Discovering previously unnoticed family traditions is one of the fun things you encounter when organizing your photos. Photo Organizer Cita Sue Cox shares her own recent uncovering of her family’s hiding-in-plain-sight preoccupation. It’s funny how photos reveal the story of your life, even when you don’t realize it.

I was told one time from a former boss, “you can’t see the forest for the trees.” This can be applied to many areas of life, but what about photos?

We all have times in our lives when we have the task of going through the family photos. It might be for a celebration, a memorial, or for family sharing. Taking a look at the entire collection helps you see the big picture – telling a life story is what first comes to mind, but there are other things to be noticed when browsing through an entire collection.

Besides the norm such as family resemblances, there are other clues that bring out those family stories like this one…

Seeing the Big Picture

It was decided by the family to put together a photo collage for viewing at the reception after my Mother’s funeral service. So the task began of looking through all the family photos pulling out the best ones — not an easy task (especially being in such an emotional state). The best ones — really? How do I choose? It seemed to be such a big responsibility knowing that what I chose would tell her story. I had done this many times for others, so I had to take some of my own advice. “Don’t get too bogged down in the details and analyzing – the pictures will tell the story. Choose your favorite memories, fun pictures, and the ones that make you smile.”

The collage was shared and many memories talked about with friends and family. I had a friend say “so I guess your Mom had a thing for cars.” It was then that I began to look at the “big picture.” There were a lot of photos with cars in them.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

I then began to think about the entire collection we had gone through. There were so many pictures of my Mom and our family with cars. I knew we always took pictures with cars and I guess I thought everyone did. I never realized until then that it wasn’t just during my childhood.

[bctt tweet=”What do your family #photos reveal about your family traditions?” username=”photoorganizers”]

There are pictures from her childhood when she was a little girl back in the 30’s…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

 

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

 

as a teenager in the 40’s…

 

as a young newlywed in the 50’s (usually posing on the hood!)…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

 

with her parents’ cars…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

 

the first new family car and truck with their babies (me!)…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

my Dad and me and my brother growing up in the 60’s…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

 

and later in life (by vans and RVs)…

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

And the list goes on with her married children and then grandchildren!

Like Mother, Like Daughter

Whoa — it then hit me that I have done the same thing (not posed on the hood!), but taken many pictures over the years of my kids and family with our cars! I don’t know what you call that – not really a family trait – but something passed down that you don’t even realize until years later!

There are many things I have learned through this process and I would not have realized any of them if I had not stepped back to see the “forest.” It helps us know who we are. It wasn’t just about taking pictures with cars and realizing she had a thing for cars, but it makes sense now why my family had a lot of different cars over the years when I was growing up, why most of the pictures are written on the back with the year and the model of the car, why my Mom was usually the one who picked out which car to buy, and why she always loved to drive (which by the way I do too).

I decided to dig a little deeper, did a little searching (much easier to do when your photos are organized and digitized!) and scanned through them just looking for cars. I have since realized that this “car thing” came from my Grandmother’s side of the family – many more pictures with cars (even though this was the era in which cars were just coming about) in comparison to all the other branches of my family. And going even further back, that side of the family may have just liked taking pictures of “vehicles” of the day because I found a lot of those too!

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com

What fun discoveries by being able to step back and take a look at the “forest!”

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: How Photos Reveal the Story of Your Life | ThePhotoOrganizers.com


If you need help organizing and preserving your lifetime of photos, videos and keepsakes, find a photo organizer near you at the Association of Personal Photo Organizers.


Cita Sue Cox of Cox's CornerCita Sue Cox, a native Texan and owner of Cox’s Corner, has been enjoying, organizing, preserving and sharing photos most of her life.  As a professional organizer, she has found the perfect fit specializing in photo organizing where she is excited to combine her organizing skills with her passion for photos!  She is a Certified Personal Photo Organizer and especially loves digitizing ancestral photos so they can be preserved and shared for many years to come.  When she is not helping others, she is managing her own photo life creating memories with family and friends, traveling, and relaxing at her little cabin in the woods.