Curls in focus: how photo essays can elevate research

Here at The Mix, we recently undertook our Curl Communities project, exploring the diverse experiences of women with curly hair.

If you haven’t had the chance to read it (and you should), we used a photo essay as the main output of the research. A photo essay is a form of visual storytelling that develops a narrative across a series of photographs, and for certain pieces of research, it can make a story incredibly more compelling.

We didn’t create this photo essay just because it would lead to a beautiful output that makes an impact - which it did - but also because it makes for a better participant experience, and this is incredibly important when it comes to doing research.

But why?

Centring the Participants in the Research 

The people we speak to should be at the centre of the research, and that’s something researchers can often forget when doing a project. Their lived experiences are at the centre, they start and end the project, and we should never dismiss the fact that they are the experts in themselves. By doing a photo essay, it allows us to express that these are real people with real emotions, not just words or numbers on paper. To understand how curly hair plays a role in identity, we need to go beyond just what these women are saying but understand who they are and how their hair is a part of that. 

Expressing Beyond Words

The photography element of this research plays a crucial role in allowing participants to express themselves beyond words. When we’re asking women to articulate their thoughts and emotions about their curly hair journey, it can be a difficult thing to open up and talk about, especially when you’ve never met the person that’s asking you these deep questions. Images can convey emotions and nuances that words can’t, and we gain so much just from observing participants in this phase. How they feel and interact with the camera says a lot about where they are in their curly hair journey. 

Enhancing Engagement and Tangibility

Through visual storytelling, participants are able to better engage with the research both during and after it’s completed. As established, they start and end the project, so we can’t just forget about them once we’ve got what we need. Taking professional photos meant that we were left with not just beautiful output, but with something personal and tangible we could share with the participants after the project was complete. These photos of them showcasing their natural hair is something they can keep and share, serving as a (hopefully) positive reminder of their experience and input in the research.