Difference between "Souvenirs de famille" and "Souvenirs de la famille" [duplicate]

Question

In my french book, there's a wedding photo and under it there's the title "Souvenirs de famille" and a paragraph describing the photo.

I don't understand why the article "la" was omitted after the preposition "de" . We don't omit it in a lot of other noun-of-noun combinations using the word "famille" in french. For instance, we say:

les membres de la famille.

So what does dropping the definite article change about the meaning?

Update: I also found another example where the article is omitted:

C'est sa femme, Sophie. Son âge? C'est un secret de famille.

Same question here, why is it "un secret de famille" and not "un secret de la famille"?

Answer 1

When a noun loses its substantive sense (as an object) and is rather used as a qualifier, articles can sometimes be omitted.

For example, "je suis étudiant" instead of "je suis un étudiant". The noun here is acting in a more adjective sense.

The same applies to "souvenirs de famille". It means more memories related to the family, rather than the memories belonging to the family exclusively.

You can also say "les membres de famille" for family members, usually used in relation of someone, e.g. "les membres de famille de travailleurs hautement qualifiés". The "famille" here is non-specific but rather attributive (like an adjective).

In English, similar qualifier nouns can usually be added as an adjective before a noun. Consider the nuances between "family members" and "members of the family", "family secret" and "secret of the family" and similar constructions.