I honestly can't figure out where one would display personal photos other than the home. What's the purpose of having them if not displayed?

I'm absolutely flummoxed by the notion that there are public spaces in MY home and I should decorate accordingly. How... odd.

Personally...I feel that there should be no set rules for how you decorate your own home. You're the one that lives there...if you're comfortable with it, that's all that really matters. Regarding personal pictures, I LOVE THEM! I have pictures of my family and closest friends all through my home...and they like seeing how important they are to me.

Ain't nobody the boss of me; I'll put them wherever I want.

The only real photos I display are small and on my desk. My grandfather's ID button from his job. And two wallet sized photos, one of my husband from school and my mother as a baby. I can't imagine having big photos of people around.

I did have a pastel done of one photo of myself when I was about two and a digital cartoon done of my mother and eating McDonald's is in our kitchen...

http://www.etsy.com/listing/27707766/custom-order-for-tararie

I love it! Though it doesn't quite capture the look my mother was giving my father at the time! ;)

I actually don't even understand how this is a question...your home is YOUR HOME, exactly where you should be displaying personal photos. Also, unless you're naked in all of your personal photos or you regularly entertain total strangers, I don't see why you would be opposed to other people seeing them when they stop by your house.

My question is..after how many years do you put away the wedding picture, 5 10, years?

I got a blown up canvas print of one of my wedding photos as a gift and I still don't know where to put it. Our hallway is (in my opinion) too narrow for it, but then I never really got hanging a bunch of stuff in hallways where people tend not to stop and look around. The most likely place it will end up is in the guest room, is that a "public space?"

Guess I don't have an abundance of large personal photos to hang, nor would I want any, so it's not really a problem I think about often. Small framed 5x7's on a desk are more what I think of with photos of people.

Personal photos certainly have a place in the home. In fact, I forgot to unpack ours when we moved a few years ago, and my friend complained that our house looked too impersonal without them.

Like everything, in moderation though. I have a friend who has walls covered with wedding pictures and now photos of their son. They are everywhere you look and it's just a little too much.

Forgot to add what others have: it's your house, hang whatever you want wherever you want!!

I agree with Rumagogo; I find it very odd that people would think it taboo to display family photos throughout their home.
The photo of you and your sister sounds fabulous. If you want to display it, go for it! It's your house-do what YOU want to do.

I hate personal photos in the public spaces in the home, but I'll admit--it's partly my phase of life. When I lived with roommates, I find it really uncomfortable to be surrounded by pictures of them with their families and boyfriends. It was totally inappropriate and creepy. That said, maybe someday if I have a house and family of my own, it will feel different. For now, yuck, keep personal moments personal and photographs in private areas of the home.

I can't stand seeing all these houses that are SO impersonal that they seem like model homes. What's the point? It's my house! We're military, we're away from our families so we put family photos around our homes. I want my home to be beautiful but I also want it to reflect who I am and who we are.

I am personally more a fan of personal photography & art rather than those bought in a store or gallery. In those personal photos, I like to see people I know & love! And I wouldn't limit quantity or the subjects. If I think it is a good photo - it is going up! I think it just makes a space that much more special & as the author mentioned, visitors tend to like to peruse the pictures as well!

Personally, I do not display a bunch of family photos in my home. But, I see no problem with hanging them wherever you want. It's your house to decorate as you please.

I'm also perplexed by the "don't put up personal photos" thing. I definitely have personal photos displayed at my house. We have a picture of everyone at my wedding and without fail--whenever someone comes to visit, they always pick up the picture and try to find themselves in it. It's like a personalized "Where's Waldo?" and it cracks me up every time. Plus, surrounding myself with happy memories of my friends makes me happy. I have plenty of art and non-personal photos on the walls as well, but I don't see any reason to hide the personal ones.

I agree with all the posts about where else would you put display personal photos but your own home?? I love looking at photos when I go over to friends' houses. I'd be less hesitant to display them in an office outside the home, though. I feel a little weird displaying them in the master bedroom, maybe a little in the bathroom, but in a hallway? An empty wall in the living room or entryway? Why not? :)

If some have taken the stance that it is a signifier of money or class, I have been in some very expensive homes ($2M+) belonging to people who could easily afford them. These houses were done by professional decorators. All had family photos in the "public areas". Not as prominently displayed (or as large) as the photo above, but family photos nonetheless.

I do what I like because I just don't care what others think! It is my house and I live in it.

Personal photos definitely have a place in the home, but like your childhood toys and other items that have sentimental value, they should not be everywhere. We have a few photos of family members, but the gigantic framed wedding photo we received from a well-meaning relative stays in the closet because we are uncomfortable with displaying personal photos in such an ostentatious manner. We have small photos here and there, but we do not draw attention to it and we don't spread them out all over the house.

I've always thought that the "Public/priviate" debate was only relevant if you were the owner of something like the Biltmore Estate and constantly had the house full of everyone in your social set. The house would be more like a village and your "private" quarters your home. For modern living our homes are usually the only private space we have and aren't usually that big. Hang the wedding photo.

I'm sorry, but without personal photos, or the stray sentimental tchochke or child's drawing, a home is likely to look impersonally perfect -- kind of like a model apartment meant to sell condo units. I'm all for having a beautiful home, but an absolutely perfect impersonal home is very creepy to me. My 2 cents.

Public areas of your home? Huh. I mean, unless you have some crazy nude photos I can't imagine how displaying pictures would be inappropriate in your own house.

Photos are to be enjoyed, that's why you take them so you can relive the memory.

We have a digital frame in our boutique that has rotating photos of design jobs, family vacations, pets.... customers love it. Photos are always a great conversational piece.

We don't really live in an era where the common person has a formal living room and dining room and they entertain while everyone is wearing fancy clothes. Homes and people are more casual, and your home is your home; decorate it with whatever makes YOU feel happy and at home-including, or not including, photos of loved ones.

This question is only a little related, but perhaps AT can help: How long are you supposed to keep photos of other people's kids posted on your fridge? Every Christmas my siblings and oldest bestest friends send photos of their kids and I feel obligated to stick them on the side of my refrigerator. Sometimes I even get a lovely photo in a hideous frame that I really don't want to display.

What's the statute of limitations here? Anyone?

Unless someone wants to pay my mortgage, they have NO say in what I display or where I display it.

Not to mention, a "home" is meant to bring pleasure to the inhabitant. Whether they have one small momento or "walls covered with" photos, it's their home. Allow them the pleasure that they derive from this.

