Photo story prompts
Questions to ask about a childhood home
Photos of a home are usually photos of people with the house behind them. The background is the part that disappears. Use these questions when a family home is being sold or cleared, or when you find a photo of one that already has been.
Who
- Who lived in the house, and who slept in which room?
- Who were the neighbours on each side?
- Who came through the door most often?
- Who chose the wallpaper, the furniture, the garden?
Where and when
- What is the full address?
- Which years did the family live there?
- Which room or corner of the garden is this?
- What could you see from the window?
Why it mattered
- What did the house sound and smell like?
- What happened in this room that everyone still talks about?
- What was broken and never fixed?
- Why did the family move there, and why did they leave?
One tip
Before a house is cleared, photograph every room from the doorway, then the view from each window. Those are the pictures nobody thinks to take.
Common questions
How do I record memories of a family home?
Go room by room. For each one, note who used it, one routine that happened there and one event people still mention. Add the address and the years the family lived there.
The house is already gone. What can I still do?
Collect every photo with the house in the background and ask relatives to describe what is behind the people. A hand-drawn floor plan from memory is worth adding.
More prompt sets
Old family photos
For the box of prints where half the faces have no name.
12 questions
Photos with grandparents
Questions to ask a grandparent while they hold the photo.
12 questions
Wedding photos
The names and small disasters the album does not record.
12 questions
Baby's first year
A few words per photo, written while you still remember.
12 questions
One photo. Three answers. Two minutes.
Start with the print you would save from a fire. No account, nothing uploaded.