Framing the Mind — 3 Ways to Use Photography for Mental Health
- Vanessa Simmons
- May 1
- 6 min read
Discover how artists have used photography for mental health and improved wellbeing
The Inner Lens That Reflects the Soul
You don’t need a fancy DSLR or studio lighting to explore your mental health—you just need your eyes open and your phone camera in hand. In a world that demands so much from mothers and businesswomen, sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is pause and see yourself again.
For me photography isn’t just about capturing others. It’s become a sacred form of self-documentation, of bearing witness to my own journey as a mother in business. Because I transitioned from photography school into a professional photographer during my pregnancy with our youngest son, I was overworking during postpartum as I was pouring all of my leisure time into building the Normalize Breastfeeding movement.
When I hit rock bottom, I was struggling to even create content which was always very easy for me. In the quiet moments between business meetings and bedtime stories, I found solace in the simple act of capturing my world through my phone’s lens. It became more than photography and business—it became therapy.
Just like with every other rock bottom experience in my life, I started searching the scriptures for comfort. Even though I don't speak about my faith often in the business space, I was very open and even bold about it in my youth. It has been the only place that I can run to (in my mind) no matter what I am going through. It has become a fortress and a safe house where I can pour out my emotions, and even feel a warm, gentle, and even comforting shoulder to lay my head on when no one else understands the pain I am feeling within.
Like David in the Psalms who cried out, “Search me, O Elohim, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts” (Psalm 139:23), photography became a way for me to allow YAH ( יהוה - Elohim - Almighty God) to search me and show me what was going on within me. It was my internal lens that shifted the focus of my work over time from families feeding their babies, to the advocates struggling to support families because they were always overworking and overwhelmed with work, life and branding. They were struggling (just like I did) to communicate the voice of their personal brand behind their supportive nature in a bold, confident, and authentic way. They were feeling the pressure of what life and business would look like. If they just flipped their camera around they could show the world their amazing love and admiration for new parents and babies. They were having trouble being born themselves, emerging into the strong and powerful public figures created to empower the next generation of mothers to birth and breastfeed the way their ancestors once did.
In this moment, instead of wiping away my tears to "finish my work," I decided to document what was happening so that I could reflect on it later. It's such a relatable moment for moms, but moms in business who are trying to figure out how to build their brand in a sustainable way while raising children is a totally different story. I decided to take some time away from touring and drive Lyft. I committed to doing something locally that would bring in consistent income and help me meet new people and market my business.
I have continued to use these documentary-style selfies to process the emotions that I didn't want to carry beyond the moment of feeling them.
And though expressing them in documentative fashion, I never had any intention of sharing them until I did some research and found these artists below who also used their cameras in a similar way.
More Artists Who Found Healing Behind the Lens:
Nan Goldin
Struggled with addiction, trauma, loss of her sister to suicide.
Her work (The Ballad of Sexual Dependency) is a raw, visual diary that explores intimacy, grief, addiction, and survival. It’s not sanitized—it’s real.
She used photography to bear witness to her healing, not hide from it.
Healing starts when we are honest enough to see ourselves—even in the dark.
Teju Cole
Struggled with depression and existential questions.
A photographer, novelist, and critic
Cole uses street photography and thoughtful captions as a way to ground his mind and process emotion.
Everyday images hold eternal truths. Stillness invites Spirit. Photography is a discipline of presence.
Deana Lawson
Struggled with navigating self-worth and identity as a Black woman.
Her work uses carefully staged yet spiritually resonant portraits of Black families and interiors, drawing on the aesthetics of Black holiness, legacy, and intimacy.
She explores the sacredness of Black life as an act of healing and remembrance.
Every photo is a temple. Our homes, bodies, and stories are holy ground.
Francesca Woodman
Struggled with severe depression (tragically died young by suicide).
Her self-portraits were deeply emotional, surreal, and explored invisibility, womanhood, and mental fragmentation.
While her life ended tragically, her photography is often studied as a desperate and beautiful act of trying to be seen and known.
Photography gives language to pain when words fall short.
But in God’s light, we are never invisible.
Photo: Copyright Francesca Woodman
Shirin Neshat
Struggled with displacement and cultural exile.
This Iranian visual artist uses photography and film to express the emotional toll of identity, womanhood, and silence in exile.
Her portraits often merge calligraphy, sacred text, and visual storytelling, which spiritually echoes your audience’s hunger for divine truth and legacy.
When you feel far from your purpose, use your lens to draw near again. The Spirit speaks through image and word.
Photo: Copyright Shirin Neshat
And of course my FAVORITE...
Ming Smith
Struggled with professional rejection and emotional isolation as one of the first Black women to be accepted by MoMA.
Her work captures the everyday divinity of Black life, often blurred, dreamlike, and spiritual in tone.
Her photography became her testimony and survival song.
Even when the world tries to erase you, keep documenting. Your legacy is already divine.
3 Ways to Use Your Phone Camera for Mental Wellness
Mood Mirroring
Capture a daily photo that reflects your emotional state, allowing for self-awareness and reflection.
Gratitude Glimpses
Document moments of gratitude, no matter how small, to cultivate a positive mindset.
Silent Sabbath Review
Set aside time weekly to review your photos, reflecting on your emotional journey and growth.
Let There Be Light
Photography reminds me of Genesis 1:3 — “And Elohim said, ‘Let there be light,’ and there was light.” Let that light within you shine and use your camera as the tool that captures the sacred spaces within you waiting to be seen, held, and healed.
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