How to Tell a Story
By Diane Bohlen
By now you would know that my mantra is:
“A good photo should tell a story, evoke emotion, and engage the viewer.”
Today I will discuss how to tell a story with one photo or with two or more photos. It is not enough to have perfect composition, light, focus and all the other technical skills. We must strive to engage the viewer by getting them hooked on the visual story. The hard part is recognising the story.
DAVID SHAW says:
THINK OUTSIDE THE FRAME
David tells a story about how he was trying to get that perfect shot of a bear by filling the frame with the bear.
1.Full frame bear
Later he realised that he missed the real story of trying to capture the bear. Next time he did.
2.Tourists trying to capture the bear.
3.Penguin
4.Boat of photographers and penguins
LEARN FROM THE BEST
Check out National Geographic photographs or the newspapers all their pictures tell a story. Compositions are a-typical, often showing interaction between people or wildlife.
5.Canon shot of girl with old dog
5b escaping Mosul
The best recipe you can use for getting a good photo that tells a story is by combining good composition, action, and emotions. If you are able to engage with your subject mixing those three elements you will be able to get a good photograph.
As photojournalist you can display facts and affairs but you will level up your work if you are able to evolve those facts in something emotional and touching. Then is when your photo starts to tell a story.
Two of the maost famous photos are The Vietnamese girl burnt by napalm by Nick Ut and the Afghan Girl in a refugee camp by Steve McCorry
5c Vietnamese girl
5d Afghan girl
5d.1 Syrian boy in ambulance
Include people in your frame. Look for the faces, not for the backs, but understand that body language in human beings is another way of communication so a full body can also express emotions.
5e Fire fighters
You can get a story going on in your photos too, if you are able to engage with your subject. A close portrait with the right attitude is always good.
5f Soldier
5g Fox on the beach
When you look for a story in your photos try different angles, do not be afraid of watching things from a different perspective. Get low, as a photographer you need to change your point of view. When photographing kids and animals you always need to get to their level, at the same level you make them to stand up and you give them the major role in frame
5h soldier and boy
5i Fox and banjo eating ice cream
DARLENE HILDERBRANDT says:
Documentary Photography is capturing the scene as it happens naturally. Use this type of photography to create a legacy of your family. Make a collection of shots using these tips:
Capture the subjects naturally in their own environment
Capture the person’s essence
Capture details
Think big picture
Not every picture needs their face
Create a story with the images.
SET THE SCENE: identifies location and subject matter.
6. Farm house
7 tractor and barn
MID RANGE SHOTS.
8.Mid range woman on lounge
PORTRAIT SHOTS
9. Portrait of woman playing cards
10. man looking at album
DETAILED SHOT
11. Hands
12. dunking biscuit
DIFFERENT SHOTS Use different perspectives and angles.
13 different perspective
ACTION SHOTS
14. man getting in truck
CLOSING SHOT
15. man returning to the house
LOOK AROUND
Often you have to put effort into finding the real story. You need to break away from the scene you think you should be photographing and look around. Consider not just the scene but the experience, what are you feeling, seeing and doing?
16 dog race
16b fish marketx2
16c Roy on sea wall
STAY OPEN TO YOUR SURROUNDINGS
Subjects are important in an image but take time to look around you. Have you been missing something while looking through the viewfinder. Show the surroundings.
16d Fox portrait
16e Fox playing footy
ANDREW FAULK says:
“Regular Joe” isn’t as interested in technical precision of an image as he is in the story in the frame.
Viewers want to attach themselves to a photograph and invest in the greater narrative. Multiple shots pieced together into a collection relates a much more interesting overview of the subject.
A single shot may not be potent enough, like a short story isn’t as captivating as a novel. Shoot variations of the scene and present them as a cohesive collection.
17 tight rope walker x4
PAUL FONTANELLI Says:
If a picture speaks a thousand words imagine how many words a series of pictures tell. As you take pictures challenge yourself to tell a story rather than independent shots or worse still lots of shots all looking the same. To tell a good story DIVERSIFY the types of shots.
Paul went on a trip to Disneyland with his family before he got interested in photography. He took shots of his family in front of attractions. They all looked similar and became boring to look at because he hadn’t diversified his shots.
