How to photograph your family heirlooms like a pro
Heirlooms can be unexpected—such as the gorgeous glass doorknobs shown here: “I was born into the bedroom with the glass doorknob and I didn’t leave it until I got married at age 23,” the subject remembers; she uses the object as a jumping-off point for stories from her life in that home (she even took the doorknob with her when the house was sold—a true heirloom). This is an example of a family heirloom photograph that has been styled and arranged in an environment, used as part of a broad family history book.
Whether you have centuries’ worth of expensive heirlooms handed down through generations or a few sentimental objects from a single ancestor, you should consider photographing your heirlooms to preserve their stories and provenance.
An heirloom’s preciousness does not derive from its financial worth, but from its meaning to you. Some of my most treasured heirlooms are valuable only to me—a crocheted blanket my mom made for me, a few shells I gathered on beaches during travels with my grandmother, and a wooden spoon that they both used that I now cook with daily. And yes, I consider each of those worthy of photographing—because they hold stories and love that I want to pass on.
Styling and photographing heirlooms can be as simple or as sophisticated as you’d like, depending upon your skill set and needs. Here are some guiding questions and helpful resources to empower you to photograph your heirlooms like a pro.
Decisions that will guide your heirloom photo shoot
What heirlooms do you want to photograph?
Knowing how many and what types of objects you want to photograph is a necessary first step. Make a list of the objects (some to consider: jewelry, letters, portraits, works of art, family Bibles, furniture, kitchen gear, instruments, clothing, china, military medals or uniforms, firearms, collectibles). Which do you want to photograph?
How will you be using the photos?
The two main ways I utilize images of family heirlooms in my books are
in a straightforward family history catalog, where the heirlooms are the main point of the book; or
in a broad family history book with a narrative focus, where the heirlooms are just one way of revealing a family’s stories.
For a straightforward heirloom catalog, the images need to clearly identify each object, perhaps show them from different angles, and hone in on relevant details. To achieve this:
Photograph each heirloom on the same backdrop. Using a large white foam board, available at any craft store, is an easy, clean option.
Maintain consistent lighting—either natural light from a window (in which case I recommend you schedule your shoots at the same time each day to ensure steady shadows) or artificial lighting (such as from studio lights, a camera flash, or directional light from a lamp). Strive to make each image look like they belong together in the same catalog.
Consider including a ruler or tape measure in some shots to clearly depict an object’s size.
I photographed this hand-turned plate, made by my client’s father, on a clean white background and from various angles, because it was being used in a catalog of family heirlooms. The lack of styling yields not only a timeless image, but a straightforward record of what the objects look like.
For images that will be included within a larger narrative book, you have many more options (and therefore, more choices—and more challenges). Consider:
What is the tone of your book? The design aesthetic? You will want to photograph the objects in a way that complements these.
In what context will the images be shown? This will influence how you style and shoot your heirlooms.
For example, in a recent book telling the story of a Jewish man who fought in the Red Army during World War II, I shot the subject’s military medals on clean white backgrounds, but in a stylized way—at an angle, with strong shadows, so when placed in the page layout they appear to be sitting on the book’s pages; I wanted the awards to stand on their own, visual reminders of the subject’s valor.
For another client, whose book encompassed generations’ worth of family history, I shot various heirlooms in styled settings that fit into the warmer, nostalgic tone of the book—an inherited cast-iron pan was styled with other items in their kitchen during a cooking session, capturing not only the textures of the heirloom, but its familiar use with a passed-down recipe; while a stack of letters that an ancestor had saved was tied beautifully with twine and styled with a handkerchief, floral stems, and one letter open for reading, an invitation into their intimacy.
This styled heirloom photo uses candles and flowers to add dimension and texture, natural lighting for soft shadows, and a simple wooden surface as a warm yet simple backdrop.
Where are the heirlooms?
Logistics can play a major role in how you photograph your family heirlooms. If you are the keeper of them all, then life is easy—skip this question! However, if your heirlooms are divided among various family members, or tucked away in a storage facility or bank vault, you will need a plan of attack.
Can you arrange to have all the heirlooms brought to a central location for one or two days of shooting?
If not, can you enlist the help of a family member at each location to make tackling multi-location shoots easier? Or ‘assign’ photo shoots to a different individual at each location?
How will you achieve consistent lighting across various locations (or change up your visual approach based on location)?
Have you thought of everyplace your heirlooms might be? Consider the homes of other family members; storage facilities, bank vaults or lock boxes; your own attic, basement, shed, closets;
Bonus: heirloom photography resources and ideas
Some easy heirloom image ideas:
Shoot a framed photograph in its environment, instead of scanning the image itself.
Shoot an everyday heirloom (one you use often, such as your grandma’s wooden spoon or your great-uncle’s woodworking plane) while you are using it—your hands and the surroundings will bring life to the object.
Have a collection of items such as baseball cards? Choose one or two representative items to make the center of your photo’s focus, but scatter many of the others around—you don’t need to see every item in a collection to understand its vastness or its value.
Shoot engagement rings on the hands of the wearer or in an elegant velvet ring box.
A few keys to getting great shots:
Remember, the subject is the focal point of the image—any props or backdrops you include should add texture and visual interest, but not distract from the main subject.
The angle you choose to shoot from will impact how the heirloom is seen. I recommend always shooting from a few angles—you might be surprised by which one resonates in the end.
Keep the trim size of the book in mind when shooting your heirlooms, as this may influence the orientation of your photographs.
Go for dimension and layering, but not a cluttered feel, when arranging props and heirlooms for your shoot. A simple dishcloth or ribbon, when styled beautifully, might be enough.
Reflective items such as mirrors and glass can be more difficult to shoot. Search YouTube for a tutorial on how to approach these objects.
“A ‘narrative’ is a little story or subtext that gives the shot its purpose,” prop stylist Robin Zachary writes in her beautiful book, Styling Beyond Instagram. “By combining any given theme and narrative, you can create endless options to give purpose and meaning to your images.” Be creative!
A few of my favorite (affordable) styling resources:
Related reading:
For tips on how to learn more about your family heirlooms, check out this piece in Family Tree Magazine.
For more ideas about preserving the stories behind your family heirlooms, explore the posts below:
Cataloguing your family heirlooms in a book is a great way to pass down their stories. Here are some tips for capturing incredible images of them, too.