Documentary Practice · Lisbon & International
Narrative Documentation · Portrait Photography · Symbolic Reflection
Trauma-informed interviews, written life narratives, raw portrait photography — combined into personal archives, legacy documents, and witness records. For individuals, migrants, survivors, elders, and those who have never been fully witnessed.
Teaching English through lived experience and narrative vocabulary. Workshops like 'Telling Your Life Story in English.' Accessible globally. You are not just learning English — you are finding voice.
Archetypal and interpretive systems — numerology, astrology, tarot, runes, sacred geometry — offered as reflective tools for meaning-making. Non-predictive. Non-clinical. Consent-based.
"Where human lives are witnessed, not altered."
Witness, advocacy, seeing and being seen
Photography as ethical documentation
Metaphysical and holistic services
Wholeness, the holistic container
Who This Work Serves
For those who value honesty over polish, depth over performance, and reflection over answers. Many clients come during periods of transition, migration, grief, identity change, or creative searching. You do not need to be 'ready' or have a clear goal — only a willingness to speak and be present.
About
The Human Record operates as an independent documentary practice focused on ethical observation, visual preservation, and narrative continuity. This organization does not provide therapy, counseling, medical care, or psychological services.
All work is artistic, archival, and voluntary in nature. The Human Record maintains professional archives for the purposes of remembrance, artistic growth, and historical continuity. Our practices are designed to protect participant autonomy, privacy, and civil rights across jurisdictions, including the United States and Portugal.
To create ethical documentary records that honor the complexity of human lives without extraction, coercion, or distortion — committed to consent-centered practices, privacy by default, and responsible archival stewardship.
Founder & Lead Practitioner
My work sits at the intersection of storytelling, portraiture, cultural documentation, and symbolic reflection. I work with people who have lived complex lives — migrants, creatives, survivors, elders, and those who have never felt fully witnessed.
I approach each person with care, neutrality, and respect for boundaries, focusing on listening rather than fixing. I am not a clinician or religious guide; I work as a documentarian and facilitator of meaning-making, helping individuals shape their experiences into words and images that feel true to them.
I am a human first. I value faith, honesty, responsibility, and care. I believe presence is sacred and documentation is a responsibility, not a right.
Services
Offer 01 · In Person
A 2–3 hour in-person session combining trauma-informed narrative interview with raw, minimally edited portrait photography. The final record — both written and visual — belongs to you and may remain entirely private.
€180 – €300
Offer 02 · Virtual
A 90-minute recorded virtual conversation with trauma-aware pacing. Delivered as a written life narrative, testimony, or personal document. Optional anonymization available.
€90 – €150
Offer 03 · Virtual or In Person
60–90 minutes exploring 1–3 symbolic systems of your choosing — numerology, astrology, tarot, runes, and more — framed as meaning-making reflection, not prediction. Includes a written synthesis afterward.
€70 – €120
Offer 04 · Virtual
Conversational English sessions centered on personal storytelling rather than formal instruction. Identity-based vocabulary, gentle correction, and narrative flow. Ideal for migrants, creatives, and adults worldwide.
€25 – €40 / session
A limited number of sliding-scale spots are available each month to support accessibility without compromising care.
Portrait sessions capture the client as they are — without cosmetic alteration or performance-based posing. Images reflect a documentary aesthetic influenced by vintage and analog processes such as 16mm and 35mm film, with earthy, muted, pastel tones that emphasize presence, imperfection, depth, and 'ugly-beautiful' truth over refinement.
Clients may also submit existing images for documentary-style editing. Submitted images must contain no filters, no Photoshop or FaceTune, no AI alteration, and no cosmetic manipulation. All edits remain stylistic and reflective only.
Ethics & Boundaries
This practice does not provide therapy, diagnosis, medical treatment, or psychological services. All work is artistic, archival, and voluntary.
Symbolic systems are reflective tools only. No claims are made regarding outcomes, causation, or diagnosis of any kind.
Participants may pause, redirect, or withdraw consent at any time — during any session, for any reason, without penalty.
All images and records are private by default. No public use occurs without separate, explicit, written authorization — never on the same day as the session.
Clients retain full control over their narratives, images, and how — or whether — they are ever shared.
No coercion toward disclosure, emotional depth, or transformation language. Pacing is slow and consent is checked repeatedly, especially during sensitive topics.
Referrals to licensed professionals are actively encouraged when deeper clinical, medical, or legal support is needed.
