, one of our favorite Instagram-famous dogs. To celebrate his upcoming birthday, the perpetually grumpy pooch with a heart of gold partnered with Nixplay to help Patrick, a second-grade teacher at the poorest public school in Cincinnati, Ohio. Patrick would use his own salary to purchase school supplies for his pupils, sometimes even sending his students home with food as many of them experience food insecurity.
Patrick’s generosity made him a deserving hero in Harrison Ford Bulldog’s eyes, and there was truly no better recipient for a birthday fundraiser. We got to chat with Harrison Ford’s mom, Sarah, about their fundraising activities and their life with a famous pooch. Read on!
First of all, we love Harrison Ford Bulldog and would like to send our greetings. For those who haven’t had the chance to meet him, please tell our Nixplay family a little bit about Harrison Ford.
Harrison Ford Bulldog is an English Bulldog living in Cincinnati, Ohio. We started an Instagram account for him in late 2015, and it has amassed almost 50,000 followers who tune in for his grumpy face, aggravated thoughts, and sweet disposition.
He’s pretty funny – it’s certainly not our photography skills that bring in the followers! We have a lot of fun sharing Harrison Ford’s funniest moments with our 50,000 internet friends.
Harrison Ford’s birthday is coming up soon! How do you usually celebrate it?
Harrison Ford turns 8 in 2 months. We usually celebrate that month with a big fundraiser of some sort and a bunch of prize giveaways to our followers. In the past, we have raised money for a Cincinnati dog rescue named Queen City Bulldog Rescue, our daughter’s school’s scholarship fund, and smaller events throughout the year for other bulldog rescues across the USA.
We did not expect to have this large platform on Instagram, and we try to use it for good – raising money and raising awareness. Fortunately, the bulldog community is tight-knit and is always game for a good cause.
Can you tell us a little bit about this year’s fundraising event?
This year, we celebrated Harrison Ford’s birthday a bit early to coincide with the start of the school year in Ohio. Patrick, a friend of ours, is a 2nd-grade teacher at the poorest public school in Cincinnati, and had told me stories in the past about how sometimes they don’t even have hand soap in their bathrooms and that he sends food home with his students because so many of them experience food insecurity. This is in addition to the huge amounts of school supplies he regularly purchases for his class of kids. I made a mental note at that time that our next fundraiser would be for his classroom.
This summer, we realized that not only would Patrick need the usual school supplies and food items, but he’d also need to purchase classroom safety items for teaching during a pandemic. Unfortunately, a majority of public schools in the USA are severely underfunded, and the responsibility of purchasing most things for the classrooms ends up falling on teachers. Our educators are not paid anywhere near what they deserve, so this responsibility puts a financial strain on so many.
I reached out to our favorite sponsors and companies ( Nixplay was my very first email!), and asked if they would consider donating a raffle prize. We collected 10 amazing high-value prizes from a variety of sources – corporate sponsors such as Nixplay, local Cincinnati companies like Rookwood Pottery, Red Dog Pet Resort & Spa and The Hand of Allhands, along with prizes donated by some of our own amazing followers.
Each $10 increment donation earned 1 entry into our raffle, with winners drawn by random. We raised $1500 in less than one week, with some people donating more than once. The average person in America recognizes that teachers are heroes. Teachers educate our children, they love our children, they counsel our children, they protect our children. They deserve to be millionaires. Raising $1500 so a second-grade public school teacher can feed his students felt like the right thing to do, and clearly resonated with our amazing followers.
It’s so heartwarming to hear stories of hope, resilience, and togetherness at a time like this. What’s your message to our Nixplay family?
Our family has been long-time users of Nixplay frames to keep in touch. Both sets of grandparents own Nixplay frames, and we’ve used them for years to send pictures and keep them up to date on our everyday happenings. Quite a few of our friends own a Nixplay frame, too!
With the pandemic occurring, our Nixplay frames took on a role of greater importance: They connected us when we couldn’t physically be together. We can immediately share our best photos and videos with our parents, and nothing is better than walking by one of our Nixplay frames and seeing a special memory from when my daughter was just an infant or young toddler. Rather than keeping photos locked up in a book to enjoy “someday,” we enjoy our memories flashing by every day on our Nixplay frame. It means so much to our family.
