ABSTRACT
The existing literature on family photography assumes that the effect of family photographs is produced by what they represent. It has been argued that the spatial proximity of family members in family snaps thus symbolises and reiterates the integration of that family unit. Togetherness is not only done by looking at what a photograph shows, however. Sending photographs maintains familial affiliations and shows togetherness. They are sent as a means of maintaining togetherness with distant family members. From this frequency and arrangement, and on the basis of some interview material, the author concludes that family photos are about family membership. The type of consciousness the photograph involves is truly unprecedented, since it establishes not a consciousness of the being-there of the thing. The domestic space of family photography is a complex one. It is also a feminine space. It is done by these women because it is an important part of their mothering.
