Communicating charism, telling the mission, and bearing witness to religious life through simple yet meaningful images.
This was the challenge — and the art — at the heart of the course “The Art of Photography: Communicating with Simple and Effective Images”, promoted by the UISG and held on 18 September both in person at the UISG headquarters and online, with the participation of around 400 people from all over the world.

For three intense hours, religious women and collaborators engaged in a training experience that combined photographic technique, ethical reflection, creativity, and witness — using accessible language and offering many practical tools.

“A good photo is not made just with a camera: it is made with the eye, the heart, and the intention to tell a meaningful story.”

With this approach, the speaker, Massimiliano D’Alessandro, guided participants in discovering that even a smartphone can become a powerful tool for institutional and pastoral communication — when used with awareness.

Photography as a narrative of lived experience

Through symbolic images and testimonies, the course showed how photography can become a silent form of evangelisation, capable of reaching hearts and consciences. Every shot poses a question: “What am I really communicating with this image?”
Topics such as composition (rule of thirds, background choice, natural vs artificial light) were interwoven with the importance of telling authentic stories — even from challenging contexts — without ever losing delicacy and respect for the people portrayed.

Ethics, awareness, and artificial intelligence

Challenges were not lacking: from the increasing use of artificial intelligence and digital editing to the critical issue of consent and privacy rights. The discussion touched on sensitive topics such as the truthfulness of images, transparency in sharing them, and the communicator’s responsibility not to distort reality, but to interpret it with integrity.

A connected, listening, and journeying community

The meeting took place in four languages, thanks to simultaneous interpretation provided by UISG — a concrete sign of universal communication that strives to be inclusive and accessible to all.
The participants’ enthusiasm turned the course into a true moment of inspiration and exchange, confirming the importance of being trained in tools and languages that can speak to the world with beauty and truth.

The course is available on the UISG YouTube channel