Question: If Marty and his brother and sister are fading from the photograph because they are being erased from existence, wouldn't that mean that the moment when the photograph was taken would also be erased from existence? If so, why doesn't the photograph itself disappear instead of just the people in it?
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Chosen answer: The photo itself didn't disappear while the people were fading because the people in the photo were still in the picture. First, Marty's brother was erased, followed by Marty's sister, followed by Marty himself. Since, Marty's brother was erased, his sister and himself would have remained in the photo until they were erased. So really, the photo wouldn't have disappeared until all the people had been erased, since no-one would have been in the picture.
Casual Person
Completely agree with this answer. However, as far as the photo itself is concerned, I don't think it would have disappeared, strictly because of what we have seen in the series. Two examples I can think of: the picture of the gravestone, and the fax that Marty got saying he was fired (both instances in BTTF3). When time was altered, the things on them disappeared (the gravestone, and the "you're fired!" printing), but neither the photograph nor the fax paper itself disappeared.
jshy7979