There are a few simple tips when taking pictures of family members to keep in a family history book or file.

Photo Tip #1: Zoom In

Your pictures will look ten times better if you zoom in or get closer to the person you are photographing. By taking a picture that encapsulates your subject head-to-toe, you lose a lot of facial detail and expression. If your subject is not a body builder or super model, they’ll probably appreciate a facial portrait rather than a full body shot.

Full shots are great, and you’ll definitely want some in your collection, but for family history purposes, you’ll probably want to capture more the essence and expression of your family member/subject.

For instance, the photo below is a great artistic photo. It makes good use of “depth of field” and is a fun composition with the flowers and the family holding hands.

It’s a great photo, no doubt about it. However, if you take a look at the picture below, you’ll see why zooming in or moving in closer to your subject greatly enhances the picture. There’s no fancy foreground or background in the picture (there’s actually no background), but you can really get a sense for the people in the picture.

Your pictures will instantly look better if you just move in a little closer. You’ll also avoid the “I-feel-uncomfortable-standing-in-front-of-the-camera-and-I -don’t-know-what-to-do-with-my-arms-syndrome.” How many times have you posed for a picture and just felt uncomfortable the way you were standing? You just didn’t feel natural and didn’t know what to do with your arms…at the side, folded, hands in pockets, etc. (One way to avoid this is to put weight on one foot and not equally on both.)

Photo Tip #2: Get Good Light

Too bright, and your pictures will be washed out, too dark, and you won’t be able to see anything–lighting is key to taking a good picture. Taking pictures outside in the morning and evening hours provides good natural light. Taking pictures at noon and early afternoon makes lots of unhappy squinters. Go for soft, natural light. If you have to take pictures during the day, try placing your subject in the shade.

Try different angles. The light can come from the side. If you have a removable or adjustable flash, try bouncing the flash off the ceiling or from the side. This will help eliminate harsh shadows behind the subject.

Photo Tip #3: Compose In 3rds

You don’t always have to place your subject smack-dab in the center of the picture. Put them to the right or left side of the frame. It will ad variety and a different dynamic into the picture.

Photo Tip #4: Small Group Shots

If you’re taking pictures of a group, you normally have to scoot way back to fit everyone into the frame. That’s fine for a single shot, but try taking pictures in smaller groups and zooming in on the faces of the individuals (see tip #1). If it’s a family picture, take the group shot, and then split the group up by taking a picture of the parents with each child. You’ll also want a picture of just the parents alone and each child alone. It’s great to have sister, uncle, brother, cousin, etc. in the pictures, but a few generations down the road, descendants will be mostly interested in the individual they are most closely related to.

Since digital pictures really don’t cost anything (unless you print them), go ahead and take a bunch. Your posterity will thank you.

That should be enough to get you started, but once you have your pictures, remember to organize them and name them.

But wouldn’t it be inspiring if you had access to the books that your ancestors read and found moving and life changing?  You may even have the books they read, but unless they wrote down their feelings and insights about what they read, you’re left to guess what they thought about it.

GoodReads.com is a free service that lets you identify books that you have read, give the books a rating, and write your own thoughts and reviews about the books.  You can share the book list you’ve created with your friends and family.

Additionally, you can easily export (copy from the website) your list of books and your reviews so you can store them with your family history information on your home computer.

I had fun just listing the books I’ve read in the past few years and remembering what my thoughts were when I read them.

Letters of Benjamin Franklin, of John Adams to his wife Abigail, of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson and scores more contribute much to our understanding of the American Revolution as well as the opinions, habits, and views of the writers.

There is much to be gleaned from the well thought out correspondence of one person to another. Journals and biographies capture a wealth of information, but letters capture not just facts and thoughts; they capture interactions with others. Family insights can be noted that otherwise would be difficult to decipher.

So how can you best use and preserve family letters in our own families?

Organizing and Finding Letters - To make the best use of family letters, first, start finding where letters are stored. Ask your living relatives if they know good spots to look and people to talk to who might have old family letters. If you ask only “Do you know if we have any family letters?” you’ll probably get a “no” because it’s the easiest way out. So ask where things like letters might be hiding and it will help everyone take a moment to think about it.

