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The March
2011 Family Tree Magazine (now on newsstands) has a guide to using your
digital camera for genealogical purposes—such as capturing images of gravestones,
ancestral homes, family heirlooms and your ancestors’ records.

It’s not as simple as taking a quick snapshot, though. Before you start a genealogical
photography session, create a shot list of the pictures you want. Here’s what we recommend:

Gravestones Shot List

• cemetery entrance
• whole cemetery
• stones of interest, with nearby stones
  
• the whole gravestone, showing the inscription and carving
• close-ups of the inscription and carvings
• any creative shots you want of the beautiful artwork and scenes in graveyards

Ancestral Homes Shot List

• the entrance to the street (a view your ancestor may have seen every day)
• the house with neighboring buildings
• the whole house (we suggest first knocking on the door to let the current resident
  know why you’re taking a picture of his house)
• as many sides of the house as you can capture without trespassing
• interesting architectural details
• the yard
• any features mentioned in family stories (such as the tree Grandpa fell out of as
  a boy)

Heirlooms Shot List

• full view of heirloom
• heirloom with a ruler to show size
• all sides of heirloom item
• close-ups of interesting details, such as carving or painting
• close-ups of manufacturer’s marks
• close-ups of damage or other features affecting value

Records And Documents Shot List

• title page of film roll or book
• full record (be sure to get each page)
• close-ups of hard-to-read areas

What pictures would you add to our lists? Any tips for others photographing these
ancestral items? Click Comments to share!