Tell A Story With Your Photo

As the saying goes, "A picture is worth a thousand words." This is more than just a clever insight; it's a way to learn how to create better photos. Understanding how to tell a story with your photo, allowing the viewer to explore the scene, discovering how all its elements are woven together, and ultimately coming away with a real feeling, a real emotion, is the mark of a successful photo. So how does one go about creating that?

The secret lies in the building blocks of story telling. Let's dive in and see how creating a photo is like story telling.

A story contains several elements:

• Main subject(s)

• Setting

• Plot

• Conflict / Resolution
  

These elements can be brought together to create magical worlds with heroes and villains, happiness and misery, peace and war. Often, there's one main character who overcomes some obstacle. Sometimes there's a team of important players who come together to resolve some conflict. And other times, there's isn't a main subject at all, but rather an abstract look at an idea or feeling, set in the form of poetry or some other literary medium.

Winter storm over Humphreys Peak, AZ

How does this all relate to photography? Let's use this photo of Humphreys Peak as an example and break it down. The first things you'll notice in this photo are probably the snowy mountain peak and the lone pine tree. Thus, we have two main subjects or "characters" in this photo, one set in front of the other, and yet they don't clash due to the vast separation between them. You can see each of them clearly, though you know there is much space in between. Perhaps the tree can be seen as our "hero", with a tremendous and formidable obstacle out in the distance. Those small bushes can be its companions, aids to the hero's quest. The misty atmosphere, snowy weather and dark clouds all enhance the feeling of drama and intensity. It is cold, windy, and nasty... yet our hero must venture forth to complete its conquest.

So we've found our characters, we have the setting, and we've discovered the plot and conflict. The only thing left to the imagination is the resolution, and that is often a good thing in photography. It's best to let the viewer come to their own resolution, discover their own story ending. A bit of mystery goes a long way. Thus, this story is about a journey, a quest, that has yet to be completed due to one last giant obstacle, and the question planted in the viewer's mind as to whether our hero will be victorious.

We can see how finding our primary subject(s), adding some supporting elements to compliment them, setting the scene and mood, and creating a feeling, whether it is conflict, peace, joy, mystery or love, all come together in a photo to create a powerful story.

Let's look at another example.

Harsh Ridges of Death Valley

This is a photo of some overlapping mountain ridges found within Death Valley. This is far different from the last example, which had clear subjects and a setting that was easy to see. Here, there is no main subject. The setting is hard to understand. This would be best defined as an abstract, perhaps a piece of poetry. The subject here may not be concrete, but rather an idea or feeling, that is distributed across the scene. To me, these hard stone ridges form a beautiful pattern of overlapping "waves," culminating in a grand curve that begins in the top left corner of the frame and ends in the bottom left corner. There is symmetry here, too, and the lighting really accentuates the shapes of the ridges.

So what is this poem about? To me, it speaks of peace and order, even when the elements are harsh and seemingly unyielding. It's a lesson in harmony, understanding how even the most rough and tough among us are able to live with beauty and balance. The overall blue, soft tones of the scene enhance the feeling of peace, even when the "players" are so harsh. Thus, the main subject is the idea of harmony among harshness. The setting is a fluid, calm, wave-like display of endless ridges, and the plot and conflict simply explain what the subject is. We've found our story.

Let's review all of the above: To tell a story with your photo, you should first focus on finding your subject(s). Is it a lone tree? A mountain? A pattern? The rising sun? After finding your primary subject(s), look for the supporting roles. It can be a river flowing toward the subject. A patch of flowers around the subject. Storm clouds gathering above the subject. Once you've got all these in place, it's time to think about the setting. Ensure you understand the mood you are conveying, whether you're in a forest, at the seaside, on a mountain or in a field. Sometimes it's good to let the light and clouds dictate what sort of mood you should be conveying. After you've got your setting and mood all figured, try to eliminate everything that doesn't support the subjects or setting by moving around and adjusting the placement of your camera. A random tree branch sticking out or a weirdly placed cloud can ruin the overall effect. Now try to visualize the story you are telling. Is it one of conflict? Joy? Peace? Mystery? Something a bit more abstract? As long you've got it figured out and can see the story unfolding through your viewfinder, you are on the right track.

After capturing the photo, you've got your first draft all done. Now it's time to edit and process your photo, which is similar to editing and proofreading the story. You are trying to further enhance the story of your photo, making the subject(s) clearer, the plot more understandable, the feelings easier to absorb. Similar to work of literature, an artist is never done editing. Try to get to a point where you are satisfied, then step away for an hour or two. Come back and see if your story comes alive, or better, ask a friend to see if they can interpret your story.

And above all else, enjoy the process!