Grammer

The image of the person is permanently set in the photograph. In the photo, he is with his wife.
If, however, the photo was lost or destroyed and you were describing who was pictured, it would be "was with his wife."

A couple of points...

hitchiker1. In the photo,he is with his wife2. In the photo,he was with his wife

Although correct, the sentence is lacking context that made it sound a bit dull in my opinion.
You can enhance it by rephrasing it: In this photo, he was with his wife (celebrating her birthday).
- It is

About the first sentence, it isn't lacking context as you say. The person speaking might be talking about a dream or about a memory in the past: "I am walking in the room, and then I see a picture on a table. In the picture he's with his wife ..."

Starstruck"I am walking in the room, and then I see a picture on a table. In the picture he's with his wife ..."

Starstruck,
That's exactly what I meant by "lacking". Your narration added tangible context which otherwise is quite bland.
But given if this is the context, wouldn't it be more fluent to say: I walked into the room and on the table I saw

I now partly agree with you about the "lacking of context". But it wouldn't be so bland if it's said in an already described context.
And yes, it might be more fluent. But sometimes the present tense is used to describe something that has happened in the past as well. For example, ghost stories. Using this kind of speech helps attract the listeners (or readers) and makes them feel part of the

StarstruckSo, in my opinion, this is a more effective way of describing a dream or a memory.

Well, if we keep adding other elements to the original question, there is not telling where this discussion might lead.
I think we have already drifted way off from the original questions which was:
which is correct: Was / is

1. I

dimsumexpressIn the photo,he is with his wife

So you are saying that this is the right thing to say in the circumstances you mentioned, although it somehow lacks context?

Starstruck dimsumexpress In the photo,he is with his wifeSo you are saying that this is the right thing to say in the circumstances you mentioned, although it somehow lacks context?

Is - is not the right thing, it is the right tense interpretation in this sentence I believed. Since the original post didn't reveal whether he is still alive, we can

Yes, I do now. But awkward or not, I think that if he is still alive, is would be the best way to describe the picture.

Anyway, you know a lot about English, I assume. And as your profile says, you live "somewhere in California". I enjoyed having this conversation with you. Have fun on EnglishForward! Bye!

Starstruck,
When you grind an iron rod on a hard rock 10 hours a day for 30 years, you will have one **** of a giant needle at the end!