They absolutely have a place in your home - at least they do in mine. I think there are better ways to work them into the decor then I see in some homes. The things in your home should make you happy and family and friends are hopefully a big part of that.

I don't really get the idea of only displaying photos in bedrooms or upstairs, didn't you, in part, take the photos to share with other people? Is there something offensive about people seeing you wedding photo when there was 300 people there to see it in person?

my house ain't no damn museum. my home with my photos of my loved ones. photos of the people you care about should serve as a reminder of what makes your home and your life unique.

I have to admit I got a little pit in my stomach just from reading the headline here. I am agog at the notion that any of the spaces in my home would be considered "public", or that anyone other than the people who live there would have any say whatsoever in what is displayed.

I think we are taking the notion of "design" way too far when we decorate our own homes - our safe places - for the comfort of others rather than ourselves.

Who on earth objects to personal photos in someone else's home? I'm honestly flabbergasted that anyone would genuinely feel opposed to others displaying photos of the people they love in their OWN HOME.

Have a million photos up, have none - it's your house and YOU live there. There are no 'public places' in a home! If you've got friends who are bothered by your photos, they bloody well shouldn't be in your home!

This is crazy. I'm so annoyed by this post!

You can do whatever you want. Personally, I don't have any personal photos in my home. Sometimes people have a problem with that, too.

"I know many people who believe that personal photos have no place in the public areas of a home" - You know some weird people. Why wouldn't you put up personal photos in, say, your living room? Is keeping them stashed in a closet a better idea?

Honestly, I'd rather keep the personal photos out of the private areas of my home. I don't want grandma and grandpa smiling at me during sexy time.

???
Seriously is this a question?

I put out wedding and family photos all over the public areas of my home. I keep them out of the bathrooms and sleeping areas because it's odd to look at pics of loved ones while on the pot.

But other than that, the more the merrier. Why would you remove your wedding photo from the wall or display just because you'd been married for a long time? I think it's cool to keep it up...

We love ours.

I love my kids. We like to feature each of them in photos all over the living room/kitchen/above the fireplace, in the laundry room..... etc.

Of course I display my photos. It's my home. Not a public space.

With all of my friends recently married, this has been a hot topic of conversation. We all paid A LOT of money to have these beautiful professional photos taken of one of the best and happiest days of our lives, therefore we will, without shame and with a boat load of pride, display them all over our homes. If people think this is vain or somehow oddly self-centered to want to be reminded of such a happy time in our lives, when we were surrounded with all of the people we love, well then they don't have to visit me in my home. And if they are people that I do want to visit me in my home, then there are probably pictures of them on my walls too! I love being reminded of and surrounded by the people I love and it's silly that other people would care so much about what someone has hanging on the walls of their own home. To each his own, I say!

I have to agree with those who said they don't even understand how this is a question. Should your family photos be displayed in your home? Where the heck else are you going to display them?

Now mind you I don't think every single wall in every single room should be covered in pictures of your baby or your wedding or whatever (although you know - it's YOUR home, and if that's what you like, go for it!). But I do love seeing people's photo galleries or arrangements of family photos. I especially love those that have older photos of grandparents or even great grandparents on display.

If someone told me it was unfashionable or unacceptable to display my family photos in my house, I'd politely but firmly tell them that they were welcome to not come to my house again so they didn't have to see the images.

Don't display photos in a room of your own home? This is an absurd notion. Display your photos anywhere you want. Do you like looking at them? Do you want them in your livingroom/den/hallway/bathroom/closet? Then do it and enjoy it!

Of course personal photos have a place in the home. In my eyes-the personal stuff is what MAKES it a home. I love looking at other people's photos. I think it makes a place warm and welcoming.

I love family/personal photos up in a home. I have many of my nephew, my siblings, my husband and me throughout our relationship, and a wonderful series of photos of me with my best friends every few years so we can track how gorgeous we are getting with age. I love when people visiting comment on them. It makes me feel like my house is a home and I'm surrounded by love.

I'm an interior designer, and generally we put personal family photos in the more private, casual spaces of a home (bedroom, family room, a bedroom hall, etc.). In more public, formal areas (Living Room, Entry Foyer, Dining Room, etc.) we might use smaller, more discrete photos.

The popular book, The Happiness Project, mentions, and I paraphrase, that having images and memorabilia around of happy times creates and maintains happiness in the home. I believe this is true. I think it is easy to take our family and friends for granted. Having reminders of their importance and the joy they bring to our lives is a wonderful thing! I think some people feel like many personal photos are overly stylized or too showy....I see that sometimes....but more often than not I love photos of loved ones in every room. Don't listen to the haters!

Our hallways have held our family photos- apartment and two homes. Yes, I do have guests who slowly oggle every photo in the hallway and want to know everyone whom they don't recognize in each photo. I even have empty spots for those we don't have a photo.
The entire rest of our house has non-people photos we've taken on trips and some meaningful art prints.

It depends on quantity, presentation, and intention. One of my sisters absolutely paves her mantel and tables with framed photos of family, living and dead. It's way too much clutter, but the photos are there because she likes family and family history around her. So it's a nice thing. Another sister displays only a few professional studio portraits of her preppy kids looking very Brooks Brothers. They are intended as brag shots and come across as stuffy and affected.

A woman I know who lost a child has almost a photo shrine in the living room, which is disturbing to others but comforts her. I have friends who (this is especially common among my Asian friends) have brag shots prominently displayed of them posing with Important People. I hate that practice. In my own living room you find exactly three small photos on a desk and in the bookshelf. But in a back hallway you will find my wall o' dogs.

I think people get confused from watching selling property shows on HGTV. Definitely need to put them away when selling, but every day living you should have them.

I do think they can be overdone and collages can be tacky and ugly. just because it looked okay 10 years ago doesn't mean you have to keep it up forever. I think like a lot of accessories it's better when there's a limit and you change some of them. Dozens in ugly old frames look crappy

Unless you have clients coming to your home, as far as I'm concerned there is no public place in your own home, it's all your home and decorate to what makes you feel comfortable. Until becoming a regular stalker of AT, I never realized such opinions exist.

I love looking at family photos in other people's home, but probably not for the reasons you may think. How people display pictures of their children tells me which children are labeled "good child", "problem child", "scapegoat child" and "invisible child". Then I go to the said children's home and see how they display pictures of their parents, siblings, and of their own family. Fascinating stuff.

