Photography as a Tool for Sociological Analysis of Visual Practices of Self-presentation

The goal of this research is to analyze some possible meanings of visual practices of self-presentation which are jointly constructed by a person who is photographed and a professional photographer. The study compares the current and the Soviet practices of self-presentation. The sources of information are staged photos which are presented in popular magazines and authorial collections. Thus, photography is viewed as a means of sociological cognition. The author attempts to follow the participatory (collaborative) strategy of interpretation of the visual data. The research work is based on the methodology of qualitative sociological research and a visual approach in sociology.