The Impact of Photographs on the Researcher: An Ethical Matter for Visual Research

Discussion about visual research ethics predominantly focuses on the effects of visual research methodologies on participants. The effect of visual research methodologies on researchers has received little attention and there has been no sustained investigation into how visual materials generated by the research methodology can impact on the researcher. This chapter draws on a research project where participants created photographs to share their experiences of antidepressant use and wellbeing. It shows how photographs act in particular ways with serious ethical consequences for researchers. The effect that photographs can enact on the researcher introduces an ethical issue that requires further attention and articulation by visual researchers. We discuss some of the implications of considering the action of photographs themselves to ethical discussion about visual research.