Story Year is a year-long practice that helps you notice, preserve, and remember the moments that matter. It gently shows up each week with one small step, so by the end of the year you'll have something you can actually hold in your hands.
Founder Price: $17
Founder pricing is offered to our first buyers as a thank you for being early. This price will not last.
You have thousands of photos.
The birthday party. The first day of school. The random Tuesday when something happened that you knew, even in the moment, you were going to want to remember.
But finding any of them is another story.
Most of us have a camera roll that just keeps growing. A pile of images with no order, no context, and no way to tell the ones that matter from the ones that don't. The feelings that were in the room when you took them aren't in the photos. They're in your memory. And memory is less reliable than we think.
The big moments, the small ones. The version of your people that only exists right now and is already quietly becoming someone else.
And right now they're buried.
You don't need to take more photos.
You need a system for the ones you already have.
A gentle weekly nudge to pay a little more attention to the life that's already happening in front of you.
That's exactly what Story Year was built to be.
Every week you pick.
(5 minutes)
Once a week Story Year invites you to scroll back through the past seven days and choose one image, two at most, that feels most true about the week. Not the prettiest. The truest. You add a one-sentence caption while you still remember what you knew in that moment. You save it to your Story Year album.
Five minutes. Done.
Each week you'll also receive one practical photography lesson designed specifically for Story Year. Rather than generic photography advice, each lesson helps you notice something you may have otherwise walked past. Light. People. Details. Moments. Composition. Storytelling. Fifty-two tips across six areas, delivered one week at a time across the full year.
Every month you pause.
(10 minutes)
Once a month your calendar gives you ten minutes to look at your images together as a set. You pull in anything you almost missed. You write two or three sentences about what the month was really about. Not the events, but the feeling of it. What would you want to remember about this season ten years from now?
Ten minutes. Done.
At year end, you're ready to print.
(1 hour)
One year in, you'll have a full album on your phone of captioned images and twelve months of notes already written. The heavy lifting is behind you.
This is the hour you sit down, review your year, and make a decision: how does this story live beyond your phone?
That decision is yours to make and yours to execute. A photo book ordered online. A set of prints. A custom magazine. A printed gift for someone who needs to hold this story in their hands. We maintain an online and up-to-date guide with current recommendations to help you choose and get it done.
Story Year gets you to this moment ready. What you do with it is up to you.
One hour. A year preserved.
Story Year does not include a printed product. It gives you everything you need to create one.
Wait...66 reminders sounds like a lot.
We know. That sounds like a lot. Here's what it actually means.
Just a bit more than one entry per week and most of them take five minutes.
These aren't meetings.
They aren't tasks that pile up on you.
They're small, specific moments where your calendar does the remembering so you don't have to.
Think of it this way. Right now you probably have ZERO reminders to do any of this. And as a result, none of it happens. Story Year replaces zero reminders with the exact right reminder at the exact right time. Already written, already waiting, with everything you need inside.
Every entry can be moved or edited directly in your calendar app. We know that sometimes life happens. If a week gets away from you, add what you have and keep going.
An imperfect Story Year still beats none at all.
Here's exactly what you're getting:
A simple setup
One time.
Five minutes.
52 weekly practices
Each one helps you choose one meaningful image, write a caption while it's still fresh, and learn one practical photography lesson.
12 monthly reflections
A chance to step back, notice patterns, and remember what the month actually felt like.
One annual celebration
Everything you've gathered comes together into something lasting.
Story Year by Paula Ward Photography
The weekly habit that preserves your family's story. Delivered right to your calendar, no new apps required.
Founder Price: $17
Founder pricing is offered to our first buyers as a thank you for being early. This price will not last.
After purchase you'll receive an immediate welcome guide with everything you need to get started, including a link to your personalized setup tool where you'll generate and download your calendar file.
Story Year was built for anyone who takes photos on their phone and wants to do something meaningful with them before the memories fade.
You don't need to be a photographer. You don't need special equipment. You don't need to be organized or consistent or particularly good at follow-through. That's what the system is for.
You just need to care about the people in your camera roll and want to have something to show for this year when it's over.
If that's you, Story Year was built for you.
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No. Story Year works with whatever calendar app you already use -- Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Outlook. Your phone's camera is the only equipment you need.
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No. Story Year is a year-long practice delivered through your existing calendar. Curating, and preserving your family's story so that when the year ends you have everything you need to create something printed. What you print, where you print it, and how much you spend is entirely your choice. We maintain an online and up-to-date guide with current recommendations to help you decide. Not interested in designing your own book? A done-for-you annual design service is coming soon. Join the waitlist to be the first to know when it's available.
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Every entry in your calendar can be moved or rescheduled at any time. If a week gets away from you, pick up where you left off.
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They'll be there -- but they won't crowd your calendar the way you might think. The weekly entries appear one per week. The monthly entries appear once a month. You'll see them the way you see any other recurring appointment -- as a gentle, consistent reminder that something worth doing is waiting for you.
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We maintain a printing guide with current recommendations for photo books, print sets, custom magazines, and digital options. Your set up instruction and your annual calendar entry will include a link directly to it.
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Not at all. Story Year is for anyone whose life is worth remembering -- young families, empty nesters, grandparents, singles. If you have people you love and a camera roll full of moments you can't find, this was built for you.
Do I need any special apps or equipment?
Does Story Year include a printed product?
What if I fall behind?
Will 66 entries clutter my calendar?
What do I do with my images at the end of the year?
Is this just for families with young children?
A year from now one of two things will be true.
Your camera roll will look exactly like it does today -- a little bigger, a little harder to find anything in, the feelings from this year living only in your memory.
Or
You'll have something else. A curated album. Twelve months of notes in your own words. A printed record of who your people were this year, exactly as they were, before they became who they are next year.
Story Year doesn't ask you to become a different person. It just shows up in your calendar every week and asks you for five minutes.
That's it. Five minutes. Fifty-two weeks. A year you'll actually be able to find.
Founder Price: $17
Founder pricing is offered to our first buyers as a thank you for being early. This price will not last.