Photovoice isn’t something we invented. It’s been around since the 1990s and has been used in a variety of fields, even if the majority of projects remain in public health. We apply photovoice —  the use of amateur photography to give voice to people and issues in a community — to interfaith engagement, as well as other related community and social causes that advance pluralism. If you’ve ever been a part of a photovoice project in the past, you may notice that our approach differs a little. That’s because we use something we refer to as visual structured storytelling to facilitate our small group sharing. 

Structured storytelling is our visual spin on what our good friends at Essential Partners call reflective structured dialogue (RSD). 

RSD uses three stages of dialogue to make sure all participants have an equal opportunity to share their stories. In the words of Essential Partners, RSD “is a research-based, flexible, scalable framework for systemic change. RSD equips people to interrupt dysfunctional dynamics and build relationships across differences in order to address challenges where they live, work, worship, and learn.” Practically speaking, dialogue is structured around three moments: (1) a participant shares a personal story in response to a prompt, (2) other participants ask questions of genuine curiosity, and (3) after everyone has had a chance to ask their questions the storyteller responds.  

Let’s give an example. 

Imagine there are four people in a dialogue group: Christopher, Muhammad, Zeynep, and Miriam. Christopher might share first for a few minutes. During that time, only Christopher talks. Once those five minutes are up, Muhammad, Zeynep, and Miriam will have a couple of minutes to ask him questions that he does not respond to yet. He sits, pays attention, listens, and tries to understand the questions coming to him. Then, the facilitator will turn things back over to Christopher for a few more minutes to answer the questions in any way he wants. Once his time is up, the cycle will begin again with Muhammad, and then Zeynep, and then Miriam. This is what reflective structured dialogue looks like. 

Our adaptation, what we call visual structured storytelling, photos into the mix. We use a framework represented by the acronym SHOW’D where each letter works as a signpost for what participants share when it's their turn. 

• S: What do you see?

• H: What is really happening here?

• O: How does this relate to our lives?

• W: Why does this situation, concern, or strength exist?

• D: What can we do about it?

The actual interaction, then, looks a little different when you’re using photos as the conversational centerpiece. The photos — through the SHOW’D framework — invite both the sharer and the other participants to look deeper into their stories as they identify shared needs and concerns. Importantly, the photos also allow for others to see things that we would never see on our own. Perhaps it’s a detail in a single photo — an item in the background or the title of a book. Or maybe there are themes woven throughout   someone’s photos that point to the role of nature, relationships, or barriers in one’s daily experiences. 

Our approach also has a slightly different goal than RSD. Rather than the dialogue being the goal, visual structured storytelling through photovoice works toward engagement. For us, interfaith engagement involves something more than just talking. Our work helps participants to engage one another across differences so they can  build bridges between individuals and communities. People learn to see and feel the world through one another’s lenses. You’ve probably heard it said before that a photo is worth a thousand words. The science backs this up: photos are more memorable than other forms of information. This is why months after a photovoice session participants may see something in the real world — a halal sticker on meat at the grocery store, perhaps an eruv, maybe even a specific location in your town — that reminds them of something someone shared during the project. This helps develop empathy and a shared sense of purpose across differences. These experiences are foundational to being able to follow the so-called “Platinum Rule”: Love others as they want to be loved. To begin extending the learning that happens within a photovoice group to the broader community, photovoice projects work toward exhibits to amplify voices in the community and to influence key stakeholders. These exhibits extend the process beyond dialogue to advocacy for community change.

Learn more about visual structured storytelling, photovoice, and how you can use our tools to change your communities at an upcoming workshop or by joining our winter/spring 2025 online photovoice training.