38 AUSTRALIANPHOTOGRAPHY.COM
PHOTO TIPS shoot a series
AUSTRALIAN PHOTOGRAPHY JUNE 2016S
tories are integral to human culture and storytelling
is timeless. In photographic practice, visual
storytelling is often called a ‘photo essay’ or ‘photo
story’. It’s a way for a photographer to narrate a story
with a series of photographs. What few people realise is there’s
a difference between photography, and visual storytelling
through photography.
If we consider storytelling as an art then, as Leo Tolstoy said,
it should be utterly infectious, where it infects the viewer with
the feelings he or she has lived through, so that other people
are infected in turn by these experiences. The phrase ‘a picture
is worth a thousand words’ itself justifies the art of visual
storytelling, however this doesn’t mean all photographs narrate
a stor y.
In visual storytelling, images are ordered in a specific way,
either chronologically or as a series, with the aim of ‘infecting’
the viewer’s vision and mind, just like Tolstoy said.
Captions are also an integral part of a photo story that
should help the viewer understand each image. That said, it is
important to remember that while captions may expand your
understanding of an image, it’s the image itself that should tell
the story – never the other way round.
Here are my top tips for starting your own photo story.01
Plan, plan and plan
some more
Planning is an essential part of the process for visual
storytelling. A good friend of mine, the documentary
photographer Kaushik Ghosh, once said: “What your mind
does not know, your eyes can’t see.” This is probably most apt
when planning your photo essay. You must plan well ahead to
visualise the story. Taking these steps beforehand will give the
structure you need for your narrative.
Your plan should include selecting the topic, research on
the topic, clarifying your topic, and finally planning your
shots. Think about the type of images you want to capture to
convey your message. Just like a film, your visual narrative
should have a lead or opening shot, establishing shot,
interactive and sequential shots, and a conclusion or
closing shot.
Often during a shoot you may not be able to capture the
photos in the order mentioned above. However, keeping this
order in mind will help you edit the story in less time. Editing
a photo essay essentially means selecting the shots, not the post
processing in imaging software – that comes later.
Your images won’t be completed without understanding the
light, composition and choice of photo gear for your chosen