Another concept word!
Winter is the most hygge time of year, with its warm blankets, fireplace hearts, big pots of soup, woolen sweaters, and mugs of hot chocolate so I thought it was a good word for the 28 Day Challenge!
What is hygge?
Hygge is a Danish word for the feeling and atmosphere of cozy contentment. According to Denmark’s official tourism website, hygge is “creating a warm atmosphere and enjoying the good things in life with good people.”
Technically hygge is not the aesthetics of the items you use but the experience you have when using items, especially in the context of having a great time and feeling authentically connected to friends or loved ones — or even yourself in a moment of solitude. Nevertheless, some things are often associated with hygge, such as candles and low light, hot drinks, soft items, rustic textures, and companionship.
Reading in front of a fireplace, a board game night with family, hot chocolate and cookies after sledding, and a candlelit dinner could all be hygge. And it doesn’t matter whether your candles are hand dipped and cost you $30 each or cost a dollar for a dozen at the dollar store. Hygge is experiential.
#MindfulPhotoChallenge Day 7: Hygge
Look around your home or surroundings and think about what gives you a sense of coziness and warmth. Feel free to rearrange items or set up a scene that feels hygge to you. Once you have your subject, photograph it so that it fills the frame, so that everything in the image is part of the hygge feeling.
There are a couple of ways to photograph hygge:
- Zoom in on a specific object or symbol that represents hygge to you.
2. Find or set up a hygge scene or vignette.
3. Include yourself in your hygge image by using the time delay feature on your phone or camera.
4. Photograph someone else having a hygge experience!
Share your images on Instagram with #refocusphotochallenge or join the Facebook group.
If you enjoyed this article, you might like:
- My full color 30-Day Photography Challenge Workbook here on Amazon.
- My Photography Articles Listed and Sorted by Type here
- My Mindful Photography Workshop here
- My “A Gossamer Thread” Newsletter about photography/creativity, productivity, and joy here
Photo credits: allison-christine, ana-markovych, arthur-poulin, clay-banks, nachelle-nocom, and sixteen-miles-out.
