75 photo-a-day ideas and prompts for couples

Photo-a-day ideas work best when they’re small, like your coffee before the first sip, the sky on the way home or the shoes by the door. The best daily photos are rarely impressive, and they show your partner the parts of your day they don’t get to see. Here are 75 photo-a-day prompts grouped by mood and time of day, so you can grab one that fits the day you’re having. There’s no order to follow, and tips for keeping the habit going are at the end.

If you’d rather have a set prompt for every day of the month, try the 30-day couples photo challenge instead.

Mornings

The first hour of the day is the part of your life your partner sees least, especially when you wake up in different places.

1. Your drink before the first sip. Coffee, tea or water in last night’s glass, in whatever light you have.
2. The view from your window. The same window every day makes a good series. Rain, fog and a gray parking lot all count.
3. Breakfast, however sad. A banana eaten over the sink is a valid entry.
4. The light on the wall. Early sun through blinds or curtains makes shapes that last about ten minutes.
5. Your hair right now. Bedhead, wet from the shower, or the one good hair day of the month.
6. Shoes by the door. Whatever you’re about to put on, and the clutter around them.
7. Your desk before you start. Laptop still closed, a coffee ring, the to-do list you’re about to ignore.
8. The first thing that made you smile. A dog in a raincoat, a kid on a scooter, a cloud shaped like a sock.

Small details

These are the things you’d never post anywhere else, which is what makes them fun to share with one person.

9. Something you found. A leaf, a shell or a lost ticket, held in your palm.
10. A word on a sign. Graffiti, a menu board, a shop name that made you laugh out loud.
11. Your shadow. Long in the morning, short at noon and a new shape every time.
12. Your nightstand. A glass of water, a tangled charger, three books you’re halfway through.
13. The page you’re on. Your book held open, thumb pressing it flat.
14. The song on repeat. A screenshot of what’s playing, or your headphones on the desk.
15. A plant you’re keeping alive. Or failing to. The drooping basil makes a fine subject.
16. Something in their favorite color. A mailbox, a scarf, a bike. They’ll know why you sent it.

Try it today: Each pick one prompt from “Small details” and share your photo before dinner. If you use Pairloom, turn the photo over and write one line on the back about why you picked it.

Out and about

17. Your commute. A bus window, bike handlebars, the crosswalk where you wait every morning.
18. Today’s sky. Shoot it at the same time every day for a week and you have a little weather diary.
19. A dog you met. Ask the owner first, and put the dog’s name in your note.
20. Where you ate lunch. A bench, a food truck line, the car, your desk again.
21. A door you like. Painted, old or odd. After a month you’ll have a collection.
22. The longest line you saw. A bakery on a Saturday, the post office, a ride at the fair.
23. Somewhere new. A street you’ve never walked down, a new café, the far end of the park.
24. Your street at night. Streetlights, a glowing sign, the walk home from the bus stop.

Food and drink

25. What you cooked tonight. Mid-mess and before plating. The pan counts.
26. Your fridge, door open. Honest and slightly embarrassing. They’ll learn a lot.
27. The snack that got you through the afternoon. Vending machine crackers deserve their moment too.
28. A recipe you want to make together. A screenshot or a cookbook page with a folded corner.
29. Something new you tried. A fruit you couldn’t name, a strange chip flavor, the mystery dish on the menu.
30. Your name on the cup. Misspelled versions are worth more.
31. Dinner from above. Plate, fork and whatever you’re watching in the background.

Color, light and shapes

When you’re stuck, pick a theme and hunt for it. It turns a dull walk into a small game.

32. One color all day. Pick red in the morning and send the best red thing you saw.
33. Circles. A manhole cover, a plate, a clock, a coffee lid.
34. Golden hour. The hour before sunset, wherever you happen to be standing.
35. A reflection. A puddle, a shop window, someone’s sunglasses, the back of a spoon.
36. Something symmetrical. A bridge, a staircase, a sandwich cut exactly in half.
37. Their initial. Find the first letter of their name out in the world, on a sign or a license plate.
38. Light through something. Sun through a leaf, a glass of juice or a lampshade.
39. A pattern. Floor tiles, bricks, the knit of your sweater, the stripes of a crosswalk.

When you’re together

On days you see each other, take turns photographing each other, or both shoot the same moment from your side of it. For posed shots, there are plenty more couple photo ideas to borrow from.

