  The $\gamma^{(\ast)}+p \to N(1535) \tfrac{1}{2}^-$ transition is studied
using a symmetry-preserving regularisation of a vector$\,\otimes\,$vector
contact interaction (SCI). The framework employs a Poincar\'e-covariant Faddeev
equation to describe the initial and final state baryons as quark+di\-quark
composites, wherein the diquark correlations are fully dynamical, interacting
with the photon as allowed by their quantum numbers and continually engaging in
breakup and recombination as required by the Faddeev kernel. The presence of
such correlations owes largely to the mechanisms responsible for the emergence
of hadron mass; and whereas the nucleon Faddeev amplitude is dominated by
scalar and axial-vector diquark correlations, the amplitude of its parity
partner, the $N(1535) \tfrac{1}{2}^-$, also contains sizeable pseudoscalar and
vector diquark components. It is found that the $\gamma^{(\ast)}+p \to N(1535)
\tfrac{1}{2}^-$ helicity amplitudes and related Dirac and Pauli form factors
are keenly sensitive to the relative strengths of these diquark components in
the baryon amplitudes, indicating that such resonance electrocouplings possess
great sensitivity to baryon structural details. Whilst SCI analyses have their
limitations, they also have the virtue of algebraic simplicity and a proven
ability to reveal insights that can be used to inform more sophisticated
studies in frameworks with closer ties to quantum chromodynamics.
