Listening with images: Photography as method in creative practice research

This presentation explores photography as method in creative practice research, demonstrating how lens-based methodologies create unique opportunities for expression, reflection, and knowledge creation beyond traditional research approaches. The research illustrates how photography’s accessibility and immediacy make it particularly effective for fostering understanding and accessing embodied knowledge.Dr. King shares her photography as method project work with older adults, examining various photographic approaches including photo reminiscence, photovoice, collaborative photography, photo walks, and text-to-image AI generation. These visual methodologies provide participants with agency in the research process while revealing nuanced relationships with place and environment that might otherwise remain unexpressed. The presentation highlights visual storytelling’s power to elicit experiences, memories, and perspectives that traditional verbal or written methods may struggle to access.Through various case studies, Tricia will demonstrate how photography enhances data collection, analysis, and presentation in research documentation. She will showcase techniques for creating meaningful photo narratives that authentically represent participants’ voices while generating rich qualitative insights. Additionally, the presentation addresses essential ethical considerations when working with lens-based practices, highlighting complementary approaches such as Friendship as Method, which prioritize participant care, dignity, and collaborative meaning-making throughout the research process.Dr Tricia King is a researcher in creative arts health, specialising in innovative approaches to enhancing older adults’ well-being through participatory visual methodologies. Her work employs lens-based techniques like photo voice and collaborative photography to explore and amplify the lived experiences of older adults, challenging visual ageism and promoting social connection. Among her recent projects, Dr King founded the community led Ageing Well Creative Lab where she develops interdisciplinary programs that bridge creativity, technology, and social engagement. This fortnightly program introduces older adults to cutting-edge technologies including augmented reality, photographic editing, and drone photography, fostering intergenerational learning and technological empowerment. She is a founding member of the UniSC Creative Ecologies Research Cluster and theme leader in the Healthy Ageing Research Cluster, – working across both clusters to promote place based environmental and social connectedness for older adults and explore how embodied experiences in natural environments can cultivate ecological empathy and cultural knowledge. Her approach uniquely combines creative practice, social research, and place-based methodologies. She is currently convenor of the Australian Association of Gerontology’s Creativity, Art, and Design Special Interest Group and National Leader of the Student and Early Career Researcher Communications Working Group. Tricia is a member of the QLD Arts Health Network, is an Associate Editor of the Arts & Health Journal (Taylor & Francis), and a founding editorial member of the Journal of Creative Research Methods (launching late 2025). Dr King’s ongoing research continues to further knowledge understanding of creativity’s role in healthy aging and social connection.