Many individuals stored letters bound with a rubber band in a drawer or shoe box somewhere. Look, with permission of course, in attics, closets, basements, under the stairs, and in family garages. If you don’t find anything, you’ll at least clean up those places as you go (let’s hope).

Once you’ve found a few letters, see if you can find the matching correspondence, and then organize the letters by correspondence. Think about it as storing the letters and return correspondence as conversations. It will mean much more when someone reads the letters if related and follow-up letters are stored next to each other.

Once letter “conversations” have been stored next to each other, group letters by date or by purpose/location. For example, you may want to group letters together that we written during the war and group separately those that were written to grandchildren later on in life.

Storing Letters – Once you have found the letters and have organized them, you will have most likely found that the letters are an incredible vehicle that will take you back into the lives and times of your ancestors and family members. Don’t keep all those insights just to yourself. Share them with the family.

One of the best ways to share your family letters is to scan them to your computer (making them digital so you can email them and easily make copies). If you don’t feel comfortable with this step, have a family member help. It seems like every family has at least one technical genius that runs around fixing everyone’s emails.

Scan the envelop and then scan the letter contents. Saving the letters as a PDF is a good way to go so that the pages of each letter stay together and don’t get jumbled up (as would be the case if they were scanned and saved as separate pictures). Name your files with the date, the name of the writer, and a short topic description of the letter. If there were replies back and forth, use the same topic description and simply add a “1″, “2″, “3″, etc. to the file name.

Writing Your Own Letters - Sadly, our modern society has lost much of the eloquence possessed by those of earlier generations. Our communication tends to be much more curt, abrupt, and without prior consideration. However, we are not without tools to aid us in creating a legacy of letters. The computer has made it much more easy to write, revise, store, and share letters. Email has helped us to maintain the tradition of written communication. Take and save important communications that you have engaged in.

If you haven’t written much or feel what you’ve written through emails doesn’t amount to much, here is a fun exercise: write a letter. Write a real letter. Set aside some time to write a letter to your spouse, mother, father, sibling, or child. Write down your thoughts and feelings. Write as if you were thousands of miles away, and ask them to respond to you through writing. Not only is it fun, but you now have a family history record that is more than an “instant message.” It has caused you to think, to reflect, and to express.

Perhaps we can regain and reclaim a portion of the eloquence and thoughtfulness of those who have gone on before and have so graciously left to us some of their most important thoughts and conversations.

Not only the travel we take, but the places and reasons for visiting those places affects us as well and can reveal much about ourselves.

If you’re lucky enough to have access to your family’s journals and personal histories, you may discover wonderful details about family, personal, religious, political, or business trips that your ancestors undertook.

Reflect on the times that your ancestor lived in. Today, a trip to New Zealand or Hawaii can be as easy as hoping on a plane, but did you have an ancestor that made the trip 100 years ago on a crowded ship? Why did your ancestor make the trip? Did he or she go alone? What does the trip tell about the times he or she lived in? What was the specific mode of travel and how long did the trip take? If you have ancestors that fought in wars away from home, document the places that they were stationed. You might be surprised at how “well traveled” you ancestors were.

Your Travel - If you do not have access to much information about trips your ancestors took, try creating a log of the places you’ve visited, the reason why you visited each location, and what you did. Write down what you learned from each location. Perhaps you gained a new insight into what it means to be poor or to be rich. Perhaps you met a very friendly people and culture that impressed you.

Write about why you selected the place to visit. Perhaps you wanted to “get away” from it all, or you may have been going on a tour of historic locations.

Write it Down – Take a moment to jot down the places you’ve visited and what you gained from the experience, then start working your way through your family tree to discover places your ancestors have traveled. Jot down the ideas or even map them using Google Earth or Google Maps. Place copies of the pictures, if you have them, in the history to help make the locations come to life.

If you’ve every gone through pictures of your deceased ancestors of places that they’ve traveled but the pictures were not labeled in some way, it can be very difficult if not impossible to find out where the location of the picture was taken and the reason for the trip, so you can do your future generations a favor by jotting down where you traveled and including it with your pictures.

