2.1 Building Your Photovoice Team

You can successfully conduct a Photovoice project with a small team, as long as you ensure the roles and responsibilities are clearly defined. Team members may take on multiple roles, but it is important that the expectations and tasks are discussed and agreed upon in advance, both for the overall project and before each session.

Here is a list of the core team roles and their responsibilities:

• Project Manager(s): This role oversees strategy, manages program and participant accommodations and communications; handles logistics including scheduling, space, materials, printing, and equipment; manages budget-related tasks; builds trust with participants;collects and organizes photos (between and prior to sessions); and documents process and impact. It is important that this role sets and keeps the pace of the project, adapts and makes needed changes, and communicates clearly to all team members. In small teams, the person who takes on this role may also take on some of the roles listed below.

• Facilitator(s): This role supports the design and implementation of sessions by guiding the group and moderating discussions across multiple sessions. It is important for facilitators to communicate clearly, build trust with participants, and navigate the moments when discussion touches challenging topics, goes off topic, or goes over time.  Effective Photovoice facilitation combines thoughtful group facilitation and the ability to stay genuinely curious about what participants are discovering, while practicing neutrality to avoid steering or influencing the group. It is important that the person in this role has the ability to ensure involvement of all participants (from the most active and vocal to the ones who may need more support to engage and speak up). In small teams, combining facilitation with other roles may be needed. 

• Note-Taker(s): This role provides important documentation support. Note-takers  capture what happens in sessions, including, but not limited to: 

  • Collecting and organizing photos (between and prior to sessions)

  • Discussion topics and themes 

  • Emerging pattern from what participants are photographing 

  • Liaising with facilitator/manager to ensure logistical follow-up items, helping to ensure continuity between sessions

  • Capturing impact or any related information across sessions

This role should not fall to the lead facilitator, whose attention needs to be fully on the group.

• Time Keeper(s): This role is a simple but critical role in keeping a Photovoice session focused and on time. This person monitors the agenda and gives gentle reminders about time limits for activities (examples include photo sharing or discussion). They keep things moving while respecting the flow of persons presenting and group discussions, helping the facilitator balance depth with staying on schedule.

• Photography Expert: This role is an expert in photography, but should also be a great educator who can provide guidance and strategy to participants around photography throughout the Photovoice process. This role can join the team for one or two sessions or can be present in the whole process, depending on your project needs and goals. 

Team Options

Consider the possibility of recruiting some of your program members or volunteers into your core Photovoice team. This leadership opportunity can deepen engagement with your volunteer workforce. Consideration should be given to how you will compensate them for their time and leadership. 

Skills for Core Team Roles

Key skills to look for in your project team include (but are not limited to): 

• Organizational skills

• Communication skills

• Ability to manage group dynamics and build trust with participants 

• Strong listening skills

• Cultural humility

• Comfort with sensitive topics

Team Coordination

Before your first participant session, your facilitation team should invest in its own alignment. This means going beyond role assignments to discuss the project purpose, goals, and values that will guide your work together.

• Once you have decided and recruited the core team members, you should have a project planning and kickoff meeting and decide on team values/agreements. 

• Consider how you will deal with decision-making and approaching problems that may arise during the project process. Here are a few questions to consider. We encourage you to also add your own questions to explore that are relevant to your project and team.

  • How to manage the group based on format (in-person, virtual, or hybrid)?

  • How will you manage group dynamics?

  • How will you make decisions when team members disagree? 

  • What happens if a facilitator's personal views on the community issue begin to shape how they respond to participants' photographs or group discussions? 

  • How will you handle it if a team member's availability changes during the project process?

  • How will you deal with different levels of engagement among participants?

  • How will you protect participants' confidentiality within the team itself?

• Check in or debrief regularly throughout the Photovoice process. Build a rhythm for regular team check-ins (ex. before, after, or between sessions). These conversations help the team and facilitators stay calibrated with each other, catch concerns early, and process the project, so that adjustments can be made to keep the project on pace.

