I’ve been trying to write an essay about the relationship between psychology and photography for a long time. I would do some research, jot down a few notes and then put it aside to work on later. Sometimes years later. I think the issue for me was that I could never get a handle on the subject. I have written two essays addressing the unconscious and photography which is one aspect of psychology but I wanted to explore the overall subject in more detail. This paper may serve more as an outline because of the limited information available.
I was only able to find two papers by psychoanalysts that directly addressed the subject of psychology and photography. They are:
“Unconscious Motivations of the Amateur Photographer” by Carl Fulton Sulzberger, M.D., 1955.
“Photography as an Extension of the Ego” by Donald B. Colson, 1979.
Both were focused on voyeurism and exhibitionism. They were also fixated on the aggressive implications of photography such as hunting and shooting. They referred to terms like shooting, capturing the image, hunting with a camera, photo shoot, and a single image as a shot.
In my case, I try not to use any of the above terms. I use “image” instead of shot and a photoshoot is a “photo session”. Instead of capturing a shot I will use “recording the image”. I am not a hunter and I do not hunt with my camera but may search to find new avenues for my photography.
When it comes to voyeurism, today it seems like everyone is a voyeur. The public is either making images for social media with their phones or they are looking at those images. Voyeurism and exhibitionism seem to be the norm exhibited by many. Narcissism seems to be everywhere.
I am not particularly concerned with exhibiting my work. I’m a lazy exhibitionist. I create my work and store my photos in a box. Over the years, I have had a few shows, occasionally I will get a photo in a juried exhibition, or I will post some images to my blog. For my blog, the written word is more important than the photos. Also, creating new work is more important to me than showing work which can be time consuming.
Psychologically and photographically, it is as if my brain needs visual challenges. Can I find a new way of seeing something? When I make a photograph that extends my vision, I feel excitement, pleasure and personal satisfaction. This does not happen frequently but enough to keep me searching.
I think it is harder today to get a comprehensive understanding of the psychological aspects of photography. An analyst would be overwhelmed by the volume of data and the variety of people making images. I use the term “image maker” as opposed to “photographer” because I believe there is a significant difference between the two groups. Also, within each of these groups there is a range of ability and output. A photographer possesses a wide-ranging knowledge of photography and is a student of photo history. A photographer understands what makes a good photograph and is a harsh editor of their own work. A camera is a tool not a toy. The photographer uses photography as an expressive medium.
When it comes to psychology and photography, it seems that the subject contains many pieces that do not always fit together in one package. Photography plays many roles in the study of psychology and is used as a research tool in many studies. There is the psychology of aesthetics, the psychology of perception, and the psychology of color. Other than the few items outlined in this essay, there has been very little discussion about the broader subject of the psychology of photographers. Psychological terms such as the id, the ego, and the unconscious are used but practical connections to photographers are limited.
Photography is very different today than it was when the two articles were written. Today, most people (the image-makers) photograph with their smartphone cameras. The volume of images has grown immensely. Photographers used to do their “magic” in darkrooms along with the mystery of using chemicals to develop film and make prints. Actual prints were shared between people instead of posting them on social media or showing them on a smartphone. Despite the articles being dated, there is still some valid information regarding psychology and photography.
Here are several additional thoughts mentioned in the essays:
“the camera becomes a bridge between conscious and unconscious, between the inner representational world and external reality.”—Donald B. Colson
“photographs serve to record multiple fleeting impressions which for most of us would be otherwise transient and soon lost to consciousness. For many photographers it may be the symbolic process in which that which is not conscious is made conscious, which comprises part of the appeal of photography.”—Donald B. Colson
“The created visual image, the visual forms which we make with our hands and eyes together, link the outer vision that explores the external world with the inner vision that shapes our felt experiences into symbols.”—Edward Steichen 1960
Sleeping Mind Photography 