Putting it Together - There are many ways to gain insights into your ancestors’ lives. The amount of time an effort it takes to put together a major journey, the motivations, hopes and dreams related to the trip can reveal much about the person you are researching. Tying trips generations after generation can give you a window to the times and just how much travel has changed.

Below are a number of ideas and strategies to spare some minutes during the day or week taken from less important activities that tend to “fill up” our time. We’ve listed what you should at least how much time free up. Of course, feel free to free up more time if you get going.

Plan it (30-60 Minutes a Week)

You can add time to your family history research if you plan it. Sounds simple enough. You make appointments to go to the doctor, you make appointments to do many other things and plan around them. Well, this is one of the easiest ways to add an extra hour or half an hour. Just put it on your calendar and plan around the time. Better yet, consistently set aside a certain day and time that you work on family history.

Be More Efficient (30 Minutes a Day)

Yeah, it’s vague, but being more efficient in what you do can really help. Look for ways to be more efficient:

1. Tasks you normally perform (cleaning the house, etc.)
2. Actual genealogy research

If you’re more efficient at what you do, you’ll be able to do more. If you can do more, you’ll get more done.
Mmm…someone ought to wright that down; sounds profound.

Get Organized (30 Minutes a Week)

Along with being efficient, if your family history work is organized, you’ll be able to easily startup where you last left off instead of spending hours trying to figure out where you were. You’ll also be able to conduct your research in a more effective manner by knowing where you’ve stored your records.

If you’re like most of us, you’ll spend a good 15-30 minutes just trying to figure out where you left off last week or month. By staying organized, you’ll be able to jump right in and be more efficient. Creating a work log can help you keep track of current genealogy projects you’re working on.

Exercise and Eat Good Food (15 to 30 Minutes a Day)

Wait a minute, doesn’t it take up time to exercise? Yes, it does. However, I’ve found that when I keep a good exercise schedule, I feel better, sleep better, and have more energy. If I have all those things, I won’t feel too tired to work on family history work at the end of the day.

The Internet (30 Minutes a Day)

Spend at least 30 minutes online every day? Is it quality time or just surfing the Web? If you’re just casually viewing web pages and news, hunker down and get to work on family history

The Television (Free up 30-60 Minutes a Day)

The average person watches over 4 hours of television a day, that’s right, a day! “That’s incredible, surely I don’t watch that much television!” That might be your initial reaction, but don’t be too hasty in making that determination. You might not watch over 4 hours a day, but you may be closer than you think.

Find out how much you television media you consume by:

1. Counting your favorite TV shows, and add up the amount of time each day you watch them (don’t forget the wonderful news channels you watch as well).
2. Keep a piece of paper near your television and write down when and how long you watch. This exercise alone will probably help you cut down on time in front of the television.

Rank the importance of the shows you watch. How important are the shows you watch? Do they help you save lives? Do they increase your standard of living? Do they teach you something important that you will use on the job or directly in your daily family life? I think it’s safe to say that many TV programs fail those questions.

I’m not saying no television, but I am saying that if you rank the shows you watch in terms of importance, you could probably do without the least important show you watch. Take that time (could be 30 minutes or an hour depending on the show) and use it for family history research.

Get up Earlier (10-30 Minutes a Day)

Don’t wait until the end of the day to do family history. Get up just a little bit earlier. Half an hour is manageable isn’t it? Rise a few minutes early in the morning and give it a shot looking up records on the line you’ve been researching.

Collaborate with Others (30-60 Minutes a Week)

Can’t do it all yourself? Don’t worry, enlist the help of others. Usually there are a couple people in the extended family that are interested in family history work. Many family members want to help, but aren’t sure what to do or where to start. Create a few simple research projects and ask your family to help out.

Organize Histories and Pictures on a Time Line

One available option at OurStory.com lets you organize your photos in a unique way. You can organize your family photos on a time line and highlight stories from your life or your family’s over the years.

You can also use the service to help you or your family write personal histories through a series of “interview” type questions. With the service, you could create a “This is Your Life” storybook for a friend or relative.

Another neat feature is that you can embed (include) your time line in a website or blog that you’ve created.