27.family with mickey
28 kids with character
Next time he visited Disneyland he diversified his shots.
29. change perspective looking over boys shoulder
30. candid shot kids running
31. change focal length kids hat
DARREN ROUSE says:
There are two different ways of telling a story in photography, either by using one shot or by using multiple shots.
ONE IMAGE
Check out photos in the newspaper. Photo journalists tell short stories in documentary photos.
32. newspaper pic Hillsborough stadium disaster
Show relationships between people.
33. Fox and nurse
Show context to elaborate the story or set the scene.
34. Fox on swing close up
35. Fox on swing showing context
MULTIPLE IMAGES
You can use 2 or many photos to tell a story. They can be arranged as a diptych or a collage. They can be sequenced into a story on a blog, on facebook and Instagram. They can be arranged into a photobook or photo album. Stories can be told in digital albums on Flickr and the many other sites available.
It can be the story of a holiday, a trip or just a night out.
The photos should be arranged in a sequence, which is the same as in a written story or a movie.
It needs a beginning, middle and end or more precise:
An Introduction, a Plot and a Conclusion.
THE INTRODUCTION photo/s sets the scene, the context. It should make the viewer want to go into the story.
For a holiday it could be a shot of packing, tickets, airport or cruise ship.
THE PLOT explores ideas, feelings, experiences at a deeper level. Most of your photos show what happens but you can also explore:
Visual themes like colours and shapes e.g blue and white in the Greek Islands.
Style themes. For example take macro shots of flowers seen on a Western Australian tour.
Location themes like market shots in different cities visited on tour or bridges or doors and windows.
Relationship themes where you record the moods of your travelling companions or the relationships developing between people in the tour group. Also the moods and relationships you see in the different cultures/ towns/ countries that you visit.
The story could have only one theme or it could have many intertwined. Some photographers say it is important to plan ahead. To think about stories and themes. Others just hit on an idea as it occurs.
CONCLUSION Try to use a shot to give an ending to the story. It could be a sunset but that tends to become a cliché. It could be the last meal, the airport, the ship terminal, the last meal, unpacking the dirty washing.
EDITING
Like novels, photographic story telling needs a lot of editing and reworking. Editing happens in different ways. There is the processing of a single photo and the editing of the presentation.
When presenting as a series it is important to be ruthless in selecting the most suitable ones to arrange in the story. Try not to use more than one photo of the same scene. This way you don’t overwhelm people with too many photos.
36-48 My story of Puffing Billy Trip- theme-feelings and experiences
49-68 My story of Moving- theme emotions, moods
TELL A STORY WITH PORTRAITS- ODED WAGENSTEIN says:
Use creative composition to tell a story with portraits. His techniques are based on our mind’s ability to fill in the missing gaps of information.
HALF CLOSE UP PORTRAIT stimulates the viewer’s mind. It needs to fill in the gaps. This kind of framing is like an exclamation mark you can’t ignore it. Only use this on the most interesting faces.
69. Half portrait
PUT THE PERSON IN CONTEXT
This not only shows the hero of your story, but it also shows their environment. You are using the mind’s ability to conclude and understand a situation by connecting pieces of information. The challenge is to get balance between the subject and its environment. The subject must be dominant.
70 Sonya in context
USE DETAILS IN PORTRAITS
In detail framing we are using the brain’s ability to fill in the gaps. Choose details, which are connected to the subject like hands, shoes, books, or a favourite chair. Start by examining the subject and ask is there an object with a strong connection to the subject.
71. bangles
72. toy cars
THE KULESHOV EFFECT- Create a story by interconnection.
This is where the brain connects two photos and evokes emotion. Place two photos side by side to evoke a connection. Look up the Kuleshore Effect to learn about the research done on this topic
USE DIPTYCHS TO TELL A STORY (Two photos joined together)
If a picture is worth a thousand words how many is a diptych worth? It is a good story telling tool. Look for thematic, compositional visual synergies. Combine wide angle and macro. Use before and after images.
Think about your aspect ratio of your two photos. (1x1, 1x1)
(2x3, 2x3) horizontally or vertically,
(5x7, 5x4)
75-77 Diptichs
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