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#144: Take a Picture, It'll Last Longer

Whether you pose happily or are a serial camera dodger, there are probably some photographs you treasure. Photos are a way of connecting us with our past, capturing a special memory, or even giving us a peek into each other’s lives — albeit through a filter.

This week’s stories explore the unique art of photography, and how it impacts our lives in big ways, and tiny ones.

This week's prompts

Start your story with somebody taking a photo.

Adventure – 75 stories

Write a story about a wedding photographer.

Valentine's Day – 31 stories

A character finds an old roll of film, and takes it to be developed. What do they find?

Middle School – 45 stories

Write about a character who’s pathologically camera shy.

Character – 21 stories

Write a story that centres around an Instagram post.

High School – 20 stories

Stories

“Get in the picture” by Jeanne DeFauw

Submitted to Contest #144

Get in the picture, Mom! I will not. I don’t want to, and no one can make me. My dear friend Jules stands with her phone in front of our families, ready to take a photo. The two fathers are in the back, the three girls in front. There’s room for me next to my husband, Tom. His lanky body rises a foot above the others, and I know I’ll fit nicely under his arm. The white sugar-sand beach and clear aqua ocean is behind us, the perfect backdrop for a group photo. A whisp of a cloud lazily drifts across the horizon. A parasailer...

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“Photo Trauma” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #144

I was eating an orange. No, I wasn’t eating it yet, I was peeling the orange, in the kitchen of the rented Air B & B, just before lunch, when someone in the family shouted “Family Photo time”. My hands were sticky with orange juice and I didn’t want to abandon the orange. “Can it wait,” I yelled through the screen door. “No, it can’t. Derek and John are going fishing, and Susan had to drive into town to get more groceries,” my wife Cathy yelled back. “Later, I’m busy,” I said. “Jake, you come out here. ...

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“Not quite as pretty as a picture” by Martha Brown

Submitted to Contest #144

If only I could look up at the sky and pinch the sun between my thumb and index finger. Then I could twist it anti-clockwise and dial down the brightness. I could drag it across the sky and banish it behind a cloud. Capturing the right picture in this light was no easy feat. I had to cushion my phone in the sand and set a timer. Then rush into position. Grandma hollered over to me that I looked foolish dashing back and forth, but I was hardly going to entrust her with engineering flattering angles. Now, I have countless photos, but I am stil...

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“Look at her” by Marshall Chapman

Submitted to Contest #144

CW: Profanity, mature themes, sexual innuendo. Look at her. How can someone be so attractive yet so off-putting all at once? Everybody knows that’s not really her. And yet, why does everyone engage, validate even, this shallow persona? Is it for her benefit or for their own? How many of those likes are driven by lust and perversion? How many by jealousy? Of course I’m jealous. How could I not be? My efforts to strive for the upper echelons of this virtual Sodom and Gomorrah have been rained on with fire and ...

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“Do it for the Gram” by Christopher Allen

Submitted to Contest #144

Do it for the Gram Quinton struggled against the wind and pulled the door shut behind him as he ducked into the Café. He brushed a hand through his hair, trying to reposition it after the wind ruined his perfectly coiffed side part. When he finished readjusting his tangled scarf, he noticed Katie behind the counter effortlessly multitasking a double espresso and an orange mocha Frappuccino. Quinton hoped Katie would be back today. He opened Instagram and scrolled through her feed. She had just come back from a month-long trip to Thailan...

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“What Would You Wear?” by Nix Franklin

Submitted to Contest #144

Drinking apple cider vinegar could help you lose up to thirty— Jennifer Lawrence drops jaws at met gala— Is your baby at risk for— I flipped the magazine shut, frustrated that it did nothing to stave away the boredom of my morning commute. I tossed it into the shallow, off-white plastic seat beside me. Atlanta transport is quiet this early, before the sun rises and the groggy masses come tumbling in smelling of coffee and toothpaste. I usually find this ride peaceful, a welcomed calm before the storm of red-faced customers and ringing pho...

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“CM Sherman Gallery - PWND” by Michael Regan

Submitted to Contest #144

WARNING - Mentions child pornography and child abuse.Jim ‘JJ’ James sounded puzzled. “Let me get this straight – you want me to break into the gallery and take a photograph. I am sorry Mr. Collins – that isn’t the sort of thing we do. We do penetration tests of the network – we don’t remove items from the client’s business.” Marshal Collins, chairperson of the CM Sherman Gallery Society, smiled – “Sorry – poor choice of words. Not ‘take’ as in steal but just take a picture of yourself inside the gallery. Proof that you were ac...

