Photography therapy exercises are not merely about snapping pictures; they serve as a path to explore your identity and reclaim your narrative.
1. Feminist Self-Portraiture
How to Practice
- Step 1: Shoot through vulnerability—capture angles society deems “unflattering.”
- Step 2: Pair images with handwritten mantras (e.g., “This body is my manifesto”).
Overcoming Creative Block
Start with closed eyes—photograph the moment before the world sees you. When you embrace your vulnerability, you unlock the raw power of your story.
2. Body Mapping
How to Practice
- Use close-ups to document scars, stretch marks, or tattoos as the “cartography of survival.”
- Overlay text: “What does this skin remember?”
Overcoming Creative Block
Focus on one inch of skin—magnify its story until it becomes a universe. By zooming in on the details of your body, you immerse yourself in your own history.
3. Themed Photo Journals
How to Practice
- Create a 7-day journal themed around “Anger as Fuel” or “Joy as Resistance.”
- Mix images with found objects (petals, fabric scraps).
Overcoming Creative Block
Steal colors from your surroundings—if the sky is gray, let your journal bleed stormy blues. Allow your environment to influence your creativity, giving it depth and resonance.
4. Photographing Hollow Spaces
How to Practice
- Photograph empty chairs, unmade beds, or abandoned buildings—sites where power dynamics played out.
- Write letters to the ghosts in these spaces (“What happened here?”).
Overcoming Creative Block
Shoot at golden hour—let the light expose what the shadows hide. Embrace the interplay of light and dark, revealing deeper truths within your images.
5. Collaborative Work:
How to Practice
- Partner with others to create a shared zine or digital collage.
- Choose themes like “Ungovernable Bodies” or “The Future We Frame.”
Overcoming Creative Block
Trade cameras—see yourself through a sister’s lens. Collaborating can bring new perspectives and inspire fresh creativity.
Tie “Photography therapy exercises” to lifelong empowerment. Your next snapshot could be the first line of your manifesto. Remember Audre Lorde’s words: “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence—it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Embrace your journey in photography as a means to thrive and explore how to get over creative block through feminist reimagination.