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1[[quoteright:375:[[Webcomic/CirqueRoyale https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/cirqueroyale_photo_7.png]]]]
2A picture of two or more characters [[WeUsedToBeFriends who aren't friends any more]] shows them chilling out together back when they were younger and best of buds with each other.
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4The people in the picture may be [[ArchNemesis bitter enemies]] or [[TheRival rivals]]. They can be TheLostLenore or someone they loved [[HopelessSuitor and didn't get a chance with]] if romantic feelings were there. Or it may just show people who went their separate ways for whatever reason -- including being forced apart by outside circumstances. But for whatever reason they're apart, the picture will bring up sore feelings about why the person looking at the photo isn't connected with their former friends anymore.
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6Also included are other types of recordings, such as video and audio tapes, and in the modern era phone pictures or photos rather than printed ones. For drama, the person holding the photo can [[RemovedFromThePicture rip it in pieces]], symbolically showing their emotional separation.
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8A specific expression of WeUsedToBeFriends (and, at times, of EvilFormerFriend). Also related to HappierHomeMovie, which is about a particular character's happy past rather than past relationships, and FamilyPortraitOfCharacterization, which shows a family's relationships through a photo. PhotosLie is an inverse of this where the photo ''hides'' past enmity, rather than revealing past friendship. Being upset enough can mean the other person is RemovedFromThePicture or the holder of the image may StabThePicture.
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11!!Examples
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13[[foldercontrol]]
14
15[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
16* Chapter five of ''Literature/TheGardenOfSinners'' prominently features an [[http://typemoon.wikia.com/wiki/File:Touko_araya_alba_photo.png old photograph]] of Touko Aozaki (a MentorArchetype to the good guys), [[spoiler:Cornelius Alba]], and [[spoiler:Souren Araya]] (the BigBadDuumvirate of the series) from back when they were working together at the Clock Tower. The three of them seem quite friendly on the photo for people who take every opportunity to murder each other in the story proper.
17* A photo in ''Anime/TheIdolmaster'' shows that the President of 765 Production used to be friends with their nemesis, President Kuroi of 361 Production, along with his reporter friend and Kotori.
18* In ''[[Anime/ShowByRock Show By Rock!!]]'', an old photo of [[spoiler: Rom and Shuuzo]] when they were in a band together is tucked away inside one of their CD's. In the game, Selen finds it while researching old, obscure bands; in the anime, Yaiba finds it at BRR and shows it to the rest of Shingancrimsonz, who are understandably shocked.
19* ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' has a variation: At the outset of the show, [[TheHero Domon]] is searching the world for a man and shows people a torn photograph, asking if they've ever seen him. A few episodes in we find out that the man is Domon's older brother Kyoji, who [[FaceHeelTurn went nuts and stole the Devil Gundam]], and the torn portion of the picture shows Kyoji giving a preteen Domon a piggyback ride. [[spoiler:By the end of the series it turns out that Kyoji was GoodAllAlong, restoring Domon's opinion of his brother, and we see the picture taped back together.]]
20* In ''Manga/MuhyoAndRoji'', there's a photo of Page and Tomas, both of whom were friends and fellow magical law teachers. Some time after the photo was taken, Tomas was discovered to have been a criminal prior to coming to MLS, and he fled to join Ark, resulting in him and Page becoming enemies.
21[[/folder]]
22
23[[folder:Comic Books]]
24* ''ComicBook/EmmieAndFriends'': Not always photos, but frequently tied to WeUsedToBeFriends. In ''Positively Izzy'' there's one that rips as Izzy talks about her former friends Hannah, Gabi, and Becca. In ''Just Jamie'' a picture of the four-girl group is shown when Jamie is wondering what changed to make her friends so mean now. In ''Remarkably Ruby'' there's many illustrations of Ruby and Mia as friends before Mia started to push Ruby away. In ''Surprisingly Sarah'' an illustration of one is shown when Sarah's talking about how her former friend Kerri Kowalski blew her off for the cool crowd right after starting middle school.
25[[/folder]]
26
27[[folder:Film -- Live-Action]]
28* ''Film/TheEigerSanction''. Jonathan Hemlock has a photograph taken during the Vietnam War of his special forces buddies Henri Baq and Miles Mellough--the latter is crossed out because Miles is a DoubleAgent who betrayed them to the enemy.
