Photography in Social Work and Social Change: Theory and Applications for Practice and Research, Matthias J. Naleppa, Kristina M. Hash and Anissa T. Rogers

Abstract

This book poetically describes photography as ‘painting with light’ and makes a convincing case for the fit between photographic approaches and ‘the social work profession’s focus on the importance of place, the environment, and the needs and assets that they can encompass’ (p. 120). It consists of three parts: Photography in Social Work, which considers historical, practical, theoretical and research issues; Photographic Methods and Applications, which presents five specific methods; and Technical Aspects and Future Applications. The introductory chapter helpfully presents a brief history of photography before moving on to its use in social work. It provoked new thinking for me: for instance, what photographic evidence there is of the work of the Settlements in England in the early years of photography and whether there was any photographic accompaniment to influential documents like Charles Booth’s Poverty maps of London, which themselves rely on image, if not of a photographic type. I was attracted to the authors’ ideas about social work journalism in which different media combine to tell the stories of the people and communities in contact with social work.