What We Do examines the structure and significance of daily life in the UK through routines, rituals and shared experiences. This photography series draws on sociological and anthropological perspectives, exploring how everyday practices contribute to personal identity and collective belonging (Goffman, 1959; Bourdieu, 1984). By documenting everyday moments across work, leisure and social gatherings, the images show how daily activities reflect cultural and social norms.
Routine behaviours, often taken for granted, serve as mechanisms for social continuity and identity formation (Berger & Luckmann, 1966). These images document not only the actions of individuals but also the social norms that shape them. Moments from work routines to social gatherings illustrate how individual actions and social structures interact in everyday life (Giddens, 1984). By highlighting these elements, What We Do offers a visual study of everyday life in the UK, showing how routine actions help maintain social roles, expectations and cultural values.
This series invites viewers to critically engage with how daily activities contribute to meaning-making in contemporary society. It aligns with research in visual sociology and documentary photography, which highlight the role of imagery in capturing the complexities of human behaviour and social organisation (Becker, 2007; Pink, 2013). Through this lens, What We Do serves as a record and an analysis of the mundane, offering insight into how routine actions shape individual lives and the broader social landscape.
Share this project with others to celebrate the everyday stories that define life in the UK.
Don’t forget to check out my other projects, Where We Live and Who We Are, for additional insights into these themes.
References
- Becker, H. S. (2007). Telling about society. University of Chicago Press.
- Berger, P. L., & Luckmann, T. (1966). The social construction of reality: A treatise in the sociology of knowledge. Anchor Books.
- Bourdieu, P. (1984). Distinction: A social critique of the judgement of taste. Harvard University Press.
- Giddens, A. (1984). The constitution of society: Outline of the theory of structuration. University of California Press.
- Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. Doubleday.
- Pink, S. (2013). Doing visual ethnography. SAGE Publications.