A Study On "Family Welfare" And Its Functional Change

Nowadays, all generations within families would gather together to celebrate New Years and other festivals. It is common to take a "whole-family" photo during such gatherings to remember those joyful moments. "Whole-family" photos capture and reserve moments in time before they leave us forever. A "whole-family" photo portraits the appearances, facial expressions, postures of each family member as well as how they are dressing at the time of photo-shoot. Therefore, "whole-family" photos form a personalized micro-history, through which we can interpret various information.In fact, "whole-family" photos not only record the expressions of family members on the surface, but also present the practicalities of living, habits, and beliefs of the particular family at the time. In addition, they demonstrate the features of all seasons and various festivals. Therefore, "whole-family" photos are representative of folklores on a miniature scale. At the meantime, these photos reflect the concept of "family" in the traditional Chinese culture and the fundamental meaning of the existence of households. Accordingly, interpretation and analysis of the transformation of the content, form and function of "whole-family" photos can awaken our sentimental appeal to family values, encourage modern households to readopt excellent traditions, re-energize cohesive powers within families back in the day, and eventually build the fundamentals of family values and cultures within our society.The essay provides an in-depth analysis of the functions of photography in the setting of families as well as society, through illustration of the concept and significance of "whole-family" photos and reproduction of the photographic processes of various historical periods. Chapter One briefly introduces the transformation of the concept of "whole-family" photos and combs through the historical development of "whole-family" photos from the perspective of photography history at a macro level. With the consideration of its development and essence, the Chapter summarizes the meaning of "whole-family" photos into three aspects, specifically its ritual and commemorative meanings and its significance in folklore. Chapter Two divides the evolution of "whole-family" photos into three phases, based on different characters of photo shoots reflected within various time periods, and explains the reasons for such transformation through horizontal comparison of the three aspects of photo shoots including its locations, initiatives, and processes. Chapter Three primarily explores the objectives of "whole-family" photos comprehensively. First of all, it facilitates family members’cognitive ability, integration of families, and their environmental formations. Secondly, it plays a significant role in maintaining stability of our society, conveying cultural heritage, and preserving historical records. In addition, this Chapter also preliminarily examines the application and functionality of the "whole-family" photos in modern times, and provides certain recommendations.The essay mainly utilized the methods of literature referencing, interviews, and analysis. To study the transformation of functionality and the current application of the "whole-family" photos, literature review has been conducted in conjunction with symbolic analysis of the contents and shooting techniques of the family photos. During the study, it is recognized that more positive impact can be generated by applying the photography of "whole-family" photos into the daily living of individual families and society as a whole, which is worth further research and deliberation.