art

Toy Store

“We must look deeply to identify the real suffering of our times and to understand how it has come to be. Our modern way of living brings tension, stress and pain to our body; we are exposed to anger, violence, and fear; we live with the threat of terrorism, the destruction of the ecosystem, war and famine, climate change, the economic crisis, recession, poverty, social injustice, broken families and divorce, and so much more.

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Toy Store…  Nikon D750   f/1.8  1/25s  35m   100 ISO

How are we living? How are we consuming? What violence, fear, and anger are we ingesting every day through the media around us? How is our lifestyle polluting the environment and creating a toxic level atmosphere for our bodies and our minds, for our families and for future generations?  If we can call the suffering, the real ill-being of our times, by its true names and if we an see how it has come to be, we will know exactly what kind of medicine, what kind of healing we need in order to deal with it. The truth of ill-being will reveal the end of ill-being.” ~Thich Nhat Hanh (The Other Shore)

a photo study: story photography

A series of photographs has the ability to convey a story through the inclusion of emotion, mood, ideas, and visual narrative.

Five basic elements of story photography are:

  1. Mood can be created by experimenting with blurring the background and ensuring the background has a relationship with the main subject(s).
  2. Illustrate an idea through abstraction, symbolism, or a close up of a particular detail.
  3. Emotions are conveyed through facial expressions or body language.
  4. Narrative begin with an established photograph of what occurs before the story begins.
  5. Message is created through an object, location, colors, style or a combination that leaves clues that encourages the viewer to formulate ideas.

The introduction – an image that identifies the important characters while giving information about the context of the story and introducing the theme.  The first image should also be compelling and invite curiosity so that your viewer is drawn into the story.

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the gaze

The Plot – introduces ideas, feelings, experiences while exploring themes. Do not forget to  follow the “rule of thirds” as this will definitely isolate and immediately draw the viewer’s attention to your subject.

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elsewhere

Varying characters’ perspective – photograph closer to your subject(s) or further away. Photograph from multiple angles to find which angle best communicates your story.

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watching

Stages – show images taken at different times/stages of the photo session.  Explore which subject needs to be included or excluded in an image.

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connecting

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looking away

Focus on detail – you can also tell a story by paying attention to detail.  When photographing outdoors, make sure the sun is behind you or off to the side.

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disconnected

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exclusion

Photo editing – ensure there is variety among the images to create interest while at the same time link them together by processing them in a similar manner (black and white, lightening).

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distancing

If you chose to caption your photos be sure to take note of what the subject(s) are doing without giving it away.  Cations should be short, clear, and simple.

Projects such as story telling, variations, and photo series are excellent learning experiences because they help explore creativity, encourage you to compare your work with earlier photographs and allow you to see how your ideas and techniques evolve over time.

I love a great story…do you have one to share?  Let’s tag with #aphotostudy.

clouds

“I have found that the use of clouds in my photographs has made people less aware of clouds as clouds in the pictures than when I have portrayed trees or houses or wood or any other objects.

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“In looking at my photographs of clouds, people seem freer to think about the relationships in the pictures than about the subject-matter for its own sake.

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“My photographs are a picture of chaos in the world, and of my relationship to that chaos. My prints show the world’s constant upsetting of man’s equilibrium, and his eternal battle to reestablish it.”*

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*Cited: Alfred Stieglitz, Master of Photographs: Aperture.