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Meaningful Photos

A creative way to build happiness and meaning in life.

(31 ratings)
Duration: 15 mins Frequency: 1x/day Difficulty: Moderate
Meaningful Photos
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Time Required

15 minutes per day for one week to take the photos. One hour to do the writing exercise. While it is not necessary to take a photograph every day, assume that the photography will take you a total of 90 minutes over the course of a week, with an additional hour for the writing.

How to Do It

  1. Over the next week, take photographs of things that make your life feel meaningful or full of purpose. These can be people, places, objects, pets. If you are not able to take photos of these things—like if they’re not nearby—you can take photos of souvenirs, reminders, websites, or even other photos. Try to take at least nine photographs.
  2. At the end of the week: If you used a digital camera, upload your photos to a computer. If you used a non-digital camera, have your photos developed.
  3. Then, once you have collected all of your photos and items, take time to look at and reflect on each one. For each photo or item, write down a response to the following question: “What does this photo represent, and why is it meaningful?"

Why You Should Try It

Research suggests that finding greater meaning in life helps people cope with stress and improves their overall health and well-being—it’s what makes life feel worth living. But finding meaning in life can sometimes feel like an elusive task. In our day-to-day lives, it can be easy to lose sight of the big picture—we tend to focus more on the mundane than the deeply meaningful.

Yet research suggests that there are potential sources of meaning all around us, from the moments of connection we share with others, to the beauty of nature, to the work that we do and the things we create. This exercise helps you bring these meaningful things into focus—literally. By having you photograph, then write about, things that are meaningful to you, it encourages you to pay closer attention to the varied sources of meaning in your life, large and small, and reflect on why they are important to you.

Why It Works

Taking time to recognize and appreciate sources of meaning through photography can help make them more tangible and serve as a reminder of what matters most to you. This greater sense of meaning can, in turn, inspire us to pursue important personal goals and give us a sense of strength and purpose when coping with stressful life events. The use of photography might also benefit people who are more visual than verbal—something for therapists, parents, or teachers to keep in mind as they approach conversations about meaning, purpose, and values in life

Evidence That It Works

Steger, M. F, Shim, Y., Barenz, J., & Shin, J. Y. (2013). Through the windows of the soul: A pilot study using photography to enhance meaning in life. Journal of Contextual Behavioral Science, 3, 27-30.

American college students (mostly white and female) were instructed to take 9-12 photographs of things that they felt made their life meaningful; one week later, they viewed and wrote about each photograph. Based on questionnaires, they reported feeling like they had more meaning in their lives, greater life satisfaction, and more positive emotion afterward than they had beforehand.

Who has tried the practice?

South African adults who did this exercise by posting on Instagram each day for one week immediately showed improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms. They also reported stronger appreciation for others, meaning, and satisfaction with life three months after.

More research is needed to explore whether, and how, the impact of this practice extends to other groups and cultures.

Keep in Mind

One way to adapt this practice is to focus on a specific topic: a particular part of your identity, healing, or life story. For example, you could take photos that provide a glimpse into your everyday routine, support systems, or transformation after trauma. 

Moreover, sharing and discussing your photo journals with others may offer additional benefits. Research found that various groups—including caregivers at a pediatric palliative care center in New York, American psychiatric patients, American women with HIV, survivors of sexual assault, Singaporean patients with psychosis, and Filipino survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence—increased in feelings of empowerment, social connection, and well-being when they focused on specific traumas in their Meaningful Photos and shared their work in group settings.

Sources

Michael Steger, Ph.D., Colorado State University

References

Levy, K., Grant, P. C., Depner, R. M., Tenzek, K. E., Beaupin, L. K., Pailler, M. E., & Brewer-Spritzer, E. (2020). The photographs of meaning program for pediatric palliative caregivers and its impact on meaning, well-being, and perceived social support. Palliative Medicine Reports, 1(1), 84-91.

Lennon-Dearing, R., & Hirschi, M. (2019). A photovoice empowerment intervention for women living with HIV. Journal of HIV/AIDS & Social Services, 18(4), 347-366.

Maniam, Y., Kumaran, P., Lee, Y. P., Koh, J., & Subramaniam, M. (2016). The journey of young people in an early psychosis program involved in participatory photography. The British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 79(6), 368-375.

Rolbiecki, A., Anderson, K., Teti, M., & Albright, D. L. (2016). “Waiting for the cold to end”: Using photovoice as a narrative intervention for survivors of sexual assault. Traumatology, 22(4), 242-248.

Russinova, Z., Rogers, E. S., Gagne, C., Bloch, P., Drake, K. M., & Mueser, K. T. (2014). A randomized controlled trial of a peer-run antistigma photovoice intervention. Psychiatric Services, 65(2), 242-246.

Tsai, L. C. (2022). Photovoice as a psychosocial intervention for survivors of human trafficking and gender-based violence. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 33(7), 991-1005.

van Zyl, L. E., Zondervan-Zwijnenburg, M., Dickens, L. R., & Hulshof, I. L. (2020). Exploring meaning in life through a brief photo-ethnographic intervention using Instagram: A Bayesian growth modelling approach. International Review of Psychiatry, 32(7-8), 723-745.

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Toolkit box, practice cards and glasses sit on a marble surface

The Greater Good Toolkit

Made in collaboration with Holstee, this tookit includes 30 science-based practices for a meaningful life.
Toolkit box, practice cards and glasses sit on a marble surface

The Greater Good Toolkit

Made in collaboration with Holstee, this tookit includes 30 science-based practices for a meaningful life.

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