The Photovoice methodology is one that can be adapted to a wide variety of contexts. However, before beginning it is helpful to spend time reflecting and considering what you plan to get out of your Photovoice project and how you will use the insights you gain throughout the process.  This section will give you topics to assess and reflect on the Photovoice process you would like to undertake. Before recruiting participants or scheduling sessions, take time to work through the following components and considerations with your core organizing team. 

Key components and actions to consider as you plan for your upcoming project:

• Defining your purpose: 

• What topic, community, and/or organizational issue do you want to explore?

• How can photography assist with exploring this issue?

• What change do you want (awareness, policy, empowerment)?

• Identify your audience:

• Internal (organization staff, volunteers/members)

• External (community leaders, community partners, policymakers)

• Determine Size of participant group:

• What is the group size that our Photovoice core team can support well throughout the entirety of this process? A smaller group with strong facilitation will produce richer findings than a larger group where participant engagement is low or uneven. Be realistic about the group size your team can hold space for and facilitate well.  

• Choose format:

• In-person, virtual, or hybrid

• Choose session duration and cadence:

• 1, 3-5, 5-8+ sessions

• Weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

• Assess your organizational budget and team capacity to implement a Photovoice project:

• Available budget for staff time 

• Staff time availability 

• Staff knowledge of photography, community engagement and/or storytelling

• Identify your resources:

• Budget, such as: cameras, equipment, meeting supplies,  stipends, printing, food

• Logistics: space, tech platforms, accessibility accommodations

• Consider how you will address issues related to photo ethics:  

• Internal or external media consent or release forms; respecting privacy of sensitive and vulnerable populations (ex. children or patients, homes); site restrictions

Factors to Consider that Impact Budgeting and Resource Planning for Your Project

This section highlights key factors that may influence budgeting and resource planning for your Photovoice project. The budget ranges provided are general estimates. Costs will vary, so it’s important to research what is realistic for your specific community, organization, and project goals. 

Who participates in a Photovoice project shapes everything about what information the photos from your project can communicate. The quality of your project depends heavily on who is in the room and who gets the opportunity to share their perspective through Photovoice. 

Questions to ask as you consider who to recruit:

• What is the group size that your Photovoice core team can support well throughout the entirety of this process?

• Does your recruitment process reach people with different types of experience?

• Who would benefit from learning new skills (e.g., public speaking, leadership, or other additional professional development?)

• Whose lived experience is most directly relevant to the research question(s) or project focus?

• How can you recruit participants whose voices are most often left out of conversations about this issue?

• What accommodations are needed to make this process more accessible to more people? How can your team make accommodations to support their participation?

Considerations on participants to recruit:

• Your service members or volunteers and staff

• Community partners (community partner staff, leadership, etc.)

• Diverse perspectives within the community

• Individuals willing to share and reflect

Recruitment strategies:

• Recruit during monthly in-service meetings

• Partner with local organizations who can refer participants (if needed)

• Use trusted community leaders from target populations.

• Use clear and honest messaging:

  • Describe Photovoice

  • Define the time commitment required for participation

  • Define the purpose and initial project goals

  • Share benefits of participation (skills, public speaking, stipends)

• Outreach strategies can include one or more of the following:

  • Social media posts

  • Virtual fliers or physical  posters

  • Word-of-mouth 

  • Email outreach

  • Program newsletters

  • Recruitment presentation or announcement during In-Service meetings

  • Partnerships with community organizations to refer participants 

 Considerations for compensation, incentives, and accommodations:

• Stipends ($50–$300+), given by virtual or physical gift cards

• Food: meeting snacks, meals, beverages 

• Accommodations: transportation support, childcare, language translation support

• Skill-building or professional development opportunity

Overcoming common mistakes

• Recruiting only “easy to reach” participants

• Overpromising outcomes

• Underestimating time commitment

• Being unclear about how/when participants will be compensated

• Not engaging with participants in-between sessions