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“Empty Driveway” by Charlene Aikens

Submitted to Contest #144

“OK Momma’s, squish together and say HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY”. My aim is to snap the moment when most of the moms are saying ‘happy’ - trying to take advantage of the mouth formation - in hopes of capturing what looks like a smile on each of their faces. I know it’s unlikely to get a photo with all participants focused and ready; not with an edging temper tantrum, a freshly soaked diaper and the ever so loud animal companions animated on the TV screen. I snap several pictures in succession so everyone can find at least 1 Instagram approved shot. ...

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“Taking the Photo Before it's Gone” by Millie Kemp

Submitted to Contest #144

The ground is a long way down. But I’ve already hit rock bottom, so in contrast, it’s simply a small leap to the moss covered floor. I wonder if it’s better down there, surrounded by motherly trees that litter the forest floor with green leaves, wet with fresh rain. But I like it up here, in the trees themselves. It gives me a much better view of the world around me. I should take a picture, I think. Old habitual thinking that is slowly creeping back. I sigh and lean my head against the rough bark and take a mental picture. This, I kn...

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“Photo worth a lot” by Rebecca Hackney

Submitted to Contest #144

Just one more picture DJ thought as she snapped the picture with the camera and it made a clicking sound. Some sessions were easy and fun but others were rough and made her doubt herself. This client was a tough one. They didn’t want to listen and wanted certain pictures. DJ was all for letting them pose whichever way they wanted however the lighting had to be right. She tried to explain that to the client but the client insisted it would be fine to just snap the picture. Oh well, they get what they asked for. “Ok great! All done! Thank you ...

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“The Wedding ” by Ragan Lail

Submitted to Contest #144

My whole life I have never been taught how to love someone properly; love wasn't something that was shown in my house being that my parents were divorced. When I started elementary school I met one of my lifelong friends, Matilda Stone. We grew up together almost all the way through high school. Here, we are now graduated from college and share a photography business. I have always believed that love, at first sight, was possible even though I didn't grow up with it. I walk into my joint studio with Matilda. “You have a wedding...

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“Stalker Vibes?” by Akeem Daly

Submitted to Contest #144

I love my job. I get to experience two people who love each other so greatly that they spend thousands of dollars and hours of time perfecting the day they start the rest of their lives together. I always thought that was so amazing, how someone could love a person so much that they would do anything for them. They would die for them. They love each other no matter their faults. They are always there for each other. They can tell each other everything, with no shame at all. Now that's true love. That's the kind of love I want to have, the un...

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“A Journey to the Past” by Melinda Madrigal

Submitted to Contest #144

I've always wonder what the past was like. How the people lived? What they ate? What clothes they wore? What books they read? The past is fascinating. The past has a way of capturing your imagination. My favorite time period is the 1920's, the golden age of Hollywood. The movie starts of the past were glamorous, from the dresses they wore to the makeup they used. 1910-1960 is when the golden age of Hollywood took place. The 1920's was a fascinating time. The decade when sound was first introduce to movies, then we have the 1930's when ...

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“The Thing About Death” by Shelby Argo

Submitted to Contest #144

Losing someone you love is not easy. In all of history, it never has been. My nana always had a thing for antiques. She loved anything old. We would always joke and call her a hoarder, but the joke is less funny now that she's gone and I was now cleaning out her house full of the things from her hobby that she defended so passionately. I would leap to her defense, normally, because she would always leap to mine whenever my family poked fun at my hobbies. I guess that's why she left me all of the junk from her many years of estate sales an...

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“Kodak Color” by Annette Perez

Submitted to Contest #144

Max was cleaning out her junk drawer and found an old roll of film. Actual film in a cartridge! She wondered what is on this, who is on it? Little did Max think she would be surprised and curious from sorting junk. Searching a bit more Max found 2 slides. She wiped them off and looked at them. One was a young woman, early 20’s, and a real knockout lady. The other picture was an angry-looking man with dark hair and eyes.Neither looked familiar so Max put them aside with the roll of film and continued her quest to empt...

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$250

Prize money

192

Contest entries

114

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - May 06, 2022 EST

Won by Rebekah Jordan 🏆

Title: Unseen

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

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