Reciprocal portrait

The participant contributes access to an existing world. The interviewer and photographer return an authored account of their encounter with that world. Possible returns include environmental portraits, object studies, prints, a private record of an attachment, a reviewed public description.

The reciprocity also concerns interpretation. The participant selects a possession with a particular relation to their life. The institution selects an image and description of the encounter. Another person can later interpret either contribution. Staff therefore preserve the circumstances of authorship and the participant's opportunity for review.

A person may retain a print while the camera enters custody. They can later receive news of a portrait made with the camera, then consider whether the new print should join the record. This sequence connects returns, object history, new contributions. Organizers need to specify the promised return, production effort, review process, delivery rather than relying on future correspondence as an uncertain benefit.