In real life: A better way to decorate with family photos

The McGauleys, Easter in St. Louis, around 1960. My father is the tween buzz cut in the back.

Just imagine how much more interesting this photo would be if everyone in it was wearing white shirts and jeans. No pillbox or flower-brimmed hats, no bow or sailors’ collars… so much easier. Bonus they could hang a new White Shirt Family Photo in the hall every year…

PS: That is full-on crazy.

Look, I know. The neutral photo uniform is a cult favorite (see what I did there?). But it can swipe out so many beautiful time stamps. At the same LEGENDS design panel I talked about in this post, California designer Tim Clarke—in that handsome, mild-mannered way he has about him—also expressed dismay at the formulaic white shirt and jeans photo trend. Here are three good reasons we should listen to him.

Every house on your street has the same picture on their walls: beach, water, white shirts, jeans, bare feet. But your family is so much weirder than that, aren’t they? (Answer: Yes.) Why homogenize into each other like some kind of a suburban army?
It’s the nuances, the little details that are fun to look back on: the toddler who insisted on wearing the same cowboy shirt every day. The 11-year-old coming into her own tween style. The starter house in the background you lived in for 10 years. Or the very fashions of the day. You don’t want to miss these things.
Most importantly, as Tim pointed out, it’s not how we look in real life. These don’t reflect the family in a familiar way, which diminishes the real strength/purpose of family photos: nostalgia.

Better idea: Tim suggests buying two to three complementary styles of photo frames in bulk. Use these to bring a sense of uniformity and order to your photos—that takes the pressure off the fam to provide that. Then frame candid photos throughout the year as a way of memorializing the real moments. You can still gather the troops for annual shots, but maybe it’s laughing around the table before Thanksgiving dinner or huddling together in front of the waves before a walk on the beach (it’s okay if the four-year-old has soaked himself in saltwater, again). Keep in mind the goal is to bring life and family buzzing through your rooms like an electric current.

PS: If you’re not yet sold on the design wisdom of Tim, check out this surf shack in Maui he designed. You’ll be a believer in a hurry. Follow him at at @timclarkedesign or even better, stop into his shop in Santa Monica, Tower 20 (named for the nearest lifeguard stand).