From listening to Sue describing her experiences of sharing the photographs there is a sense that this depends on the practitioners sensitivity and the degree to which they are tuned into the child. Although you may be planning to take photographs of the child’s focus of interest and then share these with them during a session, these plans may change. The key is to take the child’s lead, to provide the opportunity but not make sharing an expectation. Sue describes how she often finds the end of a home visit as a natural time to do this but you do sense from her interview that she is relaxed about the situation.If sharing does take place then being alert to the child’s reaction to the photographs is important as this can add to your understanding of their perspective and interest.This understanding can be useful when supporting the child in other contexts as Sue describes in her example of the boy in the nursery.

Portage Home Visitors, from the services that were interviewed during research into using In-the-Picture, also commented on how sharing the photographs revealed new insights into the subtle ways that the children communicated. The intricacies of the children’s reactions and choices often prompted deeper personal reflection on the child’s perspective and challenged previous assumptions. As one practitioner recalled:

Of course using photographs and videos is established practice within early childhood settings and Portage services. However practitioners have remarked that sharing the photographs within In-the-Picture seems to bring an added dimension:

Some practitioners have recognised that the availability of equipment can impact on the practicalities and effectiveness of sharing photographs. Portability,screen size and ease of use are all factors that come into play particularly when the aim is to share with the child soon after a photograph has been taken. Views also varied amongst the Portage practitioners in the research around whether a child’s interest in the photographs was inevitably connected to issues of ability or development. Whilst assumptions can be made about whether a child needs to be at a certain level such assumptions should not dictate decisions around sharing the photographs with the children. Practitioners who used In-the-Picture often emphasised how easy it was to underestimate the level of the children’s engagement and how responses were often surprising. As one person observed: