I can’t remember where I got the idea. Undoubtedly, like all good ideas, it was stolen. At the start of my daughter’s eighth grade year, I decided to take one photo of her each morning. I didn’t announce the project to anyone, since she was pretty skeptical from the start, but around the house, I started calling it “180 Days of Paige” (180 days being the length of her school year).

From the beginning, I knew there had to be certain rules. These weren’t to be posed photos, but more like candid snapshots. My daughter, like almost everyone else, becomes someone else in a posed photo. We strike clichéd poses and draw upon what we think a photo should look like, and end up with grim smiles, uncomfortable posture, or attempt to subvert the entire process by making goofy faces.