Rebecca Shapiro: Photo Project on St. Francis Center

As a student in Jim’s course Visual Communication and Social Change as well as a mentor for Venice Arts, I have the opportunity to engage in class discussion about participant photography programs and mentor two thirteen year old girls from Downtown Los Angeles while they shoot their documentary project they are completing as students of Venice Arts. I have come to realize that there is a great deal to discuss about photographic empowerment programs- How does a camera empower youth? Are there any consequences to bring in technology which to a certain extent, is unattainable for these girls, and then introduce them to the concept of “this is what you do have, this is what you don’t have”? And of course, what about issues of exploitation? I feel as though these are all questions that do arise from a third party perspective on these programs.

What I have found over the past three months is that many of the issues that we discuss in class about photographic empowerment programs do not even come up when I am actually shooting with Joanna and Monica, the two thirteen year old girls. In fact, they look at the camera as a fun tool they get to engage with, not a piece of technology that is expensive and unattainable. We also don’t even discuss how the camera makes them feel “empowered.” Most of the time, our discussions do not even focus around photography at all. Because I have been Joanna and Monica’s mentor since October, we have developed a trusting relationship over the past few months. I realized how close we had become when they told me two weeks ago that “everyone gets pregnant around 13, 14, and 15 years old.” I was absolutely leveled when this came out of their mouths, not because I am unaware that teen pregnancy is a huge issue in poverty areas, but rather that this conversation came out of the fact that Joanna, Monica and I had developed a true mentor/mentee relationship through photography. That day became more of a sex-education class than a photo lesson. At that moment, we were all participants and we all felt empowered; and it was unclear as to who mentored who at that moment.

I feel that these types of conversations that come out of participant photography programs truly explain how photography can empower youth. The fact that they get to use nice equipment is great, they get to tell their stories and feel like more active agents of their lives is also fantastic. But, I believe that the greatest outcome that I have seen from working with Joanna and Monica has been witnessing the degree to which these girls become more and more self-aware. At least in my case, the camera works as a great ice-breaker, a tool that they use to begin questioning their world, which is then supported by the trusting relationship we developed over the past six-seven months.