Let's list all the small things to photograph

I want to get photos of my grandkids' excitement and joy and fun doing all the ordinary things of childhood. I want to get their interaction with siblings, cousins, and friends--as well as with the adults in their lives.

All of the photos my mom took on her Brownie and most of the ones I took with my various film cameras as my kids were growing up are posed photos, looking at the camera. I have the freedom to take dozens of shots, so I can just click while they fool around and look at each other and pout or whatever. I love it.

I don't have kids but I still get sentimental seeing photos from my childhood over the smallest of things in the background, the stuff everyone sanitises these days so I can play too, right?

Here are my favourite seemingly insignificant small things to document every once in a while:
- new household technology (laptops, smartphones and headphones as far as I'm concerned)
- packaging (especially of current favourite foods and beauty products as they will likely disappear or change looks)
- shops whether it's how food is displayed at my local grocery store, the organic food store, my baker's display case or the nearby department store's Christmas decorations
- ephemeral house art/decor such as the fridge door with a wedding invitation, postcards and a drawing a friend's kid made for me (it's a good excuse to capture a spot in the kitchen that's rarely photographed anyway) or the "family heirloom" knick-knacks that have made their way on our shelves and have somehow become the current guards of our books
- fashion and looks (oh how quickly they change and become the new ridiculous) but not only in the most obvious way (fave pyjamas or *gasp* lingerie set)
- every few years I try to take a screenshot or photo in which they're clearly visible of my Internet browser and desktop screen because I have a case of the nostalgic feels when I see Windows 98 on YouTube (when I was still an innocent kid)
- suitcases when we travel (remember when they were the weight of a small brick wall? )
- things that feature trendy aesthetics which will eventually disappear like the currently beloved minimalist font on a kraft cardboard visit card to promote some new coffee shop or today's sarcastic quote T-shirts
- views from where I stand or sit (in public transport, on the plane, in the car) because you don't realise one day you'll stumble across a photo showing you a view you once were so familiar with but that is no more (the details of those interiors are so often forgotten)
- everyday "big world" technology like how our current travel tickets look and what kind of machines and scanners are used to in airports, train stations, etc.

This is crazy, but I love to photograph dishes. I love seeing old photos (like ones from my granny's house) that shows the dishes. I have such good memories around her table, and eating off of those dishes that I just smile when I see them.

Views from the front or back door down the street or whatever your house looks out on.
I think utility spaces are often overlooked - the bathroom, laundry area, garage, shed. Maybe some of them don't change much, but they're still interesting. Especially if there's a space like a shed or workshop where someone in your family spends a lot of time.
I like to take pictures of the insides of closets and cupboards and the like because I'm fascinated by the stuff we own.
The tops of dressing tables and side tables where all the stuff gathers. I think it's fun to look back on what I had out when I was a teenager - back when I cared about makeup and all that.
Bookcases. or book piles. The stacks of books we bring home from the library.
The pile of stuff on the kitchen counter where the landline phone used to be. What gathers in the mudroom, or in the hallway, or wherever the stuff gathers.
If it's possible, I think it's good to get photos of adults at work. I think kids are often a bit mystified by where grown ups go all day and what they do, and who with, and it's a really huge part of most people's lives, even if we think it's not interesting.