Photo albums: Images of time and reflections of self

Abstract

The advent of popular photography has allowed ordinary people to visually record their view of themselves and the passage of their lives. Photographs not only record events but also allow the maker to group them for presentation in a structured manner comparable to verbal narratives, most commonly in photo albums. We examined more than forty albums created by amateur photographers in order to investigate the psychological and social functions of photo albums and their value to scholars as documentations of social life. Albums are intensely personal; they create a relationship between the presenter and the viewer; the audience is small; the possessor plays an active role in the album's presentation; and there is an accompanying verbal narrative. This narrative is crucial to the understanding of the album. This paper explores the structure of these narratives and their role in creating the meaning of the album. In the absence of a possessor/presenter, a narrative can be constructed by determining the type of album being examined and establishing the personal relationships and themes within the album. We suggest devices and procedures for reconstruction of such a narrative in the absence of a presenter.