Family and Photographic Histories

Family history photography correct or incorrect?

Majority photographers at some point will find them self with their camera in their hand in the same room as their family so photography of your family will happen, weather in a light hearted family occasion documenting the day for all the family to see, or possibly in a more engaging nature in a more ‘piece’ of photography with your family as the subject. Both forms are correct but with any subject in photography their are rights and wrongs, how far do you push it etc.. I feel theres a few main areas when it comes to the family in relation to photography the photographing of the family in a family album style etc, images for family members, occasions get together etc documenting those days in a non-agenda style. And then theres the use of the family in a piece of photography, using the family in a personal piece when its your own, and the photography of other families, photographing a subject connecting a family and many other interesting reasons. However there is a line of taste and what is right but depends on which type of family photography it is, a range of different contexts come under the relationship between families and photography. However what type of family photography it is a way of documenting the history of a family in a fashion

Take this early example of family photography, The work of Jaques Henry Lartigue working in the early 1900’s shooting his family as a boy aged around 7 to 12 in his vast body of work photographing his wealthy family who had a good sense of fun and encouraged him to photograph in this early example of documenting a family in a non-agenda style photographing the family in a fun light hearted manner in a way to behold and look back on in time, to make family members smile etc... 

However the Lartigue work is a light hearted approach to photographing the family in a more correct term as i would see it just documenting the families activities nothing to private exposed to the general public as such, but these images taken in the 1900’s a totally different sharing method etc so more private images will be more secret in a way as today images lose context and become less private at times. Now to a more recent and contemporary piece incorporating a family but a more questioning piece (in my view), in the work of  Sally Mann- Immediate Family depicting photographs of her children in a whole variety of situations in a very diverse range of day to day activities some more intimate than others. Which does ask the question are they correct PC enough to be distributed in this fashion? I feel it comes down to opinion, images of naked children could be seen as something private, would you like for everyone to see your children with no clothes on? It does ask questions of taste and whats right in a way as in these images...

Images from Immediate Family by Sally Mann

As in these images I feel the first image depicts a normal family life style image a fond memory frozen in time to be cherished and looked back on fondly acceptable in my view, the next image (from a range of similar shots) however I feel are a little more controversial depicting minors body parts in images widely distributed however they are at a more playful than sinful level to be honest, I just ask would the children really want this? I know if my mother had taken images like this of me and they where all over the world I would feel a little strange so many people had looked at me or maybe thats just me. However these images can be seen as right or wrong but they are high in quality and detail making some beautiful images. They do depict a family growing up in a more intimate and playful style, history of their childhood suspended in print for them to see well all to see. 

‘Memory is the primary instrument, the inexhaustible nutrient source; these photographs open doors into the past but they also allow a look into the future’- Sally Mann intro Immediate Family, Phaidon Press limited 1992

Mann there showing that the work is an extension of their childhood opening doors into their past and memory in this piece of photographic family history does have some questioning issues as to the content  of some of the images but the body of work is a family photographic history and does answer weather that topic is correct or not, it comes down to preference. I believe not too much should be shown some intimate moments could be kept personal but it  comes down to family openness and opinion at teh end of the day.