Photoethnography
A Design Anthropology technique that uses photography as an ethnographic medium, to record observations.
“Any photograph may have ethnographic interest, significance or meanings at a particular time or for a specific reason…Therefore ethnographers seek to understand the individual, local and broader cultural discourses in which photographs are made meaningful.”
Nature & context
Design Anthropology, User Research
Resources
Camera & corresponding equipment required for clear photography, notes.
Procedure
Before: Understand the context and identify participants/locations where photo ethnography is to be conducted. Since photographs would serve as a data source, ensure equipment like camera, tripod etc. are in order. If needed get a consent form ready, if capturing pictures of participants.
During: Capture pictures giving attention to details, especially in relevance to the design/research context. If required, seek participant permission. Capture as many photos as possible. Remember that nothing captured is insignificant, nuances might get captured in the pictures that can be observed later.
After: Quickly conduct an analysis, right after the session, of each photograph and create notes/annotations to mark the reason why each photograph was taken. Considering too many pictures being taken, immediate recording of each photo's context makes it easier to remember and use each photo during further research and data analysis.
Use Case
While designing to reduce food wastage, Photo ethnography was done as a part of the project to spread awareness about misfits. Pictures of farmers captured at the farmer’s market showed emotions of farmers and how welcoming they were to share details about misfits. For instance, while not explicitly spoken off during an interview, we could see a farmer couple's agitation (in a photograph) and that seemed to be because they had no customers, also observed was that they were selling misfits.
Sense Making Data
As a research technique, focus needs to be not on the photograph and what is being captured in the photo, in relevance to the design context. Photographs alone cannot lead to insights or interpretations as researcher judgments might cloud the insights generated. During interpretation and analysis, care needs to taken to avoid bias and judgments.