I like the idea of putting them on one gallery wall and maybe a picture on a desk. That's it. Other than that, they look like clutter. In fact, if I saw half a dozen baby pictures everyday, I'd become immune to their charm. What I love is to be cleaning out a drawer or box and find pictures lurking there. Then I take them out and relive those moments and love them. Then carefully tuck them back in the drawer until the next time I run across them.
Other people's kids and wedding pics don't do it for me unless they are all in one place and I can see them as a collage. If they're on every surface, they just look cluttered and tacky.

Almost every one of my family members homes has a gallery wall of sorts with important family photos. My grandmother has a wall going up the stairs with each grand child and their latest formal photo - Christening, Communion, Graduation, Wedding, etc. My parents have a wall of all memorable moments. Dance recital, Grandparents on porch, weddings, candids, group shots, etc.

for us kids it was tradition (and a good way to get toddlers to calm down) by having them name all the family members in the picture, esp challenging if the photos are a decade or two old.

HOW IS THIS EVEN AN ISSUE?!!! I can't believe there are people who think that 'personal' photos have no place in 'public' areas of the home. Homes aren't public! That's why they are people's homes!

@Zenezie ... Stupendous! My family would provide much material for your analysis.

If it looks like a photo album exploded on your walls... it's too much...

The author's comment about facebook should not go unnoticed. Why is it ok to post personal photos on the internet (the epitome of public spaces) but not in your living room? It seems that in our internet-centered world, most people will have already seen your family photos before they even know where you live.
I'd be interested to see the results of a study on the quality of family relationships in relation to where people display family photos.

I've always displayed photos of friends and family. Currently most of them live in a wall in my very small 'entry' way that connects the main bathroom and both bedrooms in my 1000 Sq. Ft. condo. I agree with most everyone here...It's your home, do what you like. I display favorite photos which usually aren't the most current. I have a favorite picture of one of my nieces when she was about 2 or 3 years old; she's now 18. Any photos I don't display, go into a photo album. But I do make sure to dispaly at least one picture of friends and family regardless of how old or new it is...it's usually a favorite.

Being heavily into genealogy and the "keeper" of family photos I could not imagine my home without my pictures hanging up.
I have pictures taken in Hungary in the early 1900's before my Great Grandmother came to America. I proudly display them.

This question intrigues me, mostly because I'd never articulated it before, never really thought about it. I have a friend who has in her small living room about a dozen photos of her son and often her at various ages. She also has a cast of her pregnant belly, and a photo of the odd-looking scar from a surgery she underwent. Walking into her living room is akin to walking into her life. It's fascinating, but I've sometimes thought how it is so different from my taste. Never, though, did I think it wrong!

For my personal taste, I have only meaningful and artful photos discreetly on display in a few choice areas. My style runs eclectic modernism, so a beloved b&w photo of my father on his beloved boat from the 1960s; a wee b&w photo of my mother's first holding me when I was born; another colourful and funny polaroid of me as little girl sitting on my dad's lap in the 1970s, all simply framed and mixed in with the rest of my meaningful and artful things on my large shelving unit.

There's a woman who mentioned her huge photo from her marriage and thinking her hallway too small... I could see if it were a black and white print, in a simple frame with white matte (or not framed at all depending on the finish) in that wee hallway, with a great chandelier above...

There's no rules other than the basic design rule of thoughtful decor. Randomness can even be thoughtful.

But to say never, as a rule? That's simply ridiculous.

OK there are no "Public area's" in my home. Common yes "Public" no and you can do whatever makes you happy in your home!

My parents have family photos displayed in the family room - and a LOT of them. The first time my boyfriend came over my dad was actually showing him my baby pictures like someone out of a sitcom...gahh! Surprisingly we don't keep many family photos in the 'private' areas, mostly in the public.

Interesting, the one place I DON'T want photos of family members and friends are in my private areas. So they are not in my bedroom or bath. However, living room, guest room, kitchen are fair game, along with art from my nieces, photos from travel (that don't include us), etc.

I like mixing modern family photos with vintage ones. I have a photo of my grandmother and her sister running around naked on the family farm when they were about three. For a 1924 photo, it's so candid and fun.

@mginwa - What exactly is creepy about family photos? I understand they may not be to your taste, but I'm curious about the comment that they are 'creepy'?

I don't have many personal photos around and I'd be unlikely to hang a lot of them unless the photos themselves are artistic (rather than school-photo mug shots). But that said, my mother thought big family photo displays were tacky, and I grew up questioning why my parents weren't as proud of me as my friends' whose parents had walls of their smiling faces. I got over it, but still!

I too am slightly confused that this is up for debate. Where else can you display pics if not your home? I get not wanting to have a colossal wedding pic up or the like, but I have a few nice wedding pics and lots of beautiful, candid photos of my kids up. It's not overwhelming, but my home feels cozy and personal.

@Rural and Rueful oh that would be fun! Some people start to get nervous that I spent so much time going back and forth and up and down between pictures and ask if something is wrong with the pictures, like they knew they got caught.

A house is never a home without people. Personal photos are necessary in my opinion. That said, good design shouldn't be thrown to the wind. Nice frames and avoiding cluttered surfaces are just as important. My home has photos as well as momentos: my great grandmother's tea pitcher, a punch bowl another great grandmother used at her wedding, the teddy bear my grandfather gave me the day I was born... These items are just as important as photos.

Hang what you want for as long as you want, it's your house. If someone comes over and has an ISSUE with the fact that you have photos of your LIFE in your HOUSE? Don't invite them over again.

I think a photo wall or a group of family shots is a great thing to have some place in a home. Great conversation started "oh, who is this? looks so much like so and so" or you can point out a person you're speaking about. Amazing when you have children and your family isn't all living close and they don't get to see them all the time. Heck, I like to see the photo's of my family that's not close in my home.

That said, they don't need to be everywhere and awkward.

As for the question "when should I take the wedding photo away?" Uhm...why should it ever be taken away?!?!? It is a lovely reminder of a beautiful day and people enjoy seeing it. :)

If it makes you happy to see it every day, use it.

I only find it uncomfortable when other people display photos that are overly personal for my taste (like bare pregnant belly photos) but hey, it's their home and says something about them.

I'm in the middle of this project myself... I've been dying to get some family photos up since we got to this house a year ago. Impersonal decorating is just for when your place is on the market or will be too soon to bother in the meantime.

