Exploring therapeutic benefits through photography

CHENNAI: According to research, photography has tremendous therapeutic potential helping an individual to express and communicate their emotions. While it has not been fully explored as a therapeutic tool, a few photographers from the city are currently delving into its possibilities.

When 25-year-old Habiba Begum founded The Expressive Lens last November, she aimed to explore the connection between photography and various psychological concepts and how it can be used therapeutically. “I believe photography can lead to self-exploration,” says Habiba. Her upcoming workshop exclusively for kids, aims to explore more about self-expression through photographs.

Although photography is pursued professionally and as a hobby, the therapeutic side has not yet been explored by many. “Art is perceived as a healing tool, but visual art is not used to its full potential. These workshops will make people discover and realise things about themselves,” she says.

At the end of the workshop, there will be group discussions that help in knowing the meaning behind each picture captured by the participants, reflecting on their journeys. “This paves the way in creating a safe space that helps individuals to express themselves and find relatability,” she adds.

Not everyone might like to put into words what they are going through. With this type of photography, we have another medium to open up about our inner selves. A nephophile by nature, Rithika a freelance photographer and assistant director in the film industry, finds solace in watching the clouds and sky during the lockdown. That is when she started taking snaps of the clouds on a daily basis and found it therapeutic. “A picture tells a lot about the photographer. When children capture a picture, it shows their point of view about the world, filled with innocence and positivity. It is just recently that people are accepting the term therapy. Art, in any of its form, is a therapeutic tool. Therapeutic photography is one of its kind and new to Chennaiites. There is a long way to go,” affirms the 22-year-old. The upcoming workshop, titled Therapeutic Photography for Kids, is the first workshop organised by The Expressive Lens for children between the ages of 9 and 16. The three-hour workshop focuses on self-expression. The Expressive Lens’s previous workshop themes include different forms of emotions. “Self-expression helps kids to know how they perceive themselves, how the society sees them, and helps them create a positive self-image. They will be instructed to capture everything they like and dislike about,” Habiba explains.

Habiba elucidates that through such workshops, parents will realise the positive side of mobile phones, which have a bad reputation. “We are aiming to increase our module timing. This will result in the kids travelling with us more and also help them feel comfortable in opening up. We wish to delve deep into emotions and also themes like how they identify themselves and gender identity,” she remarks.

The Therapeutic Photography for Kids workshop will be held on January 21 from 10 am to 1 pm at The Learning Community at Quest, Besant Nagar. For details, contact 9600295212.