Martin Parr's Photography Tips

Martin Parr's interview in The Guardian details tips for amateur photographers and how to preserve the idea and contents of family albums for the future.

'Most family albums are a form of propaganda, where the family looks perfect and everyone is smiling: we try to create fabrications about who we are. But if you're doing a portrait of someone, ask them not to smile. You will get a much more dignified, interesting portrait, and it won't look like a family snap.' Parr says.

'And the other thing you must do is print them. We are in danger of having a whole generation – and this will continue into the future – that has no family albums, because people just leave them on their computer, and then suddenly they will be deleted.'

Follow link guardian.co.uk