I'm thinking that this "no personal photos" thing spun off of the suggestion to put away personal photos when you are trying to sell your house - so it's easier for the potential buyer to picture his/her own family there.... That's the only logical explanation! I love having vacation and "life event" photos around my home. And like others said, I love seeing my friends' photos too! It just makes everything more welcoming and personal.

I just don't like having that many photos around. I have ten or so in the whole house.

My mother has tables in every corner with 57 photo frames on each. I find that look too cluttered. But to each their own.

The one "family photo" I ever silently criticized was over the mantel in the great room of a very wealthy family (and when I say "great room," I mean, the size of a ballroom). It was a life size oil portrait of the lady of the house, naked, and very pregnant.

People should put up work that inspires them and reflects something about themselves. A home's success in this regard is independent of the exact medium -- personal photos vs. prints vs. child's paintings. I agree that a home with only Bed Bath and Beyond art is going to look impersonal, but the problem isn't that there aren't personal photos; it's that it's just not personal at all.

So similarly, if you only hang up personal photos, it could come across as a type of vanity, and therefore be unwelcoming to guests. I think that might be at the heart of the discussion, rather than public vs. private debates -- hence people's preference for 5x7s on the desk vs poster-sized wedding prints.

That being said, do what you want! Family is a perfectly healthy passion to display / self to reflect on your walls.

I actually only have personal photos in the 'public' areas of my home, and not a single one in my bedroom. I pretty much only sleep in my room, so I'd never see the photos in there. I like to see my photos and re-live memories as I'm hanging out in my living room - either alone or with friends.

I do, however, think that 30 wedding photos in one room is a bit narcissistic. A few choice photos or a collage is more pleasing, and less "look at me!". Baby photos, family photos, holiday photos, etc don't seem to bother me as much as a billion wedding photos.

As for photos of other people's kids on the fridge - I tend to keep them up until something newer/better comes along - it could be a photo of the same family, or maybe it's something of my own I want to put on the fridge. I have a dedicated space for fridge photos, so I don't stray beyond the borders.

according to the living room scale, featured in paul fussell's marvelous book, "class: a guide through the american status system": each family photograph (black-and-white), subtract 2; each family photograph (color), subtract 3.

We just encountered this issue when we unpacked a framed wedding photo that had never been out. It felt weird to have it on display. But NOW, 25 years after that wedding, it feels totally normal to have it out, and people love to see it when they come over. It's not like, 'look how attractive we are' anymore. It's 'look at this historical artifact.' :-)

Same way baby pictures of the kids were odd when they were babies, but now that they're adults, they're fun to have out.

1. Your home is where YOU get to decide, and nobody else's opinion matters. (Well, maybe a landlord, if that applies!)

2. I would not display a lot of personal photos in a home office where you meet with clients. That kind of space is different from the rest of a home.

3. If you are showing your home to sell, that's when you need to pack up photos -- it's distracting to people trying to envision living there, themselves.

4. If family and friends send you yearly photos of their kids, that's because they want you to see how the kids look now. Admire at will, then tuck them into a box. You do NOT have to use them in your decor or on your fridge.

I, personally, hate having my photo taken. A LOT. I have a copy of my parent's wedding portrait on display (they are both dead now, so this is my token tribute) as well as a very small picture of each of my pets. That's it. I am not a sentimental person: I skipped marching at my college graduations, I am not big on gift occasions, do NOT ever sing "Happy Birthday" to me... and not displaying photos seems another aspect of that kind of personality. It's certainly not the norm in our culture, I recognize that, but it works for me, and my decor becomes personal by displaying other things that interest me.

As for what other people choose to do, that's their decision. I tend to find old wedding photos kind of dorky, especially when the fashions are out of date, but that's just my opinion and has nothing to do with what other people want to display. (I often wonder, though, how many photos go up on the wall and never come down only because they are overlooked -- you get used to them being there, so you stop actually viewing them. THOSE could be replaced with something fresher and more attractive...)

Unless someone is displaying a specific photo that's awkward for some reason, I can't see why having family photos in general would be awkward.

For example, my mom has lots of family photos arranged together, and the only one I don't like is a shot of me and my high school boyfriend going to a dance. To her, it's just a picture of me in a pretty dress, but to me, it's awkward that a long gone ex is displayed along with all the rest of the family (right?).

Lol...at JDAD! I totally understand the bathroom pic issue, but my daughter had (professional) picture taken at her daycare. She was in a tiny bathtub draped in a white towel when she was about 3 months old. It's ridiculously adorable, so I hung it in her bathroom. Later, I decided to blow up childhood picture of myself playing in my mother's make-up and hung it in the vanity area of my bathroom. My bathroom is split into two slightly separated sections. I think they are fairly appropriate, but if they're not...it's MY house and I like it. lol

I'm so glad someone mentioned this! My roommate has a framed photo of herself on our coffee table. There's no one in the pic but her and guests always comment on how narcissistic it is. Family or group pics are fine, anything else is creepy!

Also off limits, portraits with ex-spouses or partners. I don't care how pretty the event was, once the relationship is over the photos should come down. Maybe save those prom pics for a scrapbook?

In many Asian homes the first thing you see when you come in the door is a family shrine with pictures of ancestors prominently display. Pride in your family and in your families history speak to your character. Pictures tell a story about who you are.

I agree with LISAMFB, as a designer, when accessorizing spaces for clients, I use personal photos of their choosing, in whatever rooms they like, but encourage these photos to be small and secondary unless they serve a striking graphic purpose. For example, a client who is a photographer had enough to choose from that it was easy to assemble collections that were both meaningful and artistic.

Most designers try to make color & form statements with fine art or posters or mirrors on the most prominant walls in a space. But I totally feel that it's the homeowner's preference on what and how much personal photography to display.

In my own home I have a gallery wall of personal photos, all converted to B & W, on both sides of my staircase, which leads into the center of my greatroom. I also have small personal photos framed and worked into larger wall collages amongst larger art pieces.

I dont think there's a rule here, but I do love to see personal objects and photos in a space to give it personality & history.

Total non-issue. All these design "rules" are bonkers. Once health and safety concerns are dealt with it's completely up to the person or people living in the house what they do. If you live with other people you probably need to negotiate in the interests of good relations. If visitors don't like your decorating who cares? They can do what they want with their spaces. If they don't visit you because of your decor then what kind of friends were they anyway? I personally don't like photos of friends and relatives all over the place but many of those friends and relatives like a variety of levels of photo display.Their house, their rules.

