In a work session with Photolangage, every member of the group must choose one or several photos and share a part of themselves with the group. The organisation of this work is done through strict instructions and precise questions, which are specific to each session.
Instructions mean the clearly stated indications given by the group-leader about the way the work is to be done, the organisation of the sharing in the group, its duration, and the place of the photos in this sharing. Instructions can also describe the objectives, the orientation of the work, the limits of the sharing, the specificity of the method. Suggestions are included later in this chapter : cf « How to proceed : step by step. »
The question leads to the choice of the photos. It links the theme to the choice of photos. It can be affirmative or interrogative. For example : « Choose one, two or three photos which will allow you to better express what is more important for you, what you, at present, give preference to in your work of group-leader . »This sentence is in fact a question which can be formulated as follows : « What is the aspect of your work which you give preference to, which is more important to you at present ? Tell it through one, two or three photos. » The question will be elaborated in relation to each group, the number of participants, the time, the place, the objectives and the content of the course.
The formulation of the question is a key-process in Photolangage. Through this question, the group-leader will define his objectives and enter the visual world. How must a question be formulated to appeal to the personal opinions of each person, to his experience, and not only to what he knows, a question which, at the same time, instigates interaction with the photos ? Different types of questions exist which will orientate the group work in different directions.
Questions create more or less extended limits to the work. One question can allow several directions, several levels, and several types of sharing. This is possible because Photolangage allows space for links to be created between different levels, or different worlds or different possibilities. For example : « Choose one, two or three photos allowing you : to introduce yourself in this group, to talk about a close or distant life-event, and/or to develop an aspect of your work in which you are particularly interested. » Here, instructions given must be very precise : it must be clearly stated if the members of the group have to work on all the proposals or only on one of them, if they must choose one photo per answer or several, etc.
Some questions allow time-perspective and personal experience and history to intervene. Here, the possibility to situate oneself in relation to time, past, present, future, must be given . For example : « Choose the photo which allows you to better tell us about how you imagine your professional situation in ten years time. »
Some questions contain two parts, thus describing initially the ambivalence present in any situation ; this avoids the usual splitting of situations. For example : « Choose one or two photos to say what attracts you more, and what you fear more, when you follow a new course. »
There are evaluation/summing-up questions. The group-leader proposes to evaluate the course. Each member of the group is invited to express his point of view by associating it to a photo. For example : « Choose one or two photos to tell this group what you have particularly appreciated in this training-course. »
Through the proposed question, the degree of personal implication of the members of the group can be defined. Some questions are more demanding than others. According to the special context of each group, the group-leader must decide if his question will invite the participants to situate themselves from inside or from outside. A demanding question at the beginning of the session can cause some of the members to retire, or it can accelerate the process of sharing in the group.
The first test of a good question is that the group-leader should want to answer it and be able to do so. There are questions which do not allow the choice of one or several photos. For example : « What is, according to you, the right economic system ? » Other questions cannot be answered in only a few minutes. Example : « What is your conception of work ? » On the other hand, a question like : « Choose one or more photos to express what is central to you in your work at present. » allows at the same time personal questioning and choice.
Another characteristic of a good question is that it contains elements which willl be used further in the session. To use photos simply to « make people talk » about their interests and establish good contacts without informing the participants of the aim of the session, would indicate complete ignorance of group dynamics, and incompetence as a group-leader. The latter will not be considered seriously later on in the session when he will try to work thoroughly and seriously. Such conditions will also, very easily, generate discussions which would be closer to chat than to anything else.
In this work with photos, the question becomes an important element in the framework of the group. It is a reference which prevents the overflowing which can always occur in a situation where projective behaviour is possible. If the work to do is clearly defined and limited by the question, the group-leader can always refer to it to bring back the attention of the group.
If it is the first experience of the group with Photolangage, the group-leader must, in his own interest, formulate very clearly the instructions regarding the work to be done. He must make sure that the participants in the workshop do not link this work with a projective test, that they understand the specificity of this type of work, and that they approve of it. To succeed, the group-leader must be very clear in his proposals ; he must explicitely present :
- the question ;
- the aim of the session ;
- the time scheduled for each step ;
- the number of photos to be chosen ;
- the method of sharing ;
- the fact that there is no normative photos or interpretations in relation to the question ;
- his own role, which is to facilitate sharing, and not to interprete choices and words of the participants.
We really insist on the necessity to formulate very clearly what is to be done. Sometimes, members of the group who have already participated in sessions without any real framework, have kept the impression of being manipulated and invited to speak only for the pleasure and self-satisfaction of the group-leader. The aim is not to choose a photo and just to say why you did so, to talk for the sake of talking. If they trust blindly such a group-leader, some members of a group may be misled during their first experience. If this is the case, they will probably refuse if they are offered another opportunity to work with Photolangage. They are right. In this context, the work within the group being so important, we can easily imagine the damage and mess which can be created by non-thematic instructions, with no stated objective.
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