Lenore Skenazy argues that people should not smile for the camera--that is, use cameras only to capture positive things. Skenazy claims the purpose of family photos is to create a whole mythology for a family, to record a family history. Because of this, he believes families shouldn't only pull out the camera when something good is happening, but should record life the way it is. The notion that family photos are to record family history is not true, and therefore they should not be used to capture the good and the bad.
The truth is that photos are a way to preserve memories. The notion that photo books are records of family history is only an exaggeration because there is some truth to it in the sense that an album should have some accuracy. If family albums contained entirely set up, staged pictures, it would not reflect actual memories. People remember an event, not posing for the picture at the event, and while it may help people remember who they were with, a staged group photo may not help keep the actual memories alive.
People only want to preserve their good memories, however. Not taking a photo of a bad incident is alright because the purpose is to preserve a memory, and while the bad times shouldn't be forgotten, they do not need to constantly recalled.
Photos and videos should capture moments accurately because their purpose is to preserve the clarity of memories. They do not need, however, to capture the bad moments along with the good, because their purpose is not to keep a historically accurate record of a family.
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