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The Photographic Image: Visual Communication and Aesthetic Preferences
Mary Ruth Smith
Lynn Marie Blinn, University of Houston, Houston, Texas
Subject: Visual Literacy
Grade: Higher Education
"In summary, this study provided students an interdisciplinary
opportunity to both explore and analyze family life situations
through photographic interpretations."
Purpose and Description of Project
Mary Smith and Lynn Blinn involved their undergraduate students
in three content areas (family studies, design processes, and
research concepts) in a research project on the photographic image
as a form of visual communication. They selected as the focus
of this study the family photographic image because it was a familiar
one for most people and because most students had, at some time,
been involved in documenting family relationships and values through
photography.
Family studies students generated 53 definitions of the family,
which Smith and Blinn sorted into four categories: (1) nature
of the family bond (blood, marriage, adoption); (2) character
of the relationship (giving, supporting); (3) family structure
(nuclear, extended); and (4) nature of the household living under
the same roof). Three definitions were selected at random from
each of the four categories, and students were assigned to select
5 of the final 12 definitions to represent through photographs
and written justifications. Two student objectives for their project
were: (a) to identify the relationship between various conceptualizations
of the family and corresponding photographic images, and (b) to
generate a set of photographs corresponding to selected definitions
of the family.
Activities
Each group of students participated in introductory activities.
Design students studied the communicative tactics (repetition,
contrast, grouping) utilized in photographic images to convey
meanings that affect everyday decisions in, for example, advertising
and product design. Research concepts students discussed ways
to identify and analyze the qualitative and quantitative research
methodologies to be used in the project. The family studies students
wrote their personal definitions of the family from which the
final 12 definitions were selected.
All students were assigned to shoot photos of the families of
their choice, and submit one or more photos representing each
definition with a brief explanation of why the photo(s) represented
a particular definition.
Materials, Resources, and Expenses
Students used their own
cameras.
The University's Audiovisual Department provided the KODAK EKTAGRAPHIC CopyStand
used in photographing the students' justifications and images,
and the slide projector used during the seminar.
The panel of three expert judges rated the students' projects,
and two went on to participate in the seminar.
Outcomes and Adaptability
The two instructors concluded that the project produced the expected
outcomes. Students' creative and critical thinking skills were
developed as they combined visual images with written justifications.
Their observational skills also improved as they analyzed the
visual and verbal aspects of not only the photographic image but
also one aspect of society. Although each student worked independently,
the final results indicated that the nature of the visual research
and the subjective content had strengthened the students' interdisciplinary
attitudes.
Smith and Blinn find their study has the potential for three additional
applications: (1) using the selected photos to test the relationship
between images and family definitions with subjects of varying
ages, educational backgrounds, genders, and socioeconomic and
ethnic backgrounds; (2) including students from disciplines other
than human development (3) giving students more specific direction
as to traditional/nontraditional family situations. They suggest
that such a project can be used as described or varied and adapted
to examine problems within art, design, family studies, and research
concepts classes.