Family Photo Traditions: Keeping the Memories Alive

It’s a big couple of weeks here in our house. Our oldest child, our first child, our only daughter is finishing her last day of high school and next week we will celebrate her graduation. It seems like just yesterday that she was putting on her cute little backpack and toddling off to preschool. Now she’s an honor graduate headed off to college. Sigh…

Time passes so quickly, but one way we can slow downtime is to capture those moments on film, as it were. Events that happen over and over again in our lives become traditions and often we capture those traditions with our cameras.

In our household, we have several photo traditions, the kids in front of the Christmas tree on Christmas morning in their new holiday pajamas, all the kids who go to the beach with us every year lined up on the surf’s edge in order of height, and the first and last day of school.

Do you have a family photo tradition? One particular pose that you capture year after year, one group of loved ones who get together every so often and capture the moment. Family photo traditions are a fabulous way to tell your life’s story.

Family Photo Traditions: The Kids and The Old Man

The first and last day of school tradition started when our daughter went off to preschool. But it really fell into a pattern when she started first grade. We lived in the small town of Ridgway, PA where every winter the Ridgway Rendezvous Chainsaw Carving Festival was held. At the 2006 festival, we purchased a 4 ½ foot tall carving who we affectionately named The Old Man and placed on our front porch. When the fall came and our daughter started 1st grade, it seemed as good of a place as any to take the ubiquitous first day of school photo. And a family photo tradition was born.

Now both kids are in high school, but every first (and last) day of school they grudgingly stand next to The Old Man to have their photos taken. In fact, I just took my daughter’s final last day of high school photo. (Excuse me while I go find some tissues). I have told them that until they are done with college we will take their picture there. It’s our family photo tradition.

Benefits of Family Photo Traditions

Creating a family photo tradition can be as simple as a photo of the kids by the Christmas tree every year or as complex as recreating the same picture in the same poses over many years. Regardless of how you do it, having these traditions can benefit your family in many ways.

• It captures a series of moments in time.
• It gives you a sense of family history.
• It gives you something to look forward to and to look back on.
• It gives you something to smile and laugh at as time goes on.
• It helps you remember your loved ones who are no longer with you.

Create a family photo tradition to tell the stories of your life. #makememoriesClick To Tweet

Start a Family Photo Tradition

Don’t really have a family photo tradition? It’s never too late to start.  Consider taking a family picture at every holiday in a certain place in your home or on a family favorite outing. Or just build on a photo you’ve already taken.

Recreate an old photo.  That is what my cousins and I have done. In 1988 my 3 cousins, my sister, and I took a photo on our beach vacation. At this time we were in early college, high school, and elementary school and it was the first vacation where we were all together. 

Flash forward until 1998 and we recreated the pose. That year for Christmas we reprinted the original picture, printed the new photo, and had them both framed then presented them to our Grandmother.  

Flash forward again to 2015 and we were once again at our family’s annual beach vacation. By now we are all adults with children of our own. Much to the chagrin of said children, we again recreated the photo, awkward pose and all. It is such a treasured family tradition that I bet the next time all 5 of us are together at the beach we’ll do it again.

What are your family photo traditions? I’d love to see your pictures!

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Interested in Working with Good Life Photo Solutions?

We work in person and remotely with local clients in southeastern Virginia as well as with clients from all over the US and around the world. The first step to working together is to schedule a complimentary Zoom/phone consultation to discuss your project and goals and how we may be able to help. There is no obligation to purchase additional services. You can schedule your consultation here.

Connect with Good Life Photo Solutions

Instagram • Good Life Photo Solutions

Facebook • Good Life Photo Solutions

Pinterest • Good Life Photo Solutions

Sign up for our newsletter

Email us. We’d love your feedback and questions! Please email us at [email protected]

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means if you purchase from a link, Good Life Photo Solutions LLC may receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my small business. See our disclosure policy for full details.

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