This presentation first recounts the early applications of the camera as a research tool and of photographs as a societal source of data, to further address the gradual adoption and institutionalization of these practices in the social and behavioral sciences. It then moves to a systematic coverage of different photography-based methods ranging from analyzing existing or ‘found’ visual data of a variety of sources, the production of visual materials by the researcher, to approaches that try to more actively involve the field under study through using visual materials in interview situations, or to prompt the subjects of research to become producers of their own visual data and views, and finally to the emerging opportunities to ‘communicate’ insight in novel ways. The last part examines some current challenges and opportunities of photography based research practices in terms of ethics, technologies and disciplinary expectations.