Photography and Photo Storytelling Training for NGOs and Community

To support the improvement of NGOs and communities in terms of documentation and publication, IDEP held Photography and Photo Storytelling training on 16-19 July 2019. The training that took place at the IDEP Training Center was participated by seven representatives from several NGOs and youth communities in Bali. Most participants are those who have work fields related to documentation and publications.

Participants and trainer Richard Jones (second right, back row) after the training (Photo: IDEP)

This training was facilitated by Dr. Richard Jones, a volunteer at Australia Volunteers International (AVI), who has volunteered in IDEP for the past eight months. In addition to pursuing photography and producing several films, he also taught at universities in Australia.

For four days, the participants were invited to learn professional photography techniques, the ethics of photography in a development perspective, and how photo-story telling can support social works. Through discussion and practice sessions, the participants were invited to explore these materials while comparing them with their experiences.

Regarding the participants’ work fields, the ethics of photography received special emphasis in this training. Because, in many practices, this ethical problem is often ignored by many people. As a result, besides triggering a debate here and there, the neglect of ethics also has an impact on the subjects in photographic work. The ethics in question are including, for example, respects the right to privacy, supports the protection of children's rights, always adheres to the consent form procedures, and do not harm or cause problems for the photographed subject.

In the photo story-telling section, the participants were invited to learn to visualize the message they want to convey through photos. Usually, the message is an abstract concept that needs to be digested properly by those who see it. To hone the ability to visualize the message through photo, the participants were invited to practice some photo-taking in the group. The abstract concept that is assigned to them to visualize is magical. Most of the participants then produced the photos showing the Balinese beliefs in what is called Niskala, an unseen world. The results of the photos were then discussed together. (Fit/Ed)