Your Framed Family Photos - What Story do They Tell?

Fall's coming. Even in Atlanta when it's still in the mid-80s during the day, I can feel it. It's dark later in the mornings, the evenings really cool off and the skies are that clear blue you only get when the humidity is low. The squirrels have turned their attentions from eating every tomato in my garden to other pursuits - to what, I'm not sure, but I'm finally enjoying my home-grown vine-ripened tomatoes!

With fall's arrival, I turn my attention from outside to inside. I don't do it consciously but about this time every year I start paying more attention to what's in my house than I do over the summer.

Not surprisingly, I've been thinking about family photographs, specifically why and how people display them in their homes. Where are they? In the living room, beautifully framed on a table or hung on the wall? In the bedroom, framed perhaps less formally and on the dresser (or "bureau", as we used to call it) and on the nightstand, right next to the bed? How about on the refrigerator door, stuck there with colorful magnets or the one with the vet's phone number? (Woe to you if you have a new stainless steel fridge! What did you do with all the photos you displayed there?)

Apparently, I'm not the only one thinking about displaying family photos. This article, full of display ideas, appeared in the September 5, 2010 Atlanta Journal Constitution: "Photo collection elevated to art." Take a look; it's got great links to creative and fun ways to decorate using your photos.

But, here's what I'm really curious about - how did you decide what photos to display and where to display them? Are you like me and put the "professionally" shot photos in my home's public spaces and the candids that make me laugh or wistful in my private spaces? Is your favorite photo next to your bed?

It makes sense, actually, that the "public" photos are typically in the "public" spaces. These are the photos you want people to see, and to be honest, admire, right? I've got my favorite picture from our son and daughter-in-law's wedding right smack in front of you when you come in the front door. It was a gorgeous day in a gorgeous setting; our children look beautiful and it was a happy and meaningful event. I want you to see it.

The other photos in my public spaces are similar: formal, "grip and grin" shots where everyone looks happy, well-groomed and well-dressed. It is a family to be proud of and to present to the world, with no shirt untucked or weird grin anywhere to be seen.

The photos in my private spaces are much different, though. There's the one on my bureau of our two boys, taken upon seeing them after an afternoon on the water when I suddenly realized they were actually "guys" now, no longer "boys." There's the one of our sons and niece one fall afternoon on their grandmother's swing. The delight on our son Daniel's face makes me smile every time! On our fridge are pictures of our beloved dogs, past and present. These are the photos of our real family, those candid moments of small wonders and skinned-knees, the ones that make me sigh, smile, and yes, proud.

So, why do I keep these photos essentially to myself, out of the public eye? The formal photos don't really tell our story - no family looks beautiful all the time. But, do I want to share our real family? Conversely, do people want to know the "us" beyond the formal shots? Would it be uncomfortable somehow?

There's no right answer. It depends on you and what you're comfortable with. In truth, I do have candids in my public spaces because I am someone who likes to know what lies under the veneer and don't mind sharing some of our "untucked" moments.

As you turn your attention inside, I encourage you to look at and consider the photos you have displayed in your home. Think about what your photos say to you and your visitors. Are they telling your story the way you want them to?