Okay, so if we get past poorly displayed photos or clutter I can see another angle.

Houses that have a lot of family photos prominently displayed can make visitors uncomfortable, especially if they're single or don't have a happy family life. I want to be considerate that I'm not making it seem like family is the only thing important in life, or flaunting it in visitors' faces.

My priorities in life aren't family only, and visually I don't want that to be the only thing around. I also value art, God, friendships, work, food, many more things- and if family starts to crowd that out, I've screwed up my visual priorities.

I have a photo on my desktop and a couple family photos on a shelf, but I don't think I'll go beyond that. Whenever I have kids, they'll keep growing, and I'd rather swap out the "current" family photo than amass a constantly growing year by year collection.

desktop as in physical top-of-the-desk. The computer has something very non-sentimental as the background.

@Granville - Do you mean a literal shrine, as in ancestor worship?

Thanks for posting this, I too have internalized the rampant opinions people have about how I should decorate my home so as not to make other people potentially feel awkward for having to glance at a personal photo or two. I finally decided I didn't care. We have a great group shot from our wedding in our living room, by the door, and several personal photos in our hallway, along with a wedding photo and a collage in our bedroom. I suspect we'll swap these out once we grow along in our marriage and have children/take trips/find other art.

My first husband would not allow family photos in the main rooms of the house because he didn't want just anyone having access to our family. I thought he was a nut. One of the first things I did once we parted ways was to pull out my favorite family photos. I display them all over my home, on wall, bookshelves, refrigerator,... I love seeing the faces of loved ones. Why not surround yourself with your most cherished mementos?

I agree people should do what they like. I've only got a small apartment so only have a few family/pet photos on shelves in the bedroom as prefer an uncluttered look. But I like to get my street photography printed up big and hang it in the living room - its great because its personal to me and no-one else has the same stuff, but isn't the same as having your parents or family right in your face! Its also a great talking point! Some people might say it was narcissistic to hang my own photography, but it gives me so much pleasure to see it and I love the idea my house is a gallery. Every now and then it spurs me to go out and take some new stuff so I can switch it over to keep it fresh.

Agree with @AKAY - certain specific photos might be awkward, but there's nothing awkward about having personal photos generally. A home should be decorated with things that make you happy when you look at them, and if photos of family and friends achieve that effect, what's the big deal?

Okay, I looked at the comments to the two linked posts and there was only one person who said that personal photos have no place in public areas of the home, and that was because this one person they knew had like a million photos everywhere, which is obviously the same as a wedding portrait over the couch. I am genuinely interested in hearing more about these people you know who have problems with photos in the living room, but I have to say that unless there are a lot of them, this seems less like a "controversy" and more like "a couple of illogical people having weird control issues."

I think this question comes up because we've all seen personal photos displayed 'poorly' (too small, too high on the wall etc - art is no exception to the same rules). There's simply a right and a wrong way.

I don't have any personal photos up in my home, nor do I want any. I think too many family photos looks tacky. A couple I know has, no joke, 40+ photos of themselves on their walls and shelves and it looks totally ridiculous.

Next week I will be married 30 years. I have an 8x10 of our wedding next to an 8x10 of my parents wedding (we both wore the same dress). I'll be damned if I will take them off the shelf they currently reside on. A long-term happy marriage is something to be proud of and to commemorate. Every time I look at my wedding photo I'm reminded of all the people who have come in and out of my life in the 30 years since that photo was taken.

My house, my choice.

I babysat for a family when I was a teenage boy. I went to the bathroom upstairs in the only bathroom up there... the doors were wide open... and there- in the bathroom was a sexy almost naked full-length photo of the mom. WHAT? I was embarrassed, and ran to another bathroom.

As always, it depends on where it is and what it is. I love personal photos displayed anywhere really, as long as it is tastefully done. I think that photos, like books, make a house a home. On the extreme end of things - I do have relatives that have a giant gaudy wedding photo of themselves above their mantle, and I have seen a huge portrait of a homeowner (single woman) right above her bed. Those instances are terribly awkward and scream self-absorbed.

Everyone is responding so indignantly! No one is saying you don't have a right to decorate your house the way you want. But stop saying you don't care what other people think. If you really didn't care, why are you (a) on a home decor blog and (b) of course we decorate with visitors in mind, so it's ridiculous to say "it's my house so shut up about it!" Decorating is both for the people who live in the house, and to put visitors at ease. It's why we have dining tables that accommodate more than just our family, it's why we have excess seating in the living room, it's why we have nice guest towels.

So please, knock it off why the "my house, my choice" nonsense. You're being dishonest with yourself.

http://awkwardfamilyphotos.com/

It’s easy to laugh at these, but this is exactly what I’m thinking when I come to your house and see a 16 x 20 wedding photo in your living room.

Photos of your dead grandmother or your nude baby don’t make me uncomfortable. But they usually do make me cringe. Not because of the sentiment, but because the images are so…
---awful
---abundant
---horribly displayed

I know it is your house. I know you love your family. But just remember that NO ONE wants to come over and watch the 3-hour slide show of your trip to Burma. And no one wants to peruse albums of your adorable child, grandchild… or pets, for that matter. And please… don’t launch a visual assault by displaying your family members in one of those horrible “collage” frames from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

A few WELL CHOSEN family photos – great! Save the rest for yourself.

I have photos of my kids displayed in gallery walls/pockets/shelves across our home. Every time I look at them they make me smile and remind me of moments in time when my kids were younger. I can't imagine a life without photos to look at in my house.

awesome.

I have a photo of me when I was 5 wearing my first cowboy boots and running around the family swimming pool in nothing but those boots. The kid in that photo is just full of joy and lost in shoe-bliss. I've been planning to get it blown up *huge* and put it in our master bath.

I find it ridiculous that someone commented that it comes across as "pretentious" to have photos of yourself and your kids on display...if that's how you feel when I invite you into MY home, GTFO!

I have most my photos of my family and friends on my wooden desk, as a collage: I have glass over the top and I've put all the pictures under it - it looks nice, it makes my working area less impersonal, and it adds warmth to my house without cluttering up my walls. It seemed like a reasonable compromise - I want to remember the people in my life when I am at home, but I don't want to turn my tiny apartment into my grandmother's house!

