Some reflections on my documentary photo project on autism

What I photograph is changed by me and it changes me at the same time.

This is one of the tensions in documentary photography: you are supposed to witness things without changing the way they are. But you cannot be a fly on the wall so you might as well assume the fact that your presence will alter the scene and the way your subjects behave to some degree. However, the photographer’s presence needs to remain sufficiently non-intrusive and discreet.

In some cases, this is best done by staying in the background, almost as if watching the scene from the outside. Some other times, staying silently in the background would betray the flow of the scene. Your subject is looking at you, showing you something, performing for you. You cannot ignore that and pretend you are outside the scene. Then the question is how to engage with the subject in a way that does not distort the scene, making it about you rather than them.

Different approaches for different situations

How did this apply to the Autism Stories project?

When I worked with children, especially those who were non-verbal or with limited verbal communication, I would usually let the scene develop without intervening. Whether the child was ordering toy figures in a straight line, blowing soap bubbles, or taking my hand to lead me to the fridge (“I want a snack”), I just let things be. The discussions were held in most cases with parents or siblings.

With adults it was different. Since most of them had good verbal communication, I was discussing with them a lot before, during and after taking photos. We were choosing together what to photograph and in what way. They would constantly interact with me during the shooting. I could not pretend that I am a discreet presence in the background. The scene demanded that I am part of it and play my part.

Deciding how much involvement and interference one can have in a scene as a photographer is a pretty fascinating subject. Part of what makes it fascinating is that it goes beyond photography. It’s about placing yourself in the world and letting things be. It’s about saying things from your perspective without making it about you.

Filming

One thing I wish I did more of in this project is filming. While I did film from time to time, my focus was on photography. This is why, towards the end of 2025, I asked Julie, Julien, and Pierre, three adults with autism, to answer a few questions. You can see the result below.

Many thanks to the three mentioned above, to Cinzia (GAMP), Alessandra and Ludivine (Eole) and Vincent (Villa Pilifs).