The Shift to Real Life in 1970s Family PhotosCops, kids, and motorcycles at the parade. As hand-held cameras became more common and easy-to-use options like Kodak’s Instamatic took over family photography, family photos were less staged and definitely more honest. Not unlike movies at the time, family photos became a slice of real life that wasn't always peachy. They capture middle-class family road trips to familiar, well-loved destinations like Niagara Falls and theme parks. LOOK: Here's What Daily Life Looked Like in the 1970s, One Photo at a Time From neighborhood bike rides to washing the car, these photos capture daily life in the 1970s in all its comfortable, lived-in charm.