What does security look like? Exploring interpretive photography as method

Abstract IR’s visual turn has emphasised analysis over method, centring images of war and crisis. Meanwhile security studies centres great power politics moments rupture. Together, they reinforce a dominant image as spectacular. This article unites two ethnographic projects focused on everyday security: one examining landscapes in China, health at the UK border. Both found gap between what we saw, explored this through photography. Building turns, introduces interpretive photography method to make contributions. The first is methodological: it distinct critical qualitative that operates five modes: enabling seeing-capturing-making-sharing artefacts, also disrupts visions contributes construction international relations. second contribution empirical: deeper, richer account looks like. While discipline associates with emergency or state exception, Nyman’s photographs show exception-made-everyday, while Ferhani’s photos reject exception by showing banal routines. In way, engages visuality security, can change how see security.