How to make a family tree with photos

A tree without faces is a list of names. With photos, videos and voices, it becomes what the family actually looks at. Here's how to go about it, from the shoeboxes to the shared link.

1. Gather before you sort

The photos are spread across several houses, several phones, several generations. Ask everyone to send you what they have, without sorting. Sorting comes later, and it goes better when you can see everything.

Do it quickly for the older relatives' paper prints. The question that matters isn't "is it a nice photo" but "who still knows who's in it". Sit down with the person who knows, and write on the back or on a sheet of paper the names, the place, the approximate year, what was happening that day.

2. Digitize without special equipment

A phone is enough. Lay the photo flat near a window, without flash, the phone parallel to the print, and frame the shot a little wider than the photo so you can crop it afterward. Scanning apps (Google PhotoScan, Notes on iPhone, Adobe Scan) remove glare by combining several shots.

With a scanner, 300 dpi is enough for a 4 × 6 print (10 × 15 cm). Go up to 600 dpi for small old prints you'll want to enlarge. Keep the original scan as is, and do your retouching on a copy.

3. Name and date right away

A photo with no name or date loses its value within a generation. It's the one rule with no exceptions. When you add a picture to the tree, write who's in it, where, when, and a line of context. Thirty seconds now, or a puzzle for your grandchildren.

4. One photo per box, or a whole life per person?

Printable family tree templates, wall frames and custom posters hold one photo per person. It's a lovely gift, and it's frozen the day it's printed. Nothing gets added to it.

In a digital tree, each person carries everything that's known about them, several photos at different ages, a wedding video, a recording of their voice, a story told by a cousin. And the tree keeps growing as the family adds their own.

5. Add videos and voices

The voice is what goes missing first. A grandmother telling how she met her husband, recorded for three minutes with a phone on the table, is worth more than ten photos. Ask a simple question, let her talk, don't interrupt. Videos of family gatherings, even shaky ones, are just as valuable, they hold the gestures and the laughter nobody can describe.

In Parenthèse, each person can carry photos, videos, audio recordings, documents and quotes. They surround the person's portrait in the tree, and open with a click.

6. Share, so the others can fill it in

A tree only you add to stops at what you know. Send the link to the family. With Parenthèse, they view it without creating an account. With the contribution password, they suggest their photos and corrections, and you approve them, or let them through directly if you prefer. Distant cousins are often the ones who have the missing photo.

Frequently asked questions