The one personal photograph that is considerably larger and displayed on the walls is a silly one of me and my father done up like an old Victorian photograph. It was taken in some tourist trap in London when I was a kid and I had it set in an elaborate vintage frame much later, when he passed away. I've placed it amongst some similarly framed 19th century art prints so it doesn't stick out too badly at first glance, and it always makes guests laugh when they spot it. We look like extras from Titanic, but I suppose the cheesiness is part of the charm.

Wow... that fact that this is even a question baffles me. Where else do you put YOUR PERSONAL PHOTOS but in your home??? My home is my sancuary and it is in my sancuary where I put my personal photos. I love my friends and family but I don't care if they're weirded out or think it's "creepy". I have a long hallway off to the left of my entryway and I have black and white photos of my family...both form the yesteryears to today. All in black frames in various size.....and I always receive huge compliments about this hallway. Everybody always stops and look at the pictures on both walls. I never had anyone say anything negative about the "personal" pictures....and Sure my home is decorated for 'visitors" and not just for myself but I like to say the first reason I decorate my home the way it is, is for myself.....but if you come in and feel weird about my personal pictures that ok, too. you most likely wont stay long anyhow....and I mean that in a nice way.

As most have stated, it's really no one's business. Our homes are our own spaces, and how we decorate them is up to us.

From here, though, I think the real problem is in the logical inferences about others when they do, or do not do, what you do.

For example, my MIL greatly values "collecting." To her, a collection means that you have an interest, which demonstrates your character. Everyone in her family had collections, but because she is a perfectionist (enneagram 1), she couldn't decide on the perfect object/idea to collect, and so never had one, and therefore lacked character. Thus, anyone else who doesn't have a collection also doesn't have good character.

Do you see how there are a lot of *ridiculous* logical leaps in there about herself and others, all based on whether or not a person decides to collect pig-shaped salt and pepper shakers? It's just bizarro.

I'm seeing a bit of the same thing in the opinions here. Most of them say "it's your house, do your thing" or the flipped version "it's my house, I'm going to do my thing." But lets not make logical leaps about people being "cold" or "too perfectionistic" or "over-sharing" some nonsense in terms of whether or not they display photographs.

Sure, speak to your experience, give your feelings and opinions, but they are not absolute, and neither decision -- to display, to not display -- these are not indications of a person's character. It's only a matter of taste, and that might be a taste that we do not share.

We are minimalists because having walls without objects hanging on them makes us feel more comfortable and peaceful. Several of my friends feel the same way. Most of us have *no* art on the walls, and just the occasional mirror.

To many, it does look "cold" or "unfinished." I'm fine with that opinion. But "you need art! show your personality!" is simply nto true. I am showing my personality. My personality dictates that I not have a lot of visual "clutter" -- since that's how I "see" most gallery walls, even though as a design element I think that they are delightful, and I love to see how people put them together with a mix of sentimental objects and photos, found art, and creative projects. Lovely! But not my style, and that's ok.

In this instance, I do not display family photographs. I do not know why, but they are not that important to me. And, it's much like other art on the walls -- it's predominately visual clutter to me which makes me feel uncomfortable in my home (feels cluttered and messy to me).

When I visit other people's homes, I like to see what they do. We are all different. I was only uncomfortable in one friend's home because he and his wife have 70,000 photos of them kissing. It's all the time kissing photos in all kinds of locations. I think that became their "thing" -- to go to paris, stand in front of the tower, get someone to snap a picture of them kissing. There was one big frame with 12 or so photographs of them kissing in different places around Europe. Ok, that's cool. . . I get it. But I was uncomfortable.

But that doesn't mean they shouldn't do their photo essay and display them. They've been married for 4-5 years now (or more, maybe), and so they have way more now than they did then. I think they've edited the collection down, but they do have a gallery wall of those photos, whihc is pretty cool if you ask me.

@SQS, what's creepy is living surrounded by pictures of strangers in your own home. It made it feel like it wasn't mine, and I didn't last there very long. My roommate didn't ask if it was ok and she didn't leave room for my stuff (when I tried to put some of my decorative objects out in the living room, she actually moved them.) When you share space, it should feel shared. I'm not a fan of personal photos on display anyway, and in this situation, it was particularly uncomfortable.

DavidAlex is right. There may be a very few here who have personal photos displayed well. Most, it's a sure thing, the way they're displayed looks like crap. But, your place, your space, your biz.

I think it's awkward someone would think displaying personal photos was awkward. haha,
Personally I think it is beautiful when I see others' happy moments caught on film.

"Is it okay to put these things up in my home?!"

There's no need to be flummoxed. It's fine! Do it already!

I love looking at people's photos and learning who is who. I will happily sit with someone's photo albums and listen to stories. However, something new that seems to be occuring is people having highly stylized, professional black-and-white photos of themselves and their kids blown up and put on major display where you cannot miss it, where they are like a collective monolithic presence ...LOOK AT US. I feel like there is a major expectation that the photos become a big topic of complimentary conversation. That is something I really dislike.

I've never even heard anyone say you shouldn't have personal photos in public spaces of your home and it's pretty stupid anyway (though I can see it being an issue if you have roommates). Unless you are a naked adult in those pics, why is it a problem. I love going to my family's homes and seeing photos that I don't have of other family members (from the pre-Facebook days); for example, my grandparents died before I was born, so I enjoy going to my relatives' homes and seeing their old pics and it usually brings up conversations and memories about them.

One thing I try to get my mom to do is CHANGE out her photos instead of keeping the same pics and adding to them for years. She ends up with layers of frames you can't even see and old school pics that everyone has seen time after time.

Quite frankly,after the daily deluge of images on facebook and in emails from friends and family,Id rather look at a nice vintage print or a colorful oil painting on my walls.I have a few old family pics displayed,but all of the others are in the study.

I stayed in a house once where the owner, a single woman in her 30s, had numerous pictures of just herself, I found that weird, but it didn't offend me.

I think that the author of this post is just talking about the design idea you shouldn't have personal photos everywhere. It is a real thing. I have heard it. I will vouch for the author. I tend to take those things with a grain of salt. I do believe there is a bad way to put photos out there. I mean it is best if you group them in similar frames, if you can. I also don't think those big montages are really good, only because it doesn't give the photo very much emphasis. It is nice when a photo gets its own frame, unless the photos are related. I did do a collage of my sister playing and jumping around. It is quite pretty and very introspective if I don't say so myself. The pictures show a joy and are mid action. I love them.

