About this object

4”x6” picture of my family of 4 celebrating Easter with bunny ears on our head.

Family portraits from the mid 19th century deminstrate the difference in photography technology to today. For example, a photo of the Flaten family from the papers of Clarence Flaten in the IU archives acknowledges the challenge of a self timer. They’re all posed and coordinated with proper lighting. On the contrary, in my family portrait, we used a selfie stick to take the picture and weren’t as posed because in today’s society, more fun pictures are taken and less professional photos are recorded. These pictures reveal that the history of technology and social norms have changed, but the importance of recording family interaction has stayed consistent.

Why this object matters

This picture was taken in March of 2016 on Easter. It’s significant to me because it’s one of the only pictures of my whole immediate family. Although we spend a lot of time together, we rarely take pictures, so this picture depicts the memories and history of our relationship. It signifies sentimental history and hangs up in my dorm room so that I can remember the people that I love who are far away. It was originally taken in Huntington, IN before we moved to Roanoke, IN, so the location is also significant to my personal history because I grew up in that house.