29* In the first film of ''Film/TheMightyDucks'' trilogy, this is Subverted in a case of DramaticIrony with regards to Gordon Bombay's past as a member of [[OpposingSportsTeam the Hawks]]. During District 5's shopping spree at Hans' sporting goods store, Peter sees an old newspaper clipping framed in the store showing Bombay as a kid in a Hawks uniform; combined later with him and two other Ducks overhearing Gordon seemingly talking poorly about them to his old coach Jack Riley (who still coaches the Hawks in the present), they get the impression that Bombay is a Hawk at heart even now and looks down on them, driving them to launch a team mutiny before their next game and causing them to forfeit. The irony is that Gordon was actually defending them at that moment -- he was being sarcastic to his old coach when the Ducks overheard him.
30* In ''Film/RacingStripes''' RageAgainstTheMentor scene, Franny tells Stripes to "look closer" at a photograph hanging on the wall. Much to his surprise, Stripes recognizes its subjects as [[TheMentor Tucker]] beside egotistical champion Sir Trenton. Turns out, Tucker is far more experienced with racing than Stripes thought.
31[[/folder]]
32
33[[folder:Literature]]
34* In ''Literature/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix'', Mad-Eye Moody shows Harry a picture of the old Order of the Phoenix, that includes Harry's parents as well as their former friend who betrayed them to Voldemort and caused their death.
35[[/folder]]
36
37[[folder: Live-Action TV]]
38* In ''Series/KamenRiderDragonKnight'', [[BigBrotherMentor Len]] aids his explanation of [[MirrorMatch mirror twins]] with photo showing him and [[FallenHero Adam]], the original Kamen Rider Dragon Knight and yet to be named [[TheAtoner Master]] [[HopeBringer Eubulon]] in the background. The two of them used to be best friends before Adam's betrayal caused the [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt downfall]] of the [[AlternateUniverse Ventaran]] Riders.
39* At the end of the first series of ''Series/ASeriesOfUnfortunateEvents2017'', an old photo reveals that [[LemonyNarrator Lemony Snicket]] and [[BigBad Count Olaf]] used to be friends. They are photographed smiling next to each other during their school days.
40* In ''Series/{{NUMB3RS}}'', Colby is shown to keep several pictures in his desk from his days in the Army. Among them is a picture of him and Dwayne Carter before Carter [[FaceHeelTurn turned traitor]].
41[[/folder]]
42
43[[folder:Video Games]]
44* In ''VideoGame/MafiaTheCityOfLostHeaven'', rival mob bosses [[BigGood Don Salieri]] and [[BigBad Don Morello]] are introduced as long-time bitter enemies, but towards the end of the game, Tommy finds an [[http://mafiagame.wikia.com/wiki/File:Don_Peppone_2.jpg old photo]] of them back in their youth, when they were best friends working as caporegimes for the then-Don Peppone. This photo is part of what makes Tommy realize that BeingEvilSucks.
45* Promotional materials for ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' contain an [[https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iga/bloodstained-ritual-of-the-night/posts/1254145 old photo]] of TheHero Miriam, her aloof ally Johannes, and the BigBad Gebel chilling out as friends during happier times.
46* In ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRenegade'', one of the mission loading screens shows a photo of the Dead-6 Commando back when [[PrivateMilitaryContractors Sakura]] was still a part of it. [[spoiler:She starts helping Havoc again after revealing she was a double-agent working for GDI the whole time.]]
47* In ''{{VideoGame/Overwatch}}'' there are several photos of the title organization's members in their glory days, including several showing Jack Morrison (Soldier 76) and Gabriel Reyes (Reaper) standing next to each other.
48* In the final cutscene of the original ''VideoGame/SaintsRow1'', Benjamin King ponders at an [[https://saintsrow.fandom.com/wiki/File:Ben_and_Jules_photo.png old photo]] of him and Julius Little back in their youth[[note]]in front of what looks to be the old Saints Row church in its prime[[/note]]. Although in the game, the two of them are rival gang bosses (King leading the Vice Kings and Julius, the Third Street Saints), Julius reveals that both of them come from Sunnyvale, where they were {{Best Friend}}s and started the [=VKs=] together for much the same purpose as the Saints' -- to CleanUpTheTown. [[spoiler:When King and other [=VKs=] began turning into just another gang[[note]]much like the Saints themselves do in the game[[/note]], Julius broke up with them, dropped his flags, and started anew in the Row. However, when the [=VKs=] turn on King for trying to go legal, Julius honors their old friendship and sends his own men to bail King out, then convinces him to drop ''his'' flags... by dismantling his gang.]] In turn, King having held on to their old photo after all these years shows that he also hasn't really stopped viewing Julius as a friend, even after ending on the opposing sides of the MobWar.
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50
51[[folder:Visual Novels]]
52* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', Lauren and Morgan are introduced as bitter rivals, but hints are dropped at a couple of points that they weren’t always that way. Finally, if the protagonist confronts Lauren about it at a critical juncture, she shows him a picture of the two of them, and admits that [[spoiler:she used to be in Morgan’s gang]].