I also think rules are meant to be broken. I know pictures in the bathroom are sometimes creepy, but I had a picture of my husband and I at the Shoshone waterfalls. We put it right over the toilet because I think there should be a small bit of whimsy in everyroom. There is water and it looks like we are looking at whoever is going to the bathroom expectantly. Which is awesome because most of the men who come here are in my writing group and we like to tease them.

All my other photos are in the hallway, except a pic of my siblings on my vanity. I like my wedding photos because my entire family was there which is a rarity. I think you can listen to advice from an awesome place like this, just to give you ideas, but really you have to make decisions for yourself.

I personally have photos all over my home. I LOVE to display them. They are photos of my friends, bands I've worked with, random concerts and so on. I took the photos to display to the world and I love to have people come in my home and see them.
I've never understood not showing off your photos to the world.

People who don't want to put up pictures of their family in their homes are idiots. I'm sorry but they are. They're the same people that don't put up their kids crappy art projects. Lame! I know when I enter someones home and see crappy and weird family photos and the grown kids 2nd grade handprint turkey painting, I know I'm in a good place. Unless there are all pictures of yourself. If you have 35 glamour shots pics of yourself all over your house, you may have a problem

Also, in response to Antigone11, yes there are people who do not like to put family photos up. I have met them. Their reasoning (for all of them it's the same)is that they want to maintain the "model home" look of the place. Also they don't want to break up the visual lines of the walls. Another reason I have heard is that their families are private and they do not want other people to see those private moments unless they are expressly shown them. You can do whatever you want with your home but I'm probably not going to visit you again. Which is probably okay cause if your are that kind of person you probably don't want me in your house anyways.

My hubby's grandfather was a man of few words but he had family photos hanging up everywhere in his home. When you visited his home, you could just feel the love :)

Put your photos where you want.

Since it is your home you should put up whatever photos you want wherever you want.

One piece of advice I would give is to be discriminating. It's better to have a few really high quality prints than many ugly and worthless pictures all over the place. Most people need to edit and delete most of their photos.

Personally, I would find it strange to have pictures up of the people currently living in the house. (Like when you go to Sears or whatever and get big portraits of you and your husband and cat.) It's not really a matter of wanting other people to see them, but a choice of what you want surrounding you. I'd rather have items that have sentimental value around instead of family portraits. (also I hate portraits that sit on surfaces. Keep them on the wall)

I have never felt comfortable having pictures of myself or my family in our more "common" areas like the living room or kitchen. It seems invasive to me if people I don't know are over and see pictures of my family. There's no rhyme or reason to why I feel this, I just do.

So my family and personal photos are all in the more private areas of the home, the bedrooms, hallways upstairs and office.

To each their own. If you want them lining the walls of every room, go for it. If you don't want any personal photos out, go for it.

I get weary of the whole, "right and wrong" of personal objects or photos.

I'd be interested to see how many of the people who don't think you should display personal photos in your home, post them on Facebook or instagram which is far more public. I love having our pictures in books and albums on or coffee table. That way if our guests are interested they can look through them but they aren't forced to either :-)

I have three small famed photos of my immediate family in my study. Everything else is stored in albums, boxes or hard drives. I also have a folder of my favourite photos of family, friends and places on my iPhone, which I can more conveniently show off as needed.

The problem with photo portraits is that many people use them as ersatz art, because the idea of real art scares them. There are few things more depressing than a soulless studio portrait of someone's kid, lacking all art and beauty, hung too high on a living room wall on a hook installed by the previous tenant. It says, "I know there needs to be something on this wall, but I don't know what, so here's a photo of my kid that I bought from the school, or that my mom gave me for some reason."

And I suspect that the wedding photos one sees on living room walls are often a (perhaps subconscious) case of "I paid $2000 for that photographer so I'm damned if I'm not going to have some evidence of it front and center!"

I work from my home and that is where I display my photos of family and friends. I love looking up from my desk and seeing the faces of my kids, grandkids and husband. I would not, however, display those photos in my bedroom that serves as our romantic retreat!

No, I have no personal photos displayed in our home. Partially because I just don't have a place for them in our current setup, but otherwise it's because I can't put up photos without needing to answer why only some people in the family are displayed but not others. I don't want to encounter the faces of my inlaws when I turn around because they aren't people I enjoy. Putting up select photos of people I do like would be cruel to my husband due to the weeding out. My husband hasn't mentioned wanting any photos to be displayed, so, problem averted.

Of course, a person should decorate as they see fit, and personal photos can absolutely add to a home's warmth, but...don't we also want visitors to feel comfortable? At some point the "prominence" (which I'm suggesting is some combo of number &/or size &/or placement) of those images can be oppressive or uncomfortable for a guest. I don't want to feel that pressure to comment admiringly on your personal photos because they're inescapable. You can be overwhelmed and uncomfortable even if you manage avoid commenting.

My mom and dads wedding photo from 1956 is on my living room wall where it will always be, along with pictures of my daughters and grandson. If someone has come to my home to criticize my decor, sorry, but don't let the door hit you in the rear on your way OUT.

I wasn't going to add this, but having read the comments I feel more comfy doing so:

It's sad and creepy when you go into a home overrun by smiling happy family photos and you know the people well enough to know that it is fairly messed up. When guest know your parents are alcoholics who kicked your lesbian sister out of their home when she came out, and that your teenage brother died drunk behind the wheel after your parents let him drink, and your husband's mom abandoned him and his alcoholic dad beat him and that he rarely sees his kid from a prior relationship, and that your own drinking and overspending is destroying your marriage, it is kind of horrifying to see everyone smiling for the camera and on the mantle.

I tend to be suspicious when I'm in a home with too many photos. Too much asserting of your own happiness suggests not all is well.

Of course, this is the right place to display your pictures! Where else?

Weird. Actually, this posting gave me the idea of blowing up a photo of my late father making tamales with me and my brother as little kids and putting it up in my kitchen. It's your house, put or don't put pictures where you want. Personally, I love looking at other people's family pictures, I think it's cool.

It is your own home, so you should do what you want with it. But I would say there's a fine line of over doing it with too many personal photos or huge poster size photos. I have two little girls and I love having photos of family members so they can see them and remember who they are (especially family members that live far away and rarely see).

The only time you ought to take down your personal items is when you're selling your home.

