Iranian-born, Ms Saadat has already undertaken more than a year of research on family photo albums, as part of her PhD studies at the Otago tourism department.
She has studied 29 albums, ranging from 1898 until 1955, at Otago University’s Hocken Library, and has always enjoyed looking at family albums.
"All of us have family photos because we take them in our happy times.
"It’s very enjoyable."
And albums from anywhere in the world and of any age were "still the same"—sharing family connections and "good times", she added.
She has also discovered the albums provide "good information about everything", and says they are an often overlooked source of information about changing leisure patterns.
Some big technological changes had happened since the 1890s.
Cameras and motor transport were then much harder to access, and having a photograph taken sometimes required special arrangements to be made; taking the photo could be a formal process.
By contrast, most people now used cellphones to take pictures at any time, sharing them with friends via social media.
Photos were now less formal and focused more on children and food.
"Now it’s more about taking a photo of a plate of food at a restaurant," she said.
Mrs Saadat has advertised twice recently in the Otago Daily Times, asking people to "Share Family Photo Albums" to "Help a PhD student’s thesis".
"Photos have been an integral part of family leisure for over 100 years," she wrote.
Albums had been donated to public archives, but more recent albums — including digital records — were "still in the homes of families".
To help complete the story of how family leisure photos had evolved, she asked people to share albums from the 1960s to the 1990s.
Anyone wanting to do so can contact her via email at parisa.saadat@postgrad.otago.ac.nz. She would copy the photos with her camera phone when and where it was "convenient to you", she said.