Consent forms are stored separately from narrative documents. Relevant consent is read aloud at session start. Forms are never combined across service types.
This practice never implies healing, treatment, diagnosis, or prediction. It does not interpret trauma as caused by charts or symbols. It does not pressure disclosure or emotional depth. It does not publish stories or images without explicit consent. It does not blur spiritual reflection with authority or truth claims. It does not give clinical advice of any kind.
Consent & Authorization
Consent forms are stored separately from narrative documents. Publication consent is never collected on the same day as a session. All forms include date and time. Digital backups are maintained in two locations.
Form 1 — General Consent for Narrative Documentation Services
Acknowledges non-therapeutic nature · Voluntary participation
Form 2 — Interview Mode Authorization
Narrative interview and interpretation · Translation consent
Form 3 — Silent Witness Mode Authorization
Full presence with delayed documentation · Interpretive synthesis
Form 4 — Language Translation Authorization
Narrative translation into English · Meaning-based (not verbatim)
Form 5 — Symbolic Reflection Consent
Tarot, oracle, runes, astrology, numerology, human design, and more
Form 6 — Reflective Pendulum Use Acknowledgment
Yes/no reflective inquiries only · Non-directive
Form 7 — Documentary Portrait Photography Consent
Private by default · Minimal editing · Legal name opt-in/out
Form 7A — Photography Authorization Agreement (Legal Format)
Copyright · Delivery terms · Personal use license
Form 7B — Informed Consent & Acknowledgment (Legal Format)
Scope, limitations, privacy, digital delivery
Form 8 — Data Storage & Confidentiality Acknowledgment
Secure storage · Privacy measures · Informed acceptance
Form 9 — Publication Authorization
⚠ Never collected on session day · Minimum 30-day delay required
Forms are shared via secure electronic delivery before each session. To inquire about booking or to request forms in advance, get in touch directly.
Request FormsLegal Disclosures
The Human Record does not provide therapy, counseling, diagnosis, medical treatment, or psychological services. Participation in any service does not constitute healthcare, mental health care, or treatment of any kind. All work is artistic, documentary, archival, and voluntary in nature.
Services are limited to: narrative documentation, documentary photography, symbolic reflection (non-predictive), English language education (educational only), and psychosocial narrative support (non-clinical). No service falls within the scope of licensed healthcare, mental health, or legal practice.
All practices and agreements are structured to align with civil standards in the United States including Iowa and in Portugal including Lisbon and Porto. In the event of translation discrepancies, the English version governs interpretation.
All images remain the intellectual property of the Photographer (Bailey Rain-Angel Chavez / The Human Record) unless otherwise stated in writing. Clients receive a limited, non-transferable license for personal, non-commercial use only. Commercial use requires written permission.
Clients may revoke authorization for public use in writing prior to publication. Revocation does not apply retroactively once content has been published.
Images are delivered via a secure digital download link that expires twenty-four (24) hours after the first download. Clients are responsible for saving their files within this time frame and reissue is not guaranteed.
All images and records are private by default. No public use occurs without separate written authorization. Consent documents are stored separately from narrative files.
Images and records are retained in a private professional archive for artistic growth, gratitude, and historical record. Archival retention does not constitute publication or imply any future public use.
Clients may opt in or opt out of legal name usage in connection with images and narratives. This designation is documented and respected in all uses.
Consent forms are stored separately from narrative documents. Relevant consent is read aloud at session start. Consent forms are never combined across different service types. Publication consent is never collected on the same day as the session. All signatures include date and time. Digital backups are maintained in two locations.
Donate
Donations support accessibility, archival preservation, and organizational sustainability. They allow sliding-scale spots to remain available each month and ensure this work can continue regardless of economic barriers.
Donations do not purchase services or guarantee participation.
The Human Record was created to protect truth while honoring boundaries. This organization exists to witness without extracting, to preserve without exploiting, and to document without harm. Every practice is shaped by consent, restraint, and accountability. This work is not about ownership of people, but stewardship of memory.
Your support helps ensure that people who cannot afford full-rate sessions still have access to ethical, consent-based documentation of their lives — and that this work continues to operate with integrity rather than urgency.
Contact
If you are interested in working together, you are welcome to reach out with a brief message about what you're seeking. Responses are thoughtful and unhurried, and your inquiry will be treated with respect and confidentiality.
Inquiry submission does not establish a contractual or therapeutic relationship.
contact@the-human-record.com
Location
Lisbon, Portugal · International (Virtual)
Languages
English · Translation available