I agree with the posters who say "it's your house do what you want". Personally what I want is to not have people on my walls looking at me. Doesn't matter if it's people I know or "fine art portraits", don't want people on my walls, nor do I want dolls or stuffed animals looking at me. I want to look at items on my walls, I don't want the items looking back at me. That's the creepy factor for me. Especially houses with lots and lots of dolls (and no children), creepy.

I would never display personal photos on the walls of my home, I prefer displaying art and the only photos on the walls or in frames are landscape photographs from my travels. My family are family, not decor items.

I think that it's fine to display family/personal photos as long as they make you happy to see them. I think if you're putting them in the guest room because you don't have a better place to put them, perhaps you should not display them. A guest room, if you have one, is the only truly "public" place in your house. And it's creepy to stay in someone's guest bedroom with all their photos staring at you. Also, the bathroom - no faces in the bathroom. It's just weird.

Wow, no personal photos in "public" spaces?!?! I know that people talk about removing personal photos when you're selling a home, but really, the rest of the time, it's YOUR home, why wouldn't you have family photos all over if you want them there? We've always had family photos in our home in practically any "public" room you could imagine.

A lot of ours are older photos of family members long gone, which funny enough were the one type my grandmother rarely had on display. The only photo of anyone no longer with us that adorned her walls was one lone portrait of her parents. There wasn't even a photo on display of my late grandfather. Everything else was her siblings and her children and grandchildren very much in the here and now. I guess everyone has their own arcane photo rules?

With all due respect, who gives a shit what other people think in this instance? If putting up a photo of a special event in your living room makes you happy then do it. If a guest to your home thinks that is in bad form, that's their problem, not yours. Have enough comfy seating for guests, yes. Offer them a beverage, yes. Be kind to them, yes. Accomodate their own personal ideas/hangups about the placement of family photos, NO.

It's definitely a personal choice whether or not to display photos in your own home and one which fashion shouldn't dictate. MY preference for MY home is not to have them up. I'm also an introvert who feels that looking at my pictures of people is just reliving stressful moments, no matter how much I love them. I have abstract original art, folk art, and natural objects as my displays. When I DO look at my personal photos in a book or online albums, it's a surprise trip down memory not watered down by over-viewing. It's a special experience each time to rediscover the memories.

I'm really excited to see that there are others out there who aren't on board with personal photos. Personally, I was all about it in high school and college in my bedroom, but in my adult spaces I find it pretty hokey. I tend to like best the decor of friends and family who limit their personal photos-- of course, the photo choice, frame choice, and placement really make it or break it, rather than the incorporation alone.

Afterthought: I'm not sure I understand why people are getting so defensive on here with "It's my house and I'll display what I want" -- This is a home decor blog. It's not about your personal rights as dweller, it's about what looks good. No one is telling you not to do it-- it's just a discussion about the aesthetics.

To each their own. The only weird thing I ever saw was a woman at a place where I briefly worked. She had a framed 8x10 photo of herself on her desk. Right next to her computer screen facing her chair (where most people would put a tasteful 3x5 of their family vacay or something similar). It was just her in the photo, from the waist up, sitting in a garden all dressed to the nines. I never understood having such a large picture of oneself but never cared enough to ask her the meaning behind it (and thought it might be perceived as rude or envious if I did ask her).

We decorate with things we love which includes some family pictures enjoying life. And dog pictures. We invite people over so they can be part of our family and enjoy a good time. I would seriously worry about anyone who is made uncomfortable by the picture of my now-deceased mother in happy times because they can't think about anything more than her ugly battle with cancer. My father has her high school picture and their wedding picture displayed because they make him happy--that's how you should feel in your own home, so decide if family pictures will do that.

You know....I've was just feeling the smatterings of guilt; as I look around my place: no pictures- no images of 'us' or 'him' or 'them'. I've always found it kind of weird to have a pic of you man on your bedside night table-if you've got the real 'mcCoy' right next to you each night! And those wedding pics - front and centre on your living room wall for all to see. Doesn't matter how beautiful the couple are or the day was, black and white or full-colour, glossy or matt; they just seem so....tacky compared to the old sepias of your great great grandparents that for some reason somehow seem more romantic. Besides,,,I'm in a freakin bikini! Do I really want everyone who comes into our home gawking at me half naked (should have thought of that Before the Nuptials!). But as the kids get older and life gets more stressful (teens! -ugh! :(), I think I could use some reminders of the simpler - dare I say easier? times. So I've decided to put a few up throughout our home (the bikini wedding pics will be staying in our bedroom), as mementos and reminders of good times from the past. And hopefully they will act like an elastic band snapping back on my wrist each time I'm about to 'freak out' Ouch!

Unless someone wants to pay my rent & utilities for me I don't think they should have any right to expect me, a PHOTOGRAPHER, to put my "personal" (aka "family") fotos away in my bedroom! Because there is a flip side to this question: Does one want to be getting all romantic with their partner in the bedroom while surrounded by fotos of the kids looking down on them, their parents, friends, grandparents...?! Yeah, so put all your "personal" fotos up on the walls of your bedroom if you want to ruin your sex life! LOL! Last thing I want is to be getting all romantic with my hubby while his mother glares down at me! LOL! So whoever came up with the concept of not displaying personal fotos in the public areas of ones house must be an interior decorator for a real estate agent- always live in your house like it's always ready to go on the market! Yuck. Live in your house, decorate it the way you want, put your fotos on the bathroom ceiling if you want! Sure, collect ideas & inspiration from sources such as AT, compare & critique, but in the end fotos of family can be in the FAMILY spaces- the living room, dining room, kitchen, den, garage.... where ever the family dwells!!!

Color me confused at the very question. There are no "public" spaces in a home. Homes are private, and mine is most definitely a personal reflection of myself and my family. And anyone invited in it is invited in to share my personal space, not hang out in a public venue. My house ain't Starbucks.

I can't imagine any way in which personal photos in someone's home would be considered bad form, creepy, uncomfortable, or sad. Sure, they may not be great art, or displayed artfully -- that could be true of anything -- but as long as they don't contain inappropriate subject matter, where's the debate here?

I'd rather see a post on how to take and display art family photos.

AT editors seem to love setting up straw men. Let's talk about the best way to mount toilet paper rolls next. :-)

Er... "art" --> "artistic." :-)

msimikado - I sooo agree with you! I can't imagine ever having large, giant photos up. But I like small framed photos. More than anything, I find the discussion of "public" space so interesting given the proliferation of photos people post on the web.