Domestic photography & the role of sound

Abstract

In this chapter, we review the existing practice of domestic photography, in contrast to other forms of art and commercial photography. The aim of the review is quite fundamental. It is to understand how and why people take photos in a domestic context, what uses and functions they are put to, and what requirements and opportunities exist for change. The review culminates in a new framework for understanding domestic photography and a set of questions about the role of sound. These questions are then addressed in a series of studies reported in the rest of the book, and interpreted with reference to the framework. In this way, we begin to define how the combination of sounds and images developed in other media might work within the medium of photography.

“The threading of public meanings through the private medium of family photography poses again and again the puzzle of the family album. Our understandings must shift from an ‘inside’ to an ‘outside’ perspective and back. Neither position has much to say to the other, but neither is enough by itself” (Holland 1991, p5).