Questions to Ask Grandparents About Old Photos

When you show a grandparent an old photograph, begin with "What do you remember about this day?" Then ask who is pictured, where they were, and what happened just before or after the camera was used. Let them supply names and meaning; a question that contains your guess can quietly change the answer.

Before you sit down

Choose a few photographs, not the whole box. Put any known dates or names on a separate note so you can check a detail without presenting it as fact. The Smithsonian's oral-history guidance recommends preparing photos, names, and a rough chronology before an interview, explaining the project, and letting the narrator decline a question or stop recording. Ask whether you may record and who may hear the result. Our interview setup guide covers the equipment and file-saving part.

Questions that leave room for a story

• "Who do you recognize, and how did you know them?"
• "Where were you when this was taken? What was that place like then?"
• "What had everyone been doing before the photograph?"
• "What happened afterward that the picture cannot show?"
• "Is there someone important to this day who is outside the frame?"
• "What would you want a younger relative to know about this person?"

Ask one question, then wait. The Smithsonian advises open-ended, non-leading questions and first-person recollections. If the answer is short, try "Tell me more about that" rather than offering two possible answers. An uncertain name is worth recording as uncertain; do not turn a relative's guess into a firm caption.

Leave with something another relative can use

At the end, confirm spellings of names and places while you are still together. Keep the photograph's filename or number beside your notes so the account stays connected to the right image. The picture may show the people, but not why that afternoon mattered. Our guide to recording the story behind a family photo shows how to turn one account into a usable caption without pretending the image says more than it does.

Sources and further reading

• siarchives.si.edu/history/how-do-oral-history