Ideas for Using a Family Picture Time Line

Some fun uses for the tool include creating various time lines for different events:

• Time line of pictures for your children as they grow up
• Time line of an ancestor’s life
• Time line with pictures from your whole family
• Time line of a special vacation or vacations

Demo Video of Features

Below is a video from OurStory.com showing some of the features that we like about the service.

You can use the service to collaborate with your family members to create time lines for your parents, grandparents, or any ancestor you choose.

OurStory.com – Go beyond diaries and journals. See your life history on a graphical timeline.

Visit OurStory to create a free account and time line.

One tool in particular that can do this for free is Google Maps. You can add information and pictures about each location, add a description about the family line, and share the information with your family members.

Below is a simple example of what you can create. It’s easy to do and can really help the younger family members visualize where the family came from. On Google Maps, you can “zoom” in or out of the map you’re looking at to get different views. Converge lines where marriages occurred.

Family Location Map Setup

1. You’ll need a free Google Account. If you don’t have one, click the “Sign In” link at the top of the Google Maps page to create a free account (this way, you’ll be able to save your maps).
2. Once you have an account, click on the “My Maps” tab on Google Maps.
3. Select “Create New Map” and name your map.
4. You’ll now be able to add place markers and lines to your map by clicking the icons in the top left of your map.
5. When you set a marker, you can give it a name (the family name) and even add pictures to the description. Paste in a short history about the person or family line to really take advantage of what the maps provide.
6. Add lines to connect your markers to designate emigration paths.

Add as many markers and lines that you need to map your family’s movements throughout the ages. Use different colors of markers and lines (click to edit the line or marker to change the color) for different families. You can also zoom in to the street level and set markers there if you like.

This exercise is very helpful for young family members who are wondering where your ancestors came from and where your countries of origin are located.

Sharing Your Ancestry Location Map

You can share you map in a number of ways:

• Use the Google Maps print option (zoom out to the desired level you want to see).
• Save it in a personal history. Use the print screen function on your keyboard to copy the map and then paste it into a word processing document.
• Use the email link in Google Maps to email a link of the map.

Mapping your Genealogy by geography can be very helpful to family members who like to “see” how things come together.  Get started, and have fun!

Discussions about heirlooms or family keepsakes are avoided in some families because it reminds them that we’re mortal and will die (not a happy subject). However, think about the important memories that the keepsakes, relics, heirlooms, and knick-knacks represent. Wouldn’t it be important to make sure that those items, and the stories behind them are pass on and not passed over?

What is an Heirloom?

For some families, an heirloom may be a ring that has been handed down through the generations. It may be a painting or journal. For others, the “heirlooms” may be simple knick-knack, objects that don’t have a lot of monetary value, but remind us of a special event, trip, or person. Something common among many heirlooms is the sentimental value we place on the item.

Distributing Heirlooms

There are many different ways to distribute family heirlooms. You’ll need to decide which fits your family situation the best. However, not making any decision can be the worst because it can create a lot of contention among descendants as they try to figure out what’s best.

For some families, talking about this sort of thing is taboo, while in others, it may be a frequent discussion. In many cases, there is often a “loud mouth” in the family that always tends to get their way because they throw the biggest “fit” about things. Do you really want to leave things up to that person to decide what is fair? With a little preparation, arguments about who gets what can be mitigated, the dominant person in the family won’t dictate who gets what, and everyone can be better satisfied with a more fair approach.

Before you get started, you might want to identify what are your family heirlooms. For instance, you may have a specific object in mind that is important to you and no one else. Your parent or grandparent may have many family keepsakes that no one else knows about. Take a moment and write down the family heirlooms you have. Encourage your family members to do the same.

To help you out, we created a Family Heirloom/Keepsake Record document that you can use to jot down where those important keepsakes are located and why they’re important to you or the family.

Once you’ve identified the important keepsakes, it’s time to figure out who gets what. Listed below are different approaches and options that various families have taken regarding their heirlooms (some are better than others).

The Heirloom Holder Decides and Helps Coordinate

While the heirloom holder is alive, he or she could help coordinate what’s fair. This option puts a burden on the heirloom holder, but the family will probably respect the heirloom holder’s wishes. One problem with this approach is that it’s not very organized. The heirloom holder will be thinking of things that are important in his or her own life but might forget about items that may be important to the children or grandchildren. You may also find that the loudest person gets much of what they want because they’re making the biggest fuss to the heirloom holder. So, although better than no plan at at, this approach could be improved upon.

