The family photo book.
Not just photos: the stories of your year.
So many photos on our phones, and so few we ever look at again. A photo book is the simplest way to pick a handful, put them in order and write next to them what a picture can't say on its own. Here are a few ideas to get started.
A family photo book works best when it's not just a collection of pictures but a story: a few chosen photos, with dates, names and a line about what was happening. Research from Fairfield University, published in Psychological Science, suggests that to remember, we have to go back to our photos and interact with them, not just amass them.
Lots of photos, few memories: why choosing them is worth it
Linda Henkel, a psychologist at Fairfield University, led a group of students around a museum and asked them to photograph some objects and simply look at others. The next day, they were less accurate at recognising the objects they had photographed than those they had only observed.
Her conclusion is simple: to remember, we have to access and interact with our photos, not just amass them. That's exactly what a photo book does.
people toured a museum exhibition in a study by Alixandra Barasch (New York University), Kristin Diehl, Jackie Silverman and Gal Zauberman. Those taking photos remembered more of what they saw, but less of what they heard.
That's why words matter in a photo book too: the thing someone said at that moment, the song in the car, Grandad's laugh. They are what a photo alone can't hold on to.
A photo freezes a moment. Two lines underneath tell you why it mattered.
Family photo book ideas
- A year in twelve months. One double page per month, with the truest photo, not necessarily the prettiest.
- The same photo every year. Same spot, same pose: on the doorstep, on the first day of school, on the sofa on New Year's Eve.
- The firsts. The first tooth, the bike without stabilisers, the first train journey, the first cake that came out right.
- The “wrong” photos. Blurry, crooked, eyes closed. They're often the most alive.
- The kids' words. The funniest things they said this year, written next to a photo from the day they said them.
- A page each. Everyone in the family picks their favourite photo and writes why.
- The ordinary days. Saturday breakfast, the walk to school, the messy kitchen. In a few years, these will be the most-looked-at pages.
- A last page for the year ahead. A wish, a question, a hope to find again next winter.
If you've been collecting notes in a memory jar this year, they make perfect captions.
How to make a photo book, step by step
You don't have to finish it in one evening. A little method and a few quiet moments are enough.
- Set a limit. Decide how many pages it will have first: choosing is the most important part.
- One month at a time. One evening a week, one folder per month, and the selection feels light.
- Get everyone involved. Ask the kids and your partner which photos can't be left out.
- Pick an order. By month, by season or by theme: trips, celebrations, ordinary days.
- Write the captions. Date, place, who's there and a line about what was happening.
- Leave white space. Fewer photos per page are easier to enjoy.
- Keep the cover simple. Your family name and the year are enough.
What to write under your photos
Captions turn an album into a story. You don't need long sentences: you can start here.
And if a photo deserves more than one line, record the voice of the person telling its story. It adds exactly what paper can't hold.
The stories behind the photos, to find again in a few years
The photo book stays on the shelf. Your favourite photos, the voices and the stories that go with them can reach the people you love on the right day: with an Erabox Memories capsule, you choose when.
Gather
The photos of your year, the captions, a recording of the kids talking about their favourite picture.
Choose who will receive it
Yourself, your partner, or your children when they're grown up, for example at 18. Nobody needs to download anything: a personal, secure link arrives.
Choose the day
Exactly one year from now, to see how you were. Or on your child's 18th birthday.
Erabox keeps your memories on servers in Switzerland and delivers them on the day you chose, even many years from now.
Family photo books: common questions
Can't find your answer? Write to us from the Support page.
Guides to go further
You take photos every day.
Write the stories now.
Gather the photos and words of your year and choose when they arrive.