Using Photography in Genealogical Research
Take Photos of Historic Items for Family Tree and Memory Books
Nov 5, 2009
Genealogists and family historians often compile a wonderful collection of memorabilia, but family treasures don't always come as 8 ½” by 11 sheets of paper. Dishes, treasured jewelry and pocket watches inherited from a relative can be displayed easily in the home, but many genealogists compile books to share with their own children and grandchildren. Photographing such items will round out the family story.
Use Photography to Preserve and Share Memorabilia
Putting together a genealogy scrapbook is a great way to collect material and share family history with relatives. Such scrapbooks can contain narratives, family trees, documents, and photos. However, genealogists often collect three-dimensional items that are difficult or impossible to put into a scrapbook or notebook. Such items can be photographed, while the items can remain safely in their storage boxes.
Many different types of items can add dimension to the family history. Think about jewelry, pocket watches, dishes, ceramics, silver, and books. An old picture of granddad with the pocket watch he always carried, combined with a close-up photo of the watch, can make a compelling page in a family history or scrapbook. A photo of the inscription in an inherited book not only shows what the ancestor read, but tells a little story about how the book was acquired.
Other objects that could be included in a genealogy scrapbook are photos of wedding decorations, military medals, insignia from fraternal organizations, antique clothes, spectacles, and other personal items.
Use Photography to Add Detail to Genealogical Records
Avid genealogists take their cameras everywhere. Names and dates only tell a small part of the story, but photographs of old family homes, businesses, stores, factories, schools, historic sites, and headstones in cemeteries show where ancestors worked, lived, and died. Photos of the lake where an ancestor spent summers, or the old oak tree where the family gathered for picnics will add greatly to a family book.
Use Photography to Preserve Documents
Any book or scrapbook a genealogist produces will include documents, and although documents may be scanned or photocopied, many of them are better reproduced via photography. If the goal is to create a published family history, photography generally produces a sharper image. Consider photographing not only old documents like wills and deeds, but also hand-written recipes, letters, and even other photos.
Improving the Photos with Image Editing Software
A number of image editing software programs, like PhotoShop, are available for home use, and can be used to improve lighting or fix tears in old photos or documents. Such a program will also allow the user to remove unattractive features from a photo, or isolate a specific person in a group to create a solo portrait. Not everyone has the time, talent or money to edit their own photos, but a number of genealogists and graphic artists offer their services to turn battered old photos into great-looking pictures.
Other Genealogical Projects
Photos are essential in genealogical records and family histories, but photos can also be used to create special cards and decorations for Christmas, birthdays, and anniversaries. A little memory book devoted to a great-grandmother’s jewelry, or granddad’s military medals and ribbons, would make a unique present for anyone who treasures the memory of a deceased family member.
Whether the final result is a published family history, a genealogical scrapbook, a memory book, or a birthday card, a photographic image is a meaningful reminder of the generations who helped shape our world.
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