Can you follow someones life through pictures alone?

It really depends on the selection of pictures, and whether they have been chosen by the person. If you asked me for that, I have many pictures I would send to encapsulate my life, and many I would not include. The one from my 6th Christmas, when I got the wrong kind of drums? Or the silly meaningless school pictures from 6th grade?

I think so yes, I do think photographs the choice of them, the type of photograph also says a lot about a person beyond the picture. I have learned though it is just a sense. Nothing more.

I think it can help to get to know someone – “this is my house,” “this is my car,” “this is my pet,” “this is the house I grew up in,” “this is me and my sister on the beach during summer vacation 1985.” It may be a one-dimensional view (it won’t tell you about their emotions or stuff like that) but it can be helpful in learning about their every day life and previous history.

I have friends from childhood who I have reconnected with on Facebook. I think I get a pretty good feel for their lives (at least the ones who post daily. )

I think it can fill out a bit of your understanding of their life and put some things in perspective. Maybe convey some of their interests and pursuits. But it’s just a part of the picture that makes up all of them.

It may be enough to get an impression of their life, but I don’t think it’s enough to genuinely get to know someone or understand them. You may develop insight into their aesthetics and have a fun go at being Sherlock Holmes to discern what you can about their life, but your scope will still be more limited than if you had further contact. It would be an interesting idea for themed correspondence, but it would ultimately leave me unsatisfied if my ultimate was to get to know somebody fully.

It would also help if the photos had some notes with them—some context to help the viewer piece together the larger story. That’s what Project Life and other scrapbooks do. You usually have some kind of journaling to accompany the photos.

I support @ Adirondackwannabe on this.

However I will pictures chosen body language and interaction or lack thereof in pictures tell an interesting story.

A sense yes, knowledge not really. All I know of my sibs is pictures and some emails, it’s not nearly enough.

@muppetish is correct. And since each person’s choice of photos is just that, a subjective choice and therefore probably skewed toward telegraphing a positive image rather than fully realistic one, the photo-swapping exercise could only be, at best, a start to getting to know each other.

They say a picture say a thousand words I think… Yes you can learn a bit about someone if you show them pictures. If you know know something about body language you can learn something about that person. The way that person poses, or smile may tell you something.

Some really good answers here, thanks.

I think I could get a pretty good idea from just the letters alone. Including photos of these things is a really cool idea, actually. I never had a pen pal though :(

Pictures are decieving, I discovered a different reallity when I finaly met face to face, only then could you really get the full picture