40. Your hands side by side. On a table, on a steering wheel, around the same mug.
41. Two drinks on one table. Your order next to theirs says a lot about you both.
42. The meal you made together. Mid-chaos, with the recipe propped against the salt.
43. Them laughing, caught off guard. Shoot first, explain later.
44. The view from where you sat. Same view, two phones. Compare the two over dinner.
45. Your reflection together. A shop window, an elevator mirror, a puddle after rain.
46. The thing you debated at the store. The cereal, the paint color, the plant that came home anyway.
47. Your shoes next to theirs. Under a table, by a door, in the sand.

When you’re apart

Long-distance or just busy, these help your partner picture where you are and what your day feels like. They fit neatly into other daily rituals for long-distance couples.

48. The clock when you thought of them. A microwave clock, the corner of your phone screen, a train station board.
49. Your weather. A wet window, a sunny sidewalk, the forecast on your screen, so they can compare it with theirs.
50. Something you wish you could show them. A huge dog, a sunset, a menu item with their name on it.
51. Something you’ll bring them. A snack they can’t get where they are, a postcard, a book you just finished.
52. The countdown. A calendar with the next visit circled, or the number of sleeps left on a sticky note.
53. Dinner for one. Set the table nicely anyway and send the proof.
54. A spot you’re saving for them. The bench, the bar or the bookshop you’ll take them to next visit.
55. Your pillow at lights out. The last thing you see before sleep, waiting for them when they wake up.

Tired, rainy or boring days

Some days you’re home in sweatpants and nothing happens. These prompts need almost no effort and no going outside.

56. The view from the couch. Feet up, remote in reach, whatever is on the screen.
57. Your socks. Mismatched ones are better.
58. Rain on the window. Tap the drops on the glass to focus on them.
59. The pile. Laundry, dishes or unopened mail. Honesty is the theme today.
60. Your blanket nest. The exact shape you’ve been lying in for three hours.
61. Your battery percentage. At 2%, it tells a whole story.
62. Something you finished. A book, a season of a show, a jar of peanut butter.
63. Your to-do list with one thing crossed off. Even if the thing was “shower.”

Evenings

64. The sky when you got home. Pink, gray or already dark, whatever color it was.
65. Your keys on the table. The moment the day officially ends.
66. Your evening walk. The same loop every night looks different every season.
67. The first lamp you switch on. That small circle of light means the day is winding down.
68. Tomorrow’s outfit. Laid out on a chair, or at least thought about.
69. The moon. It will look like a blurry dot on a phone, and it’s still worth sending.

Seasons and special days

Use the calendar for a nudge when ideas run out.

70. The first cold or hot day of the year. Your breath in the air, or a popsicle melting down your hand.
71. A birthday candle. Yours, theirs, or a coworker’s grocery-store cake.
72. A holiday decoration on your street. The overdone house on the corner counts.
73. The same spot as last year. Find a photo from a year ago and stand where you stood.
74. What you wore to something special. A wedding, a work party, a concert.
75. Your anniversary. Anything at all, with a longer note than usual on the back.

How to keep a photo-a-day habit going

The first week is easy. These help with week six.

• Pick a time, not a moment. Waiting for something worth photographing is how days get skipped. Choose a slot that already exists, like your commute or the minute before dinner, and take whatever is in front of you.
• Lower the bar together. Agree out loud that a blurry photo of lunch counts. Some of the photos you’ll like most in a year are the dullest ones.
• Add a line of context. A photo of a bus stop is a bus stop. “Waited 25 minutes here and named every pigeon” is a day. If you’re stuck for words, borrow from our list of what to write on the back of a photo.
• Keep backup prompts handy. Screenshot five prompts from this page for the nights when you have nothing.
• Answer each other’s photos. Gable and colleagues (2004) found that sharing positive events boosts well-being, and that enthusiastic, engaged responses from a partner go with more intimacy and daily satisfaction. When their photo shows something good, reply with some energy.
• Don’t keep score. If one of you misses a day, let it go. In Pairloom, the shared streak counts a day when at least one of you shares a photo, so one busy week doesn’t undo the habit.
• Set one reminder. One alarm at your photo time is plenty. Label it with their nickname instead of “photo.”
• Look back together. Every few weeks, scroll back through your photos side by side. You’ll find days you’d forgotten completely, like the Tuesday the bus broke down.

Sources

• Gable, Reis, Impett & Asher (2004), on sharing positive events with a partner: PDF via the University of Rochester