Rethinking Story telling, Ethical Imagery and Unlearning Aid-vertising
Over the past half-decade, a new skill found me. I wasn’t looking for it. One volunteer position led to another, and now I find myself holding a camera as part of my work in development communication . However, the more I've practiced, the more I've realized that storytelling through images extends beyond capturing good angles or perfect lighting (though these are extremely important). Borrowing from my background in advocacy and human-dignity training , I began to understand how every picture carries the power to define what is seen and what is believed. As I moved between field assignments and community dialogues, I started noticing patterns in how development work is visually portrayed. It's a typical show to see a sad child with outstretched hands, a woman walking under the sun with a yellow jerrycan, or the cracked earth in the Northern parts of Kenya . Such pictures are meant to inspire compassion, yet they often repeated a single narrative : one of lack, dependenc...