Photo Sensitivity

This has been R&R week at NTS. For some R&R means rest and relaxation, for others it means reading and research. I am in the latter group. I have spent this week trying to get caught up on PhD projects (the key word here is “trying”).
Some of the reading that I have been doing is related to short-term missions. Many of the initial research initiatives related to short-term missions have evaluated the growing phenomenon in relation to the self perceived outcomes of STM from the perspective of the short-termer them self. There is a very interesting body of literature which deals with how people experience short-term mission trips.

Interestingly, most people buy tickets and spend considerable money to go across the world, and then spend a high percentage of their time experiencing the new location through the lens of a camera or on the computer, blogging about the location. Many people find that the picture represents reality more than reality itself. The end result is that people have great pictures and great blog sites, but have very few real relationships with people since they have been treated like objects to be observed instead of people to know. The following are a few guidelines that may help those who want to experience real people and who also want to get good pictures:

1) Take time to see people as friends and not as objects to be photographed. Make it a point to learn about families, and culture before even using a camera. As this relationship builds, you may find it more natural to take pictures just as you would take pictures of your own family.

2) Find a way to ask if it is alright to take pictures that gives people the opportunity to say “no”. This may be tricky in some places since saying “no” is seen as offensive. A good rule of thumb is to ask a missionary or person who understands the culture well. Normally, however, if you have built a real friendship, people enjoy having pictures taken.

3) If you have to choose between taking pictures and spending time with people, there is no choice. Forget the pictures. If a camera can be used in a way that builds friendships, then go for it. At the end of the day, God’s mission is people, and respecting them as individuals created in God’s image.