So viel hat sich in den letzten Wochen geändert. Das Nixplay Team arbeitet weiterhin unermüdlich (natürlich von zu Hause aus), um Ihnen zu helfen, in diesen schwierigen Zeiten mit Familie und Freunden in Verbindung zu bleiben. Ihre kontinuierliche Unterstützung bedeutet, dass wir:
sicherstellen können, dass alle Mitglieder des Team Nixplay weiterhin für ihre Familien sorgen und bei Bedarf auf Gesundheitsdienste zugreifen können.
unsere Lieferkette aufrechterhalten und in dieser entscheidenden Zeit Hunderte von Menschen beschäftigen können.
Ihnen helfen können mit Ihrer Familie und Ihren Freunden in Verbindung zu bleiben und gleichzeitg die sozialen Distanzierungsmaßnahmen einzuhalten.
Wir hoffen, dass es Ihnen und Ihrer Familie in diesen beispiellosen Zeiten trotzdem gut geht. Mögen die Fotos und Videos auf Ihren Nixplay Rahmen Sie an schöner Zeiten erinnern und Ihnen dabei helfen diese schwierige Zeit zu meistern.
Our families mean the world to us, and oftentimes it can be hard to express just how important these people are to us. When considering gifts to give your loved ones, a present can be more meaningful when it comes from the heart. Take a look at these options for gifts that will leave a permanent mark on your family’s life.
A gift to help them feel more present
For families separated by distance, feeling like you’re with your loved ones can be the greatest gift of all. Consider purchasing something that can help them feel your presence in their lives even if your schedules don’t easily line up. Digital photo frames are a great option for family members looking to reconnect through old memories, elderly relatives who can’t travel as much, or people who want to honor their late loved ones. It’s a great way to keep in mind those closest to your heart: Not only does it keep the faces of the people you love within sight, but the videos playing on a digital photo frame also keeps the voices of distant family present and remembered.
A gift for better living
Supporting good habits and encouraging healthy behavior is a gift that can have a lasting impact on the well-being of your family. If you have kids, it’s essential to establish healthy eating habits in young children to help them grow strong and stay healthy. Look for nutritious recipes that you can cook as a whole family—acting as both a way to spend quality time together while also giving the gift of physical wellness.
For your partner, older relatives, or anyone else in your family looking for help eating better, there are printable meal-planning templates that can help them achieve their wellness goals while collaboratively working towards a better quality of life. As nutrition is key to living a longer life, supporting loved ones in this way demonstrates how much you value their presence in your life.
A gift for motivation
One of the greatest gifts that you can offer someone is an open ear and an opportunity to help them grow. As you think about the ways you want to give back to a family member, consider which qualities you admire most about them. Helping your friends or family reach their potential can be one of the most mutually rewarding experiences, and luckily there are several different ways to accomplish this.
One way to provide support for a family member in this way is to volunteer your time to help them harness their talents or gifts, such as taking a cooking class or visiting an art museum with them. If time isn’t always something you can offer, consider purchasing a guided journal for your loved one. Using this journal allows them to ask focused questions and plan different activities for deeper thought. Journals can be a great start to self-exploration and aid in goal-setting, making your gift a memorable part of their personal development.
A gift for peace of mind
Something you might not think about often but is unquestionably important is how you can continue to give to your families past your time with them. Ensuring that the ones closest to you are taken care of financially in the long run not only grants peace of mind but will guarantee that they are protected under any unforeseen circumstance. Life insurance isn’t as expensive as most people think and it can serve as a responsible gift for family members who rely on you financially, will act as an income replacement, and can help pay major payments should you no longer be there to provide for them. Listing your family as the beneficiary of your policy can help support any members who might be looking to go to college, have a mortgage, or have younger children.
While picking out the perfect gift isn’t always easy, finding something that is irreplaceable to your family can demonstrate the love and care you have for these special people. From physical gifts to simply the dedication of your time, the ways to give to your family are endless. And remember, just as author Catherine Pulsifer says, “giving to others will not take away from what you have but will, in fact, add to your life.”
