I do find visual aids like photographs help me remember things. While I cannot create the visual memory in my brain, when I see something that I remember it trigger's the "omg yes, that's it!" feeling. I find that my lack of a mind's eye actually pushes me to lean even more heavily on visual aids than the average person. Especially if I am trying to communicate something complicated to someone. I always want to try and draw it out for them.

No. I can't conjure photos either. When my eyes are closed, I see black, no matter what I imagine. Looking at photos usually doesn't spark any specific memories of the event (just general info about the people and places).

I have the same experience as well. I only think of images of deceased family members rather than themselves exactly. I hardly had any real memory beyond photos, which is why I take photos of interesting events.