No One Talks About it Until After the Funeral

If you want to talk about bad options, this is it. Many families may feel uncomfortable talking about who should receive which family keepsakes, or it may not be something that is thought about until the situation dictates that it’s necessary. The last thing a family wants right after a funeral is to engage in arguments about who gets Grandma’s childhood doll, or Grandpa’s personal journals or pictures from the war. Unfortunately, a majority of families pick this option, not because it’s a good option, but because they don’t think ahead or they’re afraid the topic will be uncomfortable. The problem is that postponing the issue can only complicate matters and make things harder.

The Heirloom Holder Specifies Wishes in a Will

If a family just can’t handle talking about keepsakes, the heirloom holder could specify in his or her will who should receive certain keepsakes. A challenge may arise if the heirloom holder isn’t aware of what family members want. There are probably plenty of little knick-knacks that have special meaning to each family member. If the heirloom holder isn’t aware of what family members would like to have, there still may be a bit of arguing even after the will. A side note, make sure that the family knows where the will is located. The last thing you want to happen is have the family pick out what they would like only to discover a will with different instructions.

Family Members Pick their Top Choices

Suppose you’re the person that holds the heirloom(s). You can specify who gets what. It may end up being a little bit of work, but it can save a lot of heart-ache, arguing, and negotiation among your descendants if you help family members determine their top choices.

Ask family members to jot down:

• Their top picks for desired keepsakes
• Why the heirlooms are important to them
• A ranking (1-5 for example) of the most important heirlooms

Now determine what’s fair. If someone doesn’t get their first pick, give them their second and third picks. Give priority to your children first, then grand children and so on.To help, we created a document you can download and print to help you decide who wants what. You may think it’s a little odd, but hey, why not be open with the family about what you want to happen instead of having them disgruntled years down the road because the heirlooms were given out to those who first came to the house to clean up after you’re gone.

To download the request list and get started with a simple and fair system for distributing heirlooms, click here.

Take Pictures of the Keepsakes and Write the History Behind the Keepsake

This option may sound a little goofy to some, but speaking from personal experience, it’s a good option since there are very few keepsakes that you can divide up between families and everyone takes a piece. I’m descended from someone that rode with Buffalo Bill Cody back in the days of the Wild West, and Buffalo Bill gave my ancestor one of his jackets (the brown leather jackets with the leather strips hanging down the arms). I don’t have the jacket, another family member has it, but I have a picture of it that I’ve stored in my ancestor’s file on my computer. It may not be much, but it’s better than nothing. So for important keepsakes, take a picture and share it with the family.

What We Recommend

Your family’s situation will be unique, so decide what option is best for you. We suggest you:

1. Identify the important keepsakes
2. Choose a fair system to distribute keepsakes, ranking each family members desired keepsakes can help
3. Work on the system now while people are happy and healthy. If the heirloom holder takes ill, it may be an uncomfortable subject to talk about. If you discuss the matter early, it can be a happy discussion as you talk about old memories.
4. Don’t worry so much. After you’ve identified what you want, it’s still not yours until the item is bequeathed. Relax. Don’t get worked up if something happens to what you wanted. Remember, it’s the memories that the object represents that are important, not necessarily the object.
5. Take time to write down why the object is important or means something to you. Don’t limit yourself to objects that can be passed on. Write about your first or favorite automobile, house, etc.

What ever you decide to do, we suggest that you don’t fall into the “do nothing” category. Get started early. Enjoy it, and make it fun. It’s like Christmas without having to purchase gifts for the family.

They’re the things that you just don’t have the heart to throw out during spring cleaning because they mean something to you.
The keepsake may be trinkets from an eventful family trip you took when you were younger. You may have a watch that belonged to your great-grandfather. You may have a journal or original photographs. Whatever the heirlooms and knick-knacks you possess, you’ll probably want to pass them on at some point. They have a sentimental value that carries meaning that you would like shared with your children or family.

