Do you have photos or videos that captures the essence of your family history and their stories? Don’t just leave them in your iPhone or laptop. Instead, consider creating a photobook or photo slideshow video to tell your stories through the years. What better way than to share with the next generation, the people who’ve gone before them. Those that initiated a change and made a difference to your family’s history.
What is a Family Story Photobook
Have you heard of coffee table books?
It is an oversized hard cover book that contains photographs or illustrations with captions and descriptions. Some companies I’ve worked for, years ago, have their profile or products presented in a coffee table book. These are displayed at the reception waiting area. And often guests can look through them .. it’s a great way to encourage conversations and create meaningful business connections.
A photobook is similar to a coffee table book but your family photos are the main contents displayed in these books. Share your family stories, moment by moment .. show the history of where you come from. Give the next generation a sense of belong to something bigger. It is like bookmarking those special moments in your life, to pass on as memories.
My Family History: Surviving the Japanese Occupation in Singapore
When I was young, my mum had heaps of photographs kept in a magnetic photo album. She’d weave a tapestry of stories in a meaningful way, full of love as she turned those pages to point at her old printed photos, stories were told as she showed me photos of my grandparents, a life she knew back then. And I could feel the love from those who went before me.
My grandma single handedly looked after all four of her children because my grandfather was a prisoner of war. They struggled to overcome many difficulties during the war and triumphed. And I often felt proud to be connected to the energy of those who went before me, as they walk with me.
I’ve never met my grandparents but feel I know them because my mum shared stories of their survival during the Japanese Occupation in Singapore. And these stories inspired me to embrace my challenges, faced when my parents were divorced. I knew someday everything will be alright for me. My grandmother is Dutch Portuguese and my grandfather is British. And I was born in Singapore.
My Grandma 
My Mum and her cousin
Family Traditions
Every Christmas when I lived in Singapore, my family had a tradition we followed that brought us together. My relatives on my maternal side would gather in my aunts home and we helped to make pineapple tarts.
My uncle would make the pastry and my aunt would cook the pineapples with spices .. a secret recipe shared amongst us. And everyone else would gather around an open table with a job. One would roll the pastry, another would cut out the pastry casing, another filling the pineapple into the casing and a final person to pinch decorations on the pastry. And we had so much fun sharing stories and laughing. I always looked forward to these gatherings as a form of family bonding.
All this happened in their home at Katong, in Singapore. The truth is I don’t like eating pineapple tarts but the smell of freshly baked tarts brings me back in time to those days because I felt a sense of belonging to a familiar culture that binds families together.
Childhood Memories
Do certain scents, trigger memories from your childhood? You know .. the ones you totally forget. For me when I smell 4711 Ice Cologne, my mum comes to mind because that’s her favourite cologne. Photos too can triggers certain forgotten memories and by bookmarking special moments in photos and videos .. you are creating a future memory in this present moment. Now imagine if one day, you stumbled upon an old photo from your past? What memories would those photos trigger for you?
Whether you create a photobook or a video slideshow, you won’t necessary reminisce those memories instantly .. but trust me, a few years down the road, when you look through the pages of that photobook, an emotional rush will transport you back in time and you’ll feel that warm fuzziness within, as you remember those captured moments.
Why Create a Photobook
Let’s face it .. life can be really hectic and often taking children to school and back takes up a lot of time. Then preparing meals for school lunches and family dinner can be monotonous and tiring. I know because it is for me and sometimes I feel everything happens at supersonic speed. And we don’t stop to reflect those little moments that bring us joy. My daughter sleeps with a photo album, she looks at moments that makes her happy. I find these moment good timing to connect with her because I have her full attention.
Think about it .. do you take time to stop your routines and reflect on your past? To embrace special moments in your life. What most of us don’t realise is that when you reflect back in time .. you discover bits and pieces you missed out and see the bigger picture in your experiences. You learn to appreciate the experiences that made you grow. Now you may say .. how can I do that?
Your photos have trigger sensors that takes you back in time.
To where it all began.
What marks your Special Occasions
The year 2015 was a memorable year for my family. My mum celebrated her 80th birthday. We went on a road trip to Sydney to visit my relatives. The ones I made pineapple tarts with in my younger years. Had a great picnic by the Hawkesbury River in Wisemans Ferry. We drove up to the Blue Mountains to see three sisters. We all had a great holiday there. That’s become my family year in review photobook.
What are your 5 most extraordinary captured moments or celebration events?
- Life changing holiday adventure
- 21st Birthday or Milestone birthday
- Wedding Celebrations
- Birth of your Children
- Milestone Wedding Anniversary
However meaningful they are for your children, your family .. they are blueprints to start a photobook. Your special stories that show evidence of your existence. Bring them to life to share the memories and to celebrate this incredible experience we call life.
You can start by organizing your photos and videos now.
