6 Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Photographs
A photographer friend of mine, Jenna Christina, recently wrote a blog post on this same topic, and challenged a few of her photographer-friends to answer these questions for ourselves. It really got me thinking hard, so I decided to share my answers here. (And I’ll link to every one else’s answers at the end of this post too!)
#1 HOW OFTEN DO I SEE MY FAVORITE PHOTOS?
When I was a kid, we’d visit my grandparents in their big Victorian house in Carthage, Missouri. My grandmother had filled the entire wall of her stairwell with hundreds of family photos – many of them old black and white portraits – the only remaining copies in existence – of great, and even great-great grandparents. There were William and Jenny, peering somberly out from their frame, passive faces and simple clothing hiding the fact that this was in fact, their wedding day in the 1930s. There was a great-great-grandma who’s name I don’t remember but who belonged to a church that didn’t allow short sleeved blouses. Her dress shows extra sleeve sewn just below the elbow. There was my mom, and my uncle, as children. My grandparents as a vibrant, stylish Midwestern couple. And my parents wedding pictures. And then, the mountains of photographs of me, my brothers and sisters and cousins, a cascade of grandchildren down the stairwell.
My grandmother saw those photos every single day. I contrast that to my modern existence – I might open Facebook to see my favorite picture on my newsfeed, or maybe as the wallpaper on my phone. I have tidy folders on my hard drive of photo files. But I struggle a little bit to consistently get all the photos I love the most out where I can see them. Out of the devices and onto the walls.
That said, some of my favorite photos ARE where I can see them every day. Around my desk, and on the walls in the living room. In our hallway between the bedrooms of our house. Sweet reminders of my son’s different stages of growing up – was he ever that SMALL??! Moments from family camping trips – the first trip that launched us on into a deep love of getting out in the woods with a tent on a regular basis. And some of my favorite photos aren’t family photos – many of them are street photography scenes I’ve taken or photographers I admire have taken. Glimpses of New York City street life give my pulse a little boost. The photo by an Italian photographer of an old woman in a bright red swimsuit about to jump into the sea water gives me a big smile. Another by a photographer in Florida of a woman floating in a soft teal green pool gives me deep peace.
#2 HOW DO I MOST ENJOY LOOKING AT PICTURES?
I love seeing photography on my walls. I love that those pictures give me little messages and emotions when I look at them. I love that other people visit my house and see a bit of our family history – a deeper context into who we are and what we love.
I also love photo books – both the classic type of photography books by well-known photographers like Annie Leibowitz and Alex Webb, of which I have several shelves, and the sweet custom albums I order from my favorite photobook makers – the pages filled with my OWN photography of my family and our adventures.
I’m like most people in this regard: I love books of photographs, and I love seeing photographs on the walls.
#3 DO MY KIDS SEE THEMSELVES IN OUR HOME?
Of course my son Del seems himself in our home! Many years ago I read that children who see themselves in photos in their home build a more solid sense of belonging and self-esteem. Those printed photos convey more than just happy memories to our children: they convey the message that the adults in their life find them worthy and important, that they belong and they are a part of something larger. What an easy way to send the message to our kids that they’re deeply loved. Actions speak louder than words – giving space on the walls of our homes, and printing books of our family’s story – those are actions that tell our kids we’re all in this together.
#4 HOW DO I WANT TO REMEMBER THIS SEASON OF LIFE?
I cringe when I think that my most reliable reminder of this season of my life might be when Facebook shows me my “memories”. I always open that and look back and old pictures and posts I made. But bloody hell – I don’t want Facebook to be the best archive I’ve got of what it’s been life these past years. In the last decade, I’ve married my husband, changed jobs, lived in a different town, bought a house, built a business, birthed a son, been a mom for over eight years so far. I want to be reminded of these wonderful events by seeing pictures on my walls, looking through a book of photos with my son – knowing these photos and books will be there for him years from now. Will be there for me when he finally takes flight into his own adult life. Will be there when I’m gone, and no one remembers my Facebook password to see my memories.
#5 HOW DO I WANT TO BE REMEMBERED?
This one is an emotional one to answer.
I want my son to remember that I made his breakfast every day while he packed his lunch for school. I want my husband to remember our fresh ground coffee, and second coffee in the middle of the workday (because we both work from home and we get to do that!). I want my family to remember how I loved my short hair cut, and that our bird gives me kisses on the mouth. I want them to remember my smile, my face, my eyes.
I want the pictures I’ve collected to hang one day, like William and Jenny in their antique frame, in my grandchild’s house alongside their grandchildren I’ll never know. For that to happen, I have to do this one thing: be in those pictures. Ditch the ego and the vanity, ditch the disparaging talk about my body/age/house and let the photos be made.
#6 IF SOMETHING HAPPENED TO ME, WOULD MY FAMILY HAVE ACCESS TO THE PICTURES I’VE TAKEN OVER THE PAST FEW YEARS?
This is such a good question – it goes back to this problem of our digital age, that we trust technology to keep our pictures safe. It’s great that we can upload photos to online galleries, share them with relatives. That’s a good start. Organizing photos in your hard drives is another good plan. My husband knows where our family photos, as well as client photos, are stored in our hard drives. But here’s what I want to do, over the next few months: I want to do some basic photo printing. Without over complicating things by deciding what should be framed or trying to plan an album… I am going to order some sets of prints, and put them in a place where any of us can take them out to look whenever we want, and where, if something happened to me, my husband and son could pull them out in half a minute and immerse themselves in those memories and feelings. Do you want to join me in setting this goal? What could you print out easily in the next month that would be a little gift to yourself now, and a lifelong gift to your spouse and kids for the distant future?
You can read Jenna’s answers to these questions on her blog.
And here’s what photographer Iratxe Alvarez has to say about it.
Thanks to Maggie and her daughters for letting me hang out while they looked through photo albums together.