Use Photos to Help Write Your Story

Look through your photos. Do any of them trigger a memory? Write what you remember about the photo or what you have been told about the photo. Who is in the photo? Where was the photo taken? Why was it taken? Was it a special occasion? Was it on a trip? When was it taken? Any information you have about the photo and the circumstances around it can help as you write your story. Sometimes we see a photo and we know the story behind it, but we are not sure if it is our own memory or if it is what others have told us. Still the photo does give us a window into our past that we might not have if it were not for the photo. We might want to be careful with the photos we take now. We might want to keep the original without editing it too much. After all removing all the freckles may remove part of our story of liking to play out in the sun a lot. You can edit photos, but keeping the original may be important in keeping your story. With the ability to take selfies now the photographer can be in the photo. Most of the photos of my family are missing the photographer. Timers on cameras made it possible to have one person set the timer and hurry back to be in the photo. Now with smartphone cameras and selfie sticks you don't even have to have a timer. Digital photography is much cheaper too. Instead of having to buy a camera, film, flashbulbs and then pay for the film to be developed, you can just use your smartphone to take as many photos as you want without additional cost unless you want to have a print made.

The above photo was taken on the day of my Kindergarten Graduation. I only went to Kindergarten for about 2 months the summer before I went to First Grade. Our teacher made hats for us and gave us special diplomas. From this photo I can see the hat and the diploma and the dress that I wore. The collar on my dress is to the side so it may have been windy that day. The truck behind me was the family's source of transportation. I don't remember everything from this photo like what the date actually was or if it was taken at the school or at my home, but it does trigger my memory of some of the things from Kindergarten. We had to bring a mat so we could take a nap at Kindergarten. I remember liking to look at my diploma. My mother put it in a metal file box with all the other important papers like birth certificates and titles and deeds. One time when I wanted to look at the diploma a few years later, it was not there. We didn't know what happened to it. As an adult my brother finally told me he had taken the diploma out of the box and had buried it because he didn't get a diploma when he graduated from Kindergarten. Try looking at some of your photos and see what you can remember to add to your story.

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by DesignYourOwnGifts