Psychology And Photography: How Are They Related?

Psychology and photography, at first glance, have nothing in common ; instead they are more related than we can imagine. Today we will try to better understand this association by entering into the depth of images, perception and gaze.

What would the world be today without visuals, without images? We are talking about a technology that is now daily. In reality it has always existed. Perhaps not with the same format, but for centuries man has been capturing images.

Psychology and photography: two modes of expression

Let’s start by presenting the two disciplines and then cross the bridge that unites them. Psychology is aimed at the study of behavior, cognitive skills and affectivity.

Photography, on the other hand, according to the Garzanti dictionary , is “the technique and art of reproducing non-moving images, in black and white or in color, on a material that changes color in contact with light or on a digital medium”.

With the two disciplines defined, let’s explore their relationship. Both are techniques practiced and perfected by man. The psychologist comes into contact with the human being to investigate different processes or to intervene on them, the photographer to capture the image.

Of course the photographer does not always capture the image of human beings, but he does not stop being in contact with his inner part; the same happens to the psychologist, albeit at other levels. In psychology and photography there is a transmission:

• Emotions are generated, transported and inspired. The psychologist usually does this through the word and the photographer through the image.

• There are mental representations. They can be symbols or images that arise from the work of the two professions.

• The cognitive world is present in both professions, even if thought arises from distinct processes.

• There are different levels of communication. Remember that every job includes a non-verbal language: it communicates with the body. The photographer speaks not only through the images, but also through the body and throughout the image capture process.

Photography in therapy

Both psychotherapy and photography reveal unconscious aspects, contents that are unacceptable or distressing to us and which are difficult to access.

The unconscious manifests itself through speech and creativity. In psychology, often one of the results of the intervention is a greater understanding of the patient’s experience. In photography you enter the same protected world, but through representation.

Psychology and photography: construction of an identity

Through psychotherapeutic or photographic intervention, identity aspects can be built or reconstructed:

• Self-concept : it concerns how we define ourselves. In psychotherapy we work on this dimension, so that the self-image helps to grow and not to generate suffering.

• Self-esteem : it is equally linked to the concept of self; it is the emotional part of seeing ourselves and it has a lot to do with how we project ourselves into past, present and future time.

• Self-efficacy : a process closely associated with self-confidence, it determines a large part of attitudes in the face of challenges.

Both psychology and photography participate in the construction of identity, directing our feelings towards its perception. Although through different processes, in both contexts the professional shapes himself in constant communication with the outside world and with himself. 

The psychologist Alfredo Pizzinato proposes the use of digital narrative productions as analysis material in psychological research on identity.

Photography as a therapeutic tool

In photography unconscious aspects appear that, perhaps, we would not be able to express otherwise due to the anguish they can cause. Therefore, it potentially becomes a fundamental tool in the psychotherapeutic process. Photography, in other words, offers us a chance to explore our unconscious. 

Photographs in psychotherapy can help establish deep relationships, allowing for a narrative through a different perspective. So why not communicate through images? Not surprisingly, currently, much of the traffic on social networks is based on visual elements.

You delete or post images to retain followers or increase product sales. Advertising has been using images for a very long time to trigger or intensify our desires.

Photographing also means telling stories by involving our psyche in sensations, emotions and thoughts experienced before and after.

Following a psychotherapeutic path also means representing the lived experience through images and re-signifying those painful experiences that oppress us.