53* In Lilly's route of ''VisualNovel/KatawaShoujo'', Akira shares a photo of Lilly with her cousin Shizune and Shizune's friend and interpreter Misha, while they were working at the school festival together. Neither Shizune nor Lilly turns evil, but they had a falling out due to clashing over Shizune's approach to her StudentCouncilPresident job. [[spoiler:By the end of the route, they reconcile]].
54* ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'': Lana and Gant used to be partners. Ironically the photo commemorating their achievements was taken only hours before the incident that started the entire mess with murder and blackmail.
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57[[folder:Webcomics]]
58* ''Webcomic/CirqueRoyale'': Leo had one of him, Quinn, and Kingston [[https://cirqueduroyale.tumblr.com/post/673295063335501824/episode-8-date-night-pt-38-hello-insecure from when they were young adults]] that [[RemovedFromThePicture he tears apart]] after seeing them hiding in the Sheep Kingdom (while Quinn is pregnant) and overhears that Quinn didn't want to be found by anyone from Clowny Island. The three of them have now reconnected and Leo's forgiven Quinn, but he went through major abandonment issues after they ran off and left him behind.
59* In ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'', the [[https://www.egscomics.com/comic/2011-12-13 photo]] Raven looks at is a hint that he used to have a closer relationship with Tedd's parents.
60[[/folder]]
61
62[[folder:Web Original]]
63* In ''WebVideo/AcquisitionsIncorporated'' season 10, the party finds a photo of Jim and his "buddy" Roger back in magical school. Roger being the guy who murders Jim on his 40th birthday (though he gets better).
64[[/folder]]
65
66[[folder:Western Animation]]
67* One episode of ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'' features TJ secretly attending [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Menlo]]'s birthday party, to the confusion of the rest of the gang. As he leaves, Menlo gives TJ a picture of them both when they were younger. He and TJ explain that when they realised they were drifting apart, TJ promised to always attend Menlo's birthday, and holds himself to it.
68* In the ''WesternAnimation/DonkeyKongCountry'' episode, "Best of Enemies", Diddy Kong finds an old photo of King K. Rool and Cranky Kong when they were friends. Cranky explains to Donkey and Diddy that they used to do many exciting stunts together, such as tsunami wrestling, and skydiving without parachutes. Their friendship ended during the last event, walking across the wing of an airborne bi-plane, when Cranky accused K. Rool of cheating. Donkey and Diddy try to get Cranky and K. Rool to be friends again so that K. Rool will stop trying to steal the [[MacGuffin Crystal Coconut]].
69* In ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresOfTheGummiBears'', Tummi and Gusto find an ancient Gummi city where they are met with hostile sentient trees. Later on they find a mural that depicts the Great Gummies and the trees as allies.
70* In ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeagueGodsAndMonsters'', the film shows a photo of Batman, the BigBad and the latter's wife before the credits roll.
71* In ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyEquestriaGirls1'', Twilight Sparkle finds a group photo of the human counterparts of her Equestrian friends during their freshmen year, which lead her to suspect that [[AlphaBitch Sunset Shimmer]] may have had a hand in [[WeUsedToBeFriends tearing their friendship apart]]. By helping them clear out their misunderstandings and amend their friendship, they in turn help Twilight defeat Sunset through ThePowerOfFriendship and reclaim her Element of Magic by the movie's end.
72* ''WesternAnimation/TheOwlHouse'' episode "Understanding Willow" is set in motion because of a photo of Willow and Amity back when they were friends. Amity panics when she catches a sight of it and attempts to burn her face off of it so her GirlPosse won't see. Unfortunately, it's actually a magic photo directly connected to Willow's memories, so when she ends up destroying it and all the other ones next to it by accident it causes Willow to suffer a bout of amnesia. [[spoiler:Ironically, despite how happy the two are in the picture, [[PhotosLie it was actually a memory of the day that Amity's parents forced her to end their friendship]].]]
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75[[folder:Real Life]]
76* In Malaysian politics, there is an old photo of Muhyiddin Yassin, Anwar Ibrahim, Mahathir Mohamad and Najib Razak and [[https://s3media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Muhyiddin-Yassin-Anwar-Ibrahim-Dr-Mahathir-Mohamad-and-Najib-Razak.jpg posing together as UMNO members]]. Today, they have a contentious relationship to say the least.
77* Similarly, back in 2005, UsefulNotes/DonaldTrump and UsefulNotes/HillaryRodhamClinton had an [[https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/06/magazine/when-hillary-and-donald-were-friends.html amiable relationship]], Clinton even attending Trump's wedding.
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