The Psychology of Photography

In her debut salon, Tanya Raj will explore the psychology behind the images we make and what they tell us about ourselves.

It is said, “if you want to learn what someone fears losing watch what they photograph” – in other words, we as humans make pictures of what we love, what we want to hold on to, as a memory of infinity to define and understand our very own existence.

Images that we make are an extension of our psyche – be it photographs of people, places, or ourselves. They not only capture moments but a piece of our emotions, expressing what we felt in that moment. But do we really need to have a vision to photograph, or do our minds already know what we want to photograph? Evgen Bavcar, a blind photographer, says, his images exist first in his mind as photography began in darkness.

Each individual experience similar situations in myriad ways – the range of emotions triggered are based on our own past experiences as well as our unique perception of the subject. Come join us for a leisurely discussion on:

• Why we make the images we make?
• What do the images captured say about us?
• Same subject, different perspectives
• Our relationship to digital vs physical photographs
• Photos we see all the time vs photos that we rediscover or take out of context
• What are our profile photos trying to present to the world?

Pre-salon activity:

• Make an image or bring along a previously shot image to the salon – let’s have some fun discussion around them!

Good to read/watch pre-salon:

• Does photographing a moment steal the experience from you
• Visual Culture and the Social Web
• The Psychology of Photography
• The Lab: Decoy
• Interpreting People Pictures
• Evgen Bavcar – The Blind Photographer
• The Great I Am
• The Psychology of Color
• The secret language of profile photos
• Too Drunk to Fuck (On the Anxiety of Photography)

All proceeds from the ticket sale of this salon will go to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India.