Photography 2
Photo-Story
EXPLANATION:
(Borrowed from Foundations for Art and Design: A Guide to Creative Photography 3rd
Edition by Mark Galer)
THE PURPOSE OF THE PHOTOGRAPHIC ESSAY
The purpose of constructing a photographic essay is to communicate a story through a sequence of images to a
viewer. Just as in writing a book, a short story, or a poem the photographer must first have an idea of what they want
to say. In a photographic essay it is the images instead of words that must be organized to tell the story. Individual
images are like descriptive and informative sentences. When the images are carefully assembled they create a
greater understanding of the individual, event, or activity being recorded than a single image could hope to achieve.
The following are a few names and/or projects to look up as examples:
Jacob Riis - How the other half lives.
National Geographic magazine
Lewis W. Hine - Charities and the Commons.
Russell Lee, Dorothea Lange, Walker Evans and Arthur Rothstein - Farm Security Administration (FSA)
Life Magazine - W. Eugene Smith
CHOOSING A SUBJECT
The most popular subject for the photographic story has always been the 'human condition'. This is communicated
through experience-based discovery. The aim is to select one individual or group of individuals and relate their story
or life experience to the viewer. The story may relate the experience of a brief or extended period of time.
Finding a story, gaining permission to take images, and connecting with the individuals once permission has been
granted are some of the essential skills required to produce a successful story. Tracking down a story often requires
curiosity, perseverance, motivation and patience. These skills are required by the majority of professional
photojournalists who find, document and sell their own stories.
CAPTURING A STORY
How many movie films have you seen where the opening scene begins with a long and high shot of a town or city
and moves steadily closer to isolate a single street or building and then a single individual. This gives the viewer a
sense of the place or location that the character inhabits. A story constructed from still images often exploits the
same technique. To extend and increase the communication of a series of images the photographer should seek to
vary the way in which each image communicates. There is a limit to the communication a photographer can achieve
by remaining static, recording people from only one vantage point. It is essential that the photographer moves
amongst the people exploring a variety of distances from the subject. Only in this way will the photographer and the
viewer of the story fully appreciate and understand what is happening.
The photographer should aim to be a witness or participant at an activity or event rather than a spectator.
The images that create a well-crafted photographic story can usually be divided or grouped into four main
categories. Not all stories contain images from all four categories but many editors expect to see them. The
categories are:
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111 North E Street Tacoma, WA 98403 253-571-3010 jdrashi@tacoma.k12kwa.us
1. Establishing image.
2. Action image.
3. Portrait.
4. Detail image.
ESTABLISHING IMAGE
In order to place an event, activity or people in context with their environment it is important to step back and get an
overview. If the photographer's essay is about a small coal-mining community in a valley, the viewer needs to see
the valley to get a feeling for the location. This image is often referred to as the establishing image but this does not
necessarily mean that it is taken or appears first in the story. Often the establishing image is recorded from a high
vantage point and this technique sets the stage for the subsequent shots. In many stories it can be very challenging to
create an interesting establishing image. An establishing image for a story about an animal refuge needs to be more
than just a sign in front of the building declaring this fact. The photographer may instead seek out an urban
wasteland with stray dogs and the dog catcher to set the scene or create a particular mood.
ACTION IMAGE
This category refers to a medium-distance image capturing the action and interaction of the people or animals
involved in the story. Many of the images the photographer captures may fall into this category, especially if there is
a lot happening. It is, however, very easy to get carried away and shoot much more than is actually required for a
story to be effective. Unless the activity is unfolding quickly and a sequence is required the photographer should
look to change the vantage point frequently. Too many images of the same activity from the same vantage point are
visually repetitive and will usually be removed by an editor.
PORTRAITS
Portraits are essential to any story because people are interested in people and the viewer will want to identify with
the key characters of the story. Unless the activity the characters are engaging in is visually unusual, bizarre,
dramatic, or exciting the viewer is going to be drawn primarily to the portraits. The portraits and environmental
portraits will often be the deciding factor as to the degree of success the story achieves. The viewer will expect the
photographer to have connected with the characters in the story and the photographs must illustrate this connection.
The connection is aided by the use of standard and wide-angle lenses which encourage an interactive working
distance.
Portraits may be made utilizing a variety of different camera distances. This will ensure visual interest is maintained.
Environmental portraits differ from straight head and shoulder portraits in that the character is seen in the location of
the story. The interaction between the character and their environment may extend the communication beyond
making images of the character and location separately.
CLOSE-UP OR DETAIL IMAGE
The final category requires the photographer to identify significant detail within the overall scene. The detail is
enlarged either to draw the viewer's attention to it or to increase the amount or quality of this information. The detail
image may be required to enable the viewer to read an inscription or clarify small detail. The detail image in a story
about a craftsperson who works with their hands may be the hands at work, the fine detail of the artifact they have
made or an image of a vital tool required for the process. When the detail image is included with images from the
other three categories visual repetition is avoided and the content is clearly communicated.
SHOOTING ASSIGNMENT CRITERIA:
Create a photographic story comprised of at least 4 images. You should shoot a minimum of 36 images.
TURN IN:
In a plastic sleeve, turn in the following: contact sheet of original images, a photographic print on 8.5 x 11 inch
paper containing optimized story images
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111 North E Street Tacoma, WA 98403 253-571-3010 jdrashi@tacoma.k12kwa.us
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
111 North E Street Tacoma, WA 98403 253-571-3010 jdrashi@tacoma.k12kwa.us
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111 North E Street Tacoma, WA 98403 253-571-3010 jdrashi@tacoma.k12kwa.us