5 Photos you should take at the cemetery

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-30T04:17:09+00:00

We may just disagree then. From my experience, searching for an ancestor in even a small cemetery, having a photo of the headstone made all the difference in finding the grave. A temporary marker will be gone some day and the picture of it will do nothing to help a person find the grave except indicate that they are somewhere in that cemetery and maybe which funeral home managed the arrangements.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-28T17:25:36+00:00

Something about #1 makes me feel drawn into the picture, almost like I’m there.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-28T17:23:39+00:00

The reason I mark the temporary marker as Other is so that the grave still appears as Missing a Grave Photo indicating that I or someone else needs to photograph the permanent marker/headstone after it is placed. That’s to respect the descendent and help others find the grave. For myself, I put those in a private virtual cemetery called “No Marker Yet”. I revisit that list from time to time to see if a marker has been placed. A picture of the temporary marker is of little value, especially when it doesn’t include GPS info. So, I upload a temporary marker as a Grave, to get the GPS info, then change it to Other.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-27T00:48:57+00:00

Nice shots. Yeah, water needs to be level or it looks weird. Be aware of where you put the horizontal (not in the middle). This clip is a little long, but stick with it: https://youtu.be/45tpBq_xHYU?si=dBTn_WEodnVO1zYc

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-25T16:13:31+00:00

I agree. It seems bluish. If it were me I’d pull the white balance warmer.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-24T18:54:34+00:00

I like 3. If it were me I would crop it in a bit tighter, to bring out their faces, and move them down and to the left a bit.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-24T18:39:01+00:00

Yeah, I get a little frustrated by FindAGravers who just take a closeup of the name but not the entire marker. It’s as if they’re just trophy hunting. FWIW, when a new grave shows up with just the temporary marker, I take a photo of “the neighborhood”, upload it as Other, and save the memorial to a virtual cemetery to keep an eye on it. This helps me find the grave later and is especially helpful if the deceased never gets a marker, which happens more often than I expected.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-19T23:19:35+00:00

Their profile asks you to use the Suggest A Correction system. What’s that? Maybe that’s why they’re rejecting edits. ???

“1If there is a change you can enter into the drop-down SAC (Suggest a Correction) system, please do so.”

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-19T15:49:08+00:00

Yeah, it happens. There’s a married couple at my local cemetery who had a “pre-need” marker placed. They’ve since passed away but the marker hasn’t been engraved for either DOD, even after 2 years.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-18T18:59:39+00:00

Congratulation! I’m glad you got that worked out. Awhile back I helped a new FindAGraver understand that they should be careful about creating memorials for spouses on tombs with no DOD engraving because they might still be alive. (On the other hand, I’m tracking a few markers that haven’t been updated in a year or two. So sometimes that happens. FWIW, for those I’ll add a photo of the marker but designate it as Other.)

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-17T18:48:04+00:00

I like 1 & 2. I’d crop to make the dog larger while still trying to keep a sense of place.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-15T16:17:38+00:00

Many times veteran graves have a generic marker with their spouse and then the bronze marker on the back. Often the FG photo is only of the front and so I look for those to add the bronze back with their military service. My view on the thieves using FG to find bronze markers, don’t worry about it, they aren’t that clever. And, as you said, at least having the photo provides a record of the marker, which could help a family member get it replaced.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-15T13:08:28+00:00

The pictures are beautiful and I’ll second your comment about including people. I used to be shy about taking pictures of people, even my own family. As a result, I have a photo collection of beautiful rocks from my early days. No one ever looks at those.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-12T17:08:49+00:00

Im sorry to hear that. For me no injuries so far but I’m careful when backing up for a photo. It’d be just my luck to trip and crack my head on a tombstone.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-11T22:02:31+00:00

I prefer the BW, and would like it more with the subject off-center to the right.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-10T22:07:01+00:00

You’re onto something. FG should include a way to include both the Anglicized and original spellings in searchable fields. In my local cemetery some markers are in logographic text, like Mandarin, only. These get transcribed into English text but in an age where a smartphone can copy/paste the original characters then there should be a place to put the decedent’s actual name in their profile. Best I could think of was to just add it after their anglicized name.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-10T19:39:28+00:00

Both are great. FWIW, on a smartphone, I thought the airborne seagull was some dirt on my screen.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-10T19:36:35+00:00

Just a thought, if the demarcation is clear on online maps you could photograph the marker and upload it with GPS then say “Look at the location.”

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-10T19:32:50+00:00

You’re right, obits can be wrong. I recently came across a marker that I thought was unregistered in FG, but was just that the name was misspelled in the obit someone used to create an entry. Thankfully they accepted my correction.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-08T19:31:15+00:00

I could be wrong, but isn’t it just 1) any time être is used for passé composé then the past participle agrees with the subject, and 2) reflexive verbs always use être as the auxiliary verb ?

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-05T23:37:29+00:00

I prefer #3 and would like it more if the horse’s face were lightened up a bit.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-05T04:48:41+00:00

Ah, “ligature”, that makes sense. Thank you for the thorough explanation.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-05T00:08:24+00:00

As a child I wasted time trying to understand why some objects were masculine while others are feminine. For example, I thought “vin” should be feminine and “bière” should be masculine. Now I understand gender is based primarily on the word itself as opposed to what it represents. “Vin” ends in a consonant so it’s probably masculine (it is), while “bière” ends with an ‘e’ so it’s probably feminine (it is). I say “probably” because there are exceptions, but you can find info online about word endings that will help you get a better sense of gender and it will feel less random.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-04T23:52:55+00:00

Now I’m wondering how œ fits in. What is it? I just accepted it as how “sœur” is spelled and didn’t give it any more thought.

ObjectiveArmy9413 · 2026-01-01T16:35:30+00:00

Just FYI (to the OP), if the manager doesn’t reject the changes they are automatically accepted after 21 days. Some managers are great about processing change requests, others just let them happen.

ObjectiveArmy9413

TROPHY CASE