How sad it would be however if your family:

1. Couldn’t find your heirlooms after you’re gone
2. Couldn’t tell what family keepsakes were important to you

May we suggest a simple solution: write down the keepsakes, knick-knacks, and heirlooms that are important to you. You could also encourage other family members to do the same. It’s a pretty fun little exercise to reflect on items that mean a lot to you because you’re reminded of friends, families, events, and the good ol’ days.

Writing down what are your keepsakes is the first step. Then write down where your keepsakes are kept (probably all over the place which is a good reason to write down the location). Finally, write down why your keepsakes are important to you.

You may have a favorite book that you’ve kept and read many, many times. Wouldn’t it be great if a descendant of yours who wanted to get to know you better after you’re gone had the item and knew that it was important to you?

If no one knows why a keepsake is important to you, the item may be passed over some day by your descendants, and tossed out. For example, I have a watch and fedora that belonged to my great-grandfather. If I don’t tell my children where those items came from and why they’re important to me, they may get thrown out some day (something that I nor great-grandpa would like very much).

Think that would never happen?  Believe me, if you’ve ever gone to clean someone’s house after they’ve passed away, there’s a lot of stuff that gets thrown away because to those cleaning up, the stuff is just, well, stuff.  However, if the family has a way of knowing what’s important and should be passed down, the important items will have a better chance of being saved.

If you want to keep keepsakes as keepsakes, write down the what, the why, and the where.

To make things easy for you, we’ve created a simple tracker that you can use to keep track of family heirlooms. You can use the form for yourself, or for your extended family to track family keepsakes.

To download the free tracker, click here.

Make a copy or two of the tracker once you’ve filled it out, and give it to your family members. It’ll make for a good time as you discuss your memories. Place another copy along with your will or other important documents.

However, one of the problems as the family tree expands is that Aunt Susie has family history information and keepsakes that Cousin Albert has never seen but would probably like to see.

There are family history stories and documents that need preserving, and family websites can certainly help share information, but once a family has really grown over a number of generations, it’s very easy to lose track of what’s happened to important records. When family history stories are posted online, many don’t have adequate reference citation. You may also be performing genealogy research that a distant relative already has completed but hasn’t made available online.

Family Organizations and Associations - One solution is to create a Family Association. You can set up your organization any way you want. One option is to register your organization as a non-profit; the other option is just to have a small informal organization.

You may want to weigh the benefits and drawbacks. A formal, nonprofit can provide tax-exempt status, protect you against liability (very important in this day and age), and let others make donations that are tax exempt. The website http://www.legalzoom.com can help with getting started if you prefer an online resource, but LEGAL DISCLAIMER, talk to a lawyer in your state that specializes in non-profits. Regulations can vary from state to state on how you need to organize your association. A non-formal organization is probably better than nothing but does open you up to liability issues and does not offer tax exempt status. It really may depend on your vision of the scope of the association and how long you want it to last.

Things to consider for your organization:

Scope of the Family Association – Do you want to limit your organization’s focus? There are a number of ways you can define as the scope of your organization. Just to name a few ideas:

• Descendants of a particular ancestor
• Focus on a certain surname or group of surnames
• Focus on a certain location
• Researchers within a certain area

What the Association can Do - There are a lot of things that the organization can do. Below are a few ideas:

• Organize family history information
• Research genealogy
• Create published family history books
• Organize reunions
• Run a family history website related to the organization’s focus
• Send a monthly or quarterly newsletter to keep people in touch
• Host meetings to collect and share information about the family line
• Hold learning sessions for those interested in genealogy
• Act as a center point for information and contact about family history work on your particular focus
• Coordinate research efforts
• Keep people focused to keep the research work moving forward

Who’s Running this Thing? - You will probably want to have officers (if you’ve gone the formal way or not). Some officers you might want to have in your organization are:

• President
• Vice President
• Treasurer
• Membership Administrator
• Editor
• Publisher
• Website Dude/Technical Specialist
• Historian
• Public Relations Specialist

These are just a few ideas to get you thinking. A family organization can be a great way to keep the family history and records of your family together as the family grows bigger over the decades and inevitably further apart as the family tree expands.