A room of your own: photographs of situations of well-being taken by patients suffering from a stress-related illness

The study presented in this article is part of the project 'Finding Viability in Daily Life'. In the project, participant-produced photographs of situations of well-being were used in interviews. A knowledge gap was identified: media-specific aspects of photographic material used in related research were not considered. In this study, photographs taken by twelve women aged 27-54 with a stress-related illness were examined. The research questions was: How are situations of well-being visually represented in photographs produced by the participants in the project, and how are these situations described in words by the participants? The results show that a typical photograph had a balanced composition, depicted a closed space with isolated object/s situated close to the beholder, and was taken from above. Indoor settings were more dominant than outdoor ones. The outdoor settings showed an open space and horizontal depictions more often than the indoor ones. A typical photograph depicted an activity or objects related to activities. By portraying calm and manageable spaces, the photographs visually suggested that qualities like balance and control are important aspects of experiencing well-being. These qualities of spaces for experiencing well-being were confirmed in interviews with the participants and by previous studies in the project.