Last Wednesday I had a fascinating chat with one of my newest PhD students who is looking at wheelchair accessibility in informal settlements. We were talking about using photovoice, a research method that asks participants to record their environments with photos which they then use as a way of understanding space and conveying their thoughts and experiences.
Through talking more generally about how photos can help us understand our spaces in a way that is different from direct observation, she shared an interesting anecdote. She and her mom had taken some pics of their cottage so that they could advertise it for rental, but they noticed quite a few things that looked out of place, unsightly, or visually unbalanced. On the basis of this examination, they did a bit of "editing" - rearranging some of the furniture and removing other items. Their second round of photographs gave a far better impression of the cottage - a successful exercise in curating.
This led me to think, how can we use photographs to help us improve our living environments at no or very little cost? Whether we are planning to lease or sell, whether we have invited people round whom we would like to impress, or whether we just feel that our space needs a bit of a lift, often it is difficult to work out why a space doesn't feel quite right by just standing and looking. Photographs do two things - they "frame" views and they give us a fresh insight, much like a first-time visitor.
Often they simply show up an element that does not fit with the aesthetic, looks cheap, or simply is untidy. Apart from the most organised people, we all have at least one colony of papers and items that we specifically have in view, reminding us to file important documents, reply to key correspondence, or do that minor mending.
So this led me to thinking, how can we use this insight about photographs to help us curate our spaces? My first advice is to remove all the obvious items: coffee cups, the tracing paper on the coffee table waiting to copy a dress pattern, the boxes of dolls' house furniture waiting to give to a friend. If possible, locate these to their final destination: take all the used cups and plates to the kitchen; and if you have time, trace off the pattern and put away the paper; and deliver the boxes. If the photos for the rental agent are urgent, or if the guests are coming this evening, you will need to get a bit creative, so that they can be stowed out of sight, but not so far that you cannot find them again. A box under the bed, a garage or store room, or even your car may be options, or you may have to lean on a friend or relative to store some of the things for a day or two.
My personal pile of "to do" items
Now it is time for the first round of photos. I would suggest starting at your entrance door - what is the first view that your visitor has of your home? Is it cluttered, barren and sterile, or just very neutral? We get so used to walking in, hanging up our keys and going straight to the kitchen to drop off the shopping bags that we seldom notice that "first impression".
In my photo, the most obvious thing that would need to be tidied away is the sewing machine, but what I have not noticed is that the arm chair in the distance on the right that my cats love, is unintentionally a focal point. A slight re-positioning of the chair, or a stronger focal point in the foreground would help to improve this - the small mask between the two doorways is not quite big enough to attract attention.
The un-edited view from my front door
Then move through the rooms that need curating (if you are having guests for dinner, a general tidy of the bedroom is enough, just in case a visitor opens this door by mistake). I find it useful to take photos of each corner of a room - I know that I tend to design and organise my spaces wall-by-wall, and often overlook the 3/4 view. I find that landscape orientation of the photo captures the visitor's impression better than a vertical picture for most spaces.
Vertical (or portrait orientation) photographs tend to edit out too much information, but can supplement the horizontal ones to focus in on specific areas.
The 3/4 view captures the feel of the space
The horizontal photo shows two things that I have never noticed - the bucket chairs seem very close to the coffee table, leaving a wide empty space behind them, and the picture with the beige mount is maybe a bit too high on the wall, and could be lowered to the height of the large picture on the left wall.
The vertical photo from the same angle
Sometimes the editing can be very subtle and even enhance usability - I have quite a cheap-looking plastic water filter in my kitchen that is visually quite jarring as all the other items on my countertops are either natural wood or brushed steel.
My simple solution is to keep it in the refrigerator - maybe a little more costly in terms of electricity but with the advantage of cool water, especially in summer. I may need to re-think this solution for winter, though! 
The offending plastic water filter
The "after" photo is also useful. as the space now looks a bit too minimalist - I am thinking a small pot of herbs would add a finishing touch. This process of photographing, analysing, editing or curating, and re-photographing may need a couple of iterations until you feel you have the optimal arrangement. 
Without the water filter the space now looks a bit stark
Even if you are doing this for a single event, such as a dinner, it is a good idea to try to keep the arrangement for a couple of days after, to see if this makes your space more appealing to yourslef and anyone else who lives with you. Some of the things may need to emerge from hiding, such as your stack of important and urgent papers - the car license that needs renewal and the like - but maybe a decorative box or tray would help to keep these tidy and less unsightly. Once you have done this process of editing and curating, print out the final photos so that you have a visual record in case you ever need to do the process again in a hurry.
The final edit with those small adjustments
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