Photography , a controversial tool for social research, was widely used in its early days in physical anthropology, as it was considered an objective image of the world: consider Mantegazza 's work on the expression of pain or Lombroso's criminal anthropology. This belief followed the positivist trend of the nineteenth century and resulted in a series of uses of photography that we still find today, including mug shots to prove the identity of criminals. The reason why the photograph is considered objective is simple: by replacing verbal description with an image, one ensures that the facts are not tainted by the writer's interpretation.
Photography in social research: why is it not objective?
The supposed objectivity of the photograph, however, is undermined by a series of factors: the technical limitations that characterize the photograph, namely its two-dimensionality, the possible black-and-white shot, but above all, the lens. Each photograph cuts out a specific portion of reality , which inevitably excludes the surrounding objects, altering spatial relationships. In general, the problem is the evident intentionality of the person taking the photograph in choosing or excluding what should be included in the frame.
The connection between art and photography: a problem for research
Another topic of debate regarding photography in social research is its connection to art . Is there a boundary between a photograph intended for research and an artistic photograph? For Howard Becker, no. Becker, an American sociologist belonging to the Second Chicago School, has dedicated most of his life to qualitative research, and precisely because of this interest, he has addressed the issue of photography as a research tool. Guided also by his work as a photography critic, Becker contributes to the debate with an interesting perspective: every photograph contains an aesthetic and creative factor that does not undermine the research but rather guarantees its uniqueness . For the American author, therefore, it would be futile to try to separate photography from the creative flair of the person who took it.
Validity and reliability of photography
In social research, the concept of validity is fundamental; it can be defined as the degree to which an instrument measures what it purports to measure. The concept is almost immediately associated with quantitative research, since the definition was originally conceived to encompass the extent to which a questionnaire can investigate the phenomenon being researched. When considered in relation to qualitative research, this definition is difficult to apply, for obvious reasons: it is difficult to validate a photographic instrument since it does not follow the dichotomous logic of tests or questionnaires. However, if we consider Ammassari's definition of validity, photography too can become a valid instrument.
For Ammassari, the validity of an instrument is "the ability to ascertain, and not something else, the empirical referent of the concept it is intended to refer to." This definition applies to all sociological tools that do not follow the logic of quantification: interviews, content analysis, and photographs. Photography, therefore, would be a valid instrument not because of the supposed measurement it provides, but thanks to its ability to reproduce reality.
The Validity of the Image According to Mattioli
Various figures have expressed their opinion on the validity of the photographic instrument, among which the two criteria that Mattioli provides to make it as valid as possible are particularly interesting:
- The sequence of images is more valid Single photographs. The subject of sociology is social behavior, so it's obvious that a series of shots (or a video) is more valuable than a single shot, since the series allows us to capture precisely what's of interest to social research.
- Color photographs are more valid than black and white ones. The variety of colors has a high social significance. Colors play a real role in social analysis; taking black and white photos would exclude interesting material.
Reliability
Alongside the concept of validity, we find the concept of reliability , generally defined as the ability of an instrument to consistently provide the same results when making multiple measurements of the same phenomenon. In the case of photography, reliability lies in the technical characteristics of electronic devices, the use of consistent lighting and framing: aspects that are impossible to reproduce with extreme fidelity. In any case, Wagner proposes a series of methods to ensure the reliability of images as much as possible:
- Make use of more operators, so that one corrects the other.
- Take photos with some pre-set scripts and detailed.
- Check the descriptive value of the photos by relying on other sources of information.
- Opt for a random sampling background objects if they appear in the shots and you are not aware of their characteristics.
Photo-elicitation
An interesting use of photography in social research is photo-elicitation: The interviewer and interviewee discuss the photographs, providing a concrete point of reference throughout the interview. The informant explains the meaning and role of the objects depicted. The photograph would then become a stimulus for an interview with the photographed subject, aiming to broaden their understanding of the portion of reality captured by the lens—a sort of visual backtalk . This technique prevents the sociologist from misinterpreting the photographed object and would partially resolve issues surrounding privacy ethics, as the subjects would be aware of being photographed.
Conclusions
It can be concluded that abandoning photography as a tool for social research would be a grave mistake, leading to the loss of valuable material both for reconstructing past cultural systems and as a valuable stimulus for field research. After all, capturing a slice of reality through the photographic lens is analogous to the attribution of meaning that Weber conceives as the basis of the cognitive process in sociology. Therefore, like any human act, it requires a choice that, if methodologically shared, can only be useful.
Catherine Ambrosio
Bibliography
- D. Harper (1986) Meaning and work: a study in photo elicitation
- F. Mattioli (1991) Visual sociology
