On October 7 2022, Social Anthropology study program held a softskill development training “Photography as an Ethnographic Research Tool” which was attended by students at semester 3 and 5 in a hybrid, together with the photography exhibition Jrakah’s Culture and Heritage held by ARE. The main speakers presenting this workshop were Ben K. C. Laksana (Cand. PhD.) and Rara Sekar Larasati, M.A. from the Arkademy Project. The event began with remarks from the head of the Social Anthropology study program, Dr. Suyanto, M.Sc., and continued with remarks from the Dean of the Faculty of Cultural Sciences, Dr. Nurhayati, M. Hum.

The background for this softskill development training is that it is known that ethnography has been recognized as a research method that can support research in the field of social sciences, especially in anthropology. With an in-depth approach through participatory observation, in-depth interviews and lived in with researchers, ethnography becomes a way of collecting data that favors individuals and their cultural aspects. Over time, technological findings continue to develop which can also be used for the advancement of science, one of which is the presence of a camera. The presence of the camera then becomes a supporting tool for social scientists and ethnographers to confirm their findings, not only in the form of a narrative, but also along with small pieces of evidence that represent the big reality at the research location.

Therefore, the facts above are the main reasons why photography soft skill development training has a high urgency to be held and presented to anthropology students. Students can explore alternative data collection and get other views from ethnophotography practitioners. It is hoped that the wealth of insights offered from this softskill development training will be able to provide provisions for students, especially those who will be taking their final project. Thus, it is hoped that the quality of the graduates of S1 Anthropology FIB Diponegoro University will increase in line with the role of the faculty and study programs that facilitate skills development programs for students.

Ben K. C. Laksana, as the guest speaker who opened the workshop program, emphasized more on the technical factors of selecting images and ethics when taking photos in the field. This is important because often when in the field, the focus of researchers is divided into many things, mainly in gathering data through interviews and observations. By preparing from the start, it will affect time efficiency in the field. Apart from that, ethical matters are also very important to be applied by taking into account the consent factor/willingness of the parties who become informants. The consent aspect often escapes the attention of researchers, even though it is closely related to the protection of the identity of the individual we are studying.

Then the session was continued by Rara Sekar Larasati, she opened the presentation session by explaining two approaches in anthropological research using the camera medium, namely visual ethnography and photo elicitation. Using case studies from his previous research on the Javanese Sanyata belief group in East Java, he also presented several examples of the results of photo elicitation practices with a focus on the research theme of the meaning of success for young people who adhere to the Javanese Sanyata belief. The presentation session from the two speakers was then closed by an explanation about the Arkademy Project and a question and answer session which took place in an interesting manner because of the high enthusiasm of the students who were interested in utilizing the photo medium in ethnographic research that is being and will be carried out.