Editor’s note: If you or a loved are living depression the following post could be potentially triggering. You can contact the Crisis Text Line by texting “HOME” to 741741 or call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
A new project from award-winning photographer Walter Smith takes an honest look at people living with mental illness
Walter Smith has always been drawn to people. The award-winning documentary photographer, whose professional career spans three decades, is especially known for his revealing portraits, which probe the inner lives of his subjects. Now, in partnership with Health Stories Project, he’s turning his lens to people who live with mental illness.
“I’ve wanted to do a project like this for years,” says Smith, who spent time early in his career shooting photos of patients at New Jersey’s Malboro Psychiatric Hospital. “I want to take the stigma [of mental illness] away.”
Even as he was sidetracked by other work and early fatherhood, he couldn’t shake his desire to create a series that documents people living with mental illness without judgment. “I wasn’t able to get it going like I wanted,” he says. “But now is finally the right time.”
A call for volunteers
Smith connected with the team here at Health Stories Project and we sent a call out to our community asking for volunteers who were interested in participating in his project. The initial response was overwhelmingly positive and he has already connected with a number of Health Stories Project members across the country.
To tell their stories, Smith relies on both intuition and insight from the volunteers.
“I’m trying not to be rigid,” says the documentarian. “I want to cover a lot of things and do it in a way that has my voice and lets these people speak honestly.”
Putting a plan into motion
As a complement to traditional still photographs, Smith will also create video which offers viewers an even deeper look at the lives of people who live with various types of mental illness, from depression to schizophrenia. “The videos will be about a minute long, which is the perfect amount of time to get the point across while keeping viewers engaged.”
Mental illness can be a tough subject to discuss. To make people as comfortable as possible, Smith keeps it simple. “It’s definitely a one-man production and I want to keep it that way,” he says. “I want [the volunteers] to be as natural as possible.”
Portrait photographers need much more than technical skills to truly connect with people. “I think I inherited a gift of gab that allows me to talk to anybody about anything,” says Smith. “My extended family has mental illness and addiction problems so there’s really nothing I can’t speak about.”
An honest process
When he first reaches out to volunteers on the phone or through Skype, Smith emphasizes the importance of openness on both sides of the camera. “I try to be honest. And I tell them to be themselves, to be honest, and to trust me.”
Smith often meets with volunteers at their homes and sometimes finds himself surprised at how willingly they welcome him into their lives. “I show up with equipment and ask for so much,” he says. “In exchange, I want to portray people in an honest light without focusing on the negative.”
Smith believes many portrayals of people with mental illness play up the “crazy” angle. “I don’t want there to be a shock factor,” he explains. “These are real people.”
Though Smith doesn’t have a formal background in psychology, his wife is a longtime therapist, which gives him a unique perspective as a photographer. “It’s given me a working knowledge of things.”
Smith marvels at how frank some of volunteers have been about their condition and how it has impacted them and the people in their lives.
“Their honesty has brought out an honesty in me that helps our conversation go deeper,” he says. “I get something out of it too.”
The dream
Smith’s ultimate goal is to humanize those living with mental illness. “I want people to connect with [the images]. That’s a sibling, a parent, a family friend. If someone hears and sees that it’s an average person with an issue, maybe they’ll connect the dots a bit.”
He eventually hopes to expand the project considerably, creating a website that will give a broad and unflinching view of Americans with mental illness. “I’ve been a documentary photographer since I was a kid,” he says. “There’s nothing quite like meeting someone when you have a camera in your hand.”
I am interested. Bipolar type 1 and OCD. Also trichotillomania of the eyebrows only. ( I’m likely spelling that wrong ).
Thank you for your interest! Please complete this survey to apply: https://surveys.healthstoriesproject.com/s3/ce2ba4205e5c
I have suffered from depression,anxiety and OCD to name a few, for more years than I can count. It is severe. I live in a secluded area and good help is impossible so I struggle. I have lost so many years and memories. Too many blank spots. I have lost almost all friends and family. I am not sure where this is going…I don’t know…
Lynda- I encourage you to look up mental health providers in your area through either insurance or your local health services department. If those are a bust, look into online counseling, those are pretty popular now and some have sliding scale payment options. If all that fails, look on Facebook or online for a support group. You need some sort of system to talk to, at the very least. It’s never good to feel alone. Once you start to feel more included, you’ll feel it becoming easier to get out and about.
I’m the girl in the above photographs. I’m a huge advocate for getting treatment for mental health issues, so I applaud you for reaching out. Please keep me posted on how things go. Good luck.
I’ve dealt with major depression and anxiety since I was an early teen and things are not getting better. Finding help is impossible. I’ve tried looking for help with my employer, online and at various clinics, all to no avail. I don’t have any friends and my family wants nothing to do with me. Wearing a mask and pretending that everything is fine is draining. What is the person helps everyone else supposed to do when they need help themselves, but no one is there?
Depression and mania plus bipolar (officially) all of my life. I could barely remember things in college. I’m better with managed medication. I had horrible psychotic postpartum depression.
I have Conversion Disorder, Depression, Anxiety. This is on top of other invisible illnesses of Asthma, Eczema, Hypothyroidism, and Sleep Apnea. Each day is a work in progress….still trying to get to the top of the hill.
My son is actually the one that has mental illness. He started at the early age of 4 and was diagnosed as ADHD. He was put on meds, which worked great. It kept him focused in school. He wasn’t able to learn to count or his ABCs before meds. I made sure to take him to all appts, med checks, and counseling. When he got older, in his teens. He was diagnosed as bipolar with extreme mood disorder. He swore meds made no difference in his behavior. It did. He graduated high school and turned 18 the next day. Never again was I able to get him to go to the doctor again. He has been untreated for 6 years. Last week I went through what I dreaded would come eventually. He was arrested, totalled his girlfriend’s car (which he stole), assaulted his girlfriend, and completely lost his mind. For the first time in his life I was afraid of him. I found out he took all kinds of drugs (alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, LSD, and some pills called Mexican Blanks which I think are like Xanax). My son was not my son. Everywhere I looked for help was a dead end. Don’t know how but he agreed to go to rehab. He is court mandated now to receive mental help. He sounds better today. And hopefully he can recover ane lead a better life.
Suffering from bipolar 1, generalized anxiety, ADHD, restless leg syndrome