The photograph captures who stood together, not how close they felt.

Pictures record arrangement, and arrangement is easy to mistake for feeling. Two people standing side by side at a wedding may be estranged that year, and the friend who could not attend may be the one you spoke to most. Photographs are evidence about geometry and clothing and weather. Later they get used as evidence about relationships, which they were never able to hold.

When you look back at old pictures, let yourself remember what was actually going on rather than accepting the composition. And if a photograph from a hard year is difficult to look at, you are allowed to put it away.