In my effort to educate myself and speak to people of various neurodiversity and disabilities many revelations about how to adjust photographic practices to align to the specific needs of varying degrees of disability and brain spiciness.
But in talking to a new friend about his experience in getting his picture taken he said “ oh I don’t like it, I avoid it if I can”. In our discussion as to why he feels uncomfortable everything he said made total sense while talking to him, but why was his experience so lacking in previous sessions? He continued to tell me how hard it is to feel like he’s moving the right way and that often times directional cues don’t work for him because of his limited vision and that leads to anxiety and self-consciousness.
His example that opened my eyes a little more to understanding. There were more but this one hit me first…He said,
“If I’m the subject and I have limited vision and my hips are turned at 45 degrees where is forward if you tell me to move forward?”
Oh, the lightbulbs and the aha moment that happened were visceral!! The answer was so clear, more than likely, not the same as the forward direction the photographer is talking about!
Hip alignment and special orientation?!?! Insert forehead smack here! When working with people with unhindered vision, giving directions can be a game of following the leader. You do something they follow. That isn’t the case for the visually impacted. You need intentional directions and consideration from your portrait photographer. Within these acclimations for disabilities are so much minutia and diversity. One prompt can be successful for one person but what about the next?
How do you build a vocabulary of understanding for that disability and adapt your interactions to create the most meaningful and positive experience? How do you communicate to remove all anxiety and fear from a person with a disability as they attempt to effectively participate? How do you become a space known for that intentionality and genuine acceptance?
Photography shouldn’t be a scary experience and everyone should have a safe space to participate in the portrait process genuinely and joyfully. The goal of this new studio space is not only to be a sensory safe space for the neurodivergent community but to be a space that fully considers the diversity within all disabilities and special needs so those who feel the portrait experience does not consider them in its practice and methods.
We are hitting a good stride in learning and funding, fingers crossed we can get this to the finish line. This studio is going to uplift so many lives through portraiture.
