How To Tell Stories With Your Photography
“It is more important to click with people than to click the shutter.”
~Alfred Eisenstaedt
At its core, photography is very much about connecting with people. Making a viewer feel something just by looking at a photo separates the great photographers from the good ones.
Since the beginning of time, humans have used stories as a way to preserve history, pass on traditions, and entertain each other. We as people are drawn to seeing life through new lenses; to get a taste of what it’s like to experience something foreign or make sense of an unlived experience.
Today, we have movies and television shows that spoil us with characters that we either love or hate. As we watch the stories unfold, we form attachments to these characters and events that essentially take place in fantasy worlds.
Think about your favorite movie or tv show - have you ever felt connected to the story in such a way that you mourned the death of a beloved character or jumped out of your seat in excitement after an epic battle on screen? I know I have.
So the question then becomes…
How can we, as photographers, create a connection like this with our audience?
With photography, you have just one shot to connect with your audience - you can’t just aim your camera and click the shutter button. You have to be intentional about what you choose to say and how you choose to say it.
You need to capture the viewer’s attention, make them feel something, and then leave them with some sort of lasting impact.
Here are some ideas to help you do that:
1) Look For Details
Every person, place, or thing has its own unique story. As a photographer, it's your job to find and capture that story in a compelling way. One of the most effective ways to do this is by focusing on the details. A photograph’s details can help convey a sense of time, place, and character style.
For example, let's say you're taking a portrait of a person. Instead of just focusing on their face, try to capture the details that make them unique. This might be the wrinkles on their hands or the texture and type of clothing they’re wearing. These details, while seemingly insignificant, provide the audience with some context, which helps them understand the story you are trying to tell.
Zoom out! Step away from the standard 50mm or 35mm lens setup and try taking a photograph with a wide-angle lens instead. Is the subject being photographed in a remote area or in a major city? How do the background elements in the frame such as street signs or technology give the viewer more context about where the photograph was taken? What does this say about the subject?
Conversely, try a macro lens! When you're taking a landscape or nature photo, look for the small details that add interest to your image. This could be the patterns in the bark of a tree, the droplets of water on a flower, or the texture of a rock formation. Zooming in or using a tighter lens can help you capture details that may otherwise be overlooked.
If you make it a habit to include details in your photographs, your viewer will subconsciously begin to make inferences about the subjects and may even start forming opinions about them.
Remember, it is always more powerful when you let the audience come to their own understanding of your photograph, without spoon-feeding them the meaning or giving details about your intentions.
2) Choose Your Composition Carefully
Composition is another key aspect of storytelling in photography. The way you frame your subject can have a big impact on the story your image tells. When you're composing a photo, think about what you want to communicate to the viewer. What's the mood or message you're trying to convey?
I wrote an article about the essential composition techniques you must know as a photographer- if you’re looking for specific ways to improve your composition you can read about it here.
However, telling stories with your photograph is less about following general composition guidelines and more about becoming intentional with the way you compose your photographs.
Focus on the subject.
The subject of your photograph is the main character in your story, and it's important to choose one that's compelling and interesting. When composing your shot, consider how you can emphasize the subject in a way that tells a story. This can be done through a variety of techniques, such as:
Using contrast: Contrast can be a powerful tool for storytelling, as it allows you to emphasize the differences between your subject and their surroundings. For example, you might photograph a lone flower growing out of a crack in the pavement, highlighting its beauty and resilience in a harsh environment.
Playing with colors: Colors can also be used to create mood and atmosphere. For example, warm tones like red, orange, and yellow can create a sense of energy and excitement, while cool tones like blue and green can create a sense of calm or serenity.
Pro tip: combine colors that contrast each other to create interesting images.
Using Props: If shooting in a studio environment or similarly controlled scenario, feel free to use props to help give information about your subject. Look at the photographs below. A photograph of a man throwing dice onto the floor may indicate that he likes to gamble, while the luxury vehicle he is using as a chair may indicate that he has money. In the second photo, the bicycle tire serves as a framing tool at first glance, but it also helps indicate that the model is active and is wearing gear from an athletic leisure brand.
3) Use Light to Set the Tone
Light is one of the most powerful storytelling tools in photography. The way you use light can have a big impact on the mood and tone of your image. Different types of light can convey different emotions and create different effects within your photo.
For example, soft, diffused light can create a gentle, serene mood, while harsh, direct light can create a more dramatic and intense mood. Warm, golden light can create a feeling of warmth and comfort, while cool, blue light can create a sense of melancholy or loneliness.
To use light effectively in your photos, there are a few things you can do. First, pay attention to the time of day. The golden hour, which is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset, is a great time to capture warm, soft light that can add a sense of warmth and intimacy to your photos.
The blue hour, which is the hour after sunset and the hour before sunrise, is a great time to capture cool, blue light that can create a sense of mystery and serenity.
If I’m shooting outdoors for a commercial project, I am pretty much exclusively shooting during either the golden hour or blue hour. This makes a noticeable difference.
If you’re shooting indoors or in a controlled environment, I highly suggest incorporating artificial light. For portraiture, using soft/diffused light is the standard practice, but feel free to get creative.
For example, a flashlight paired with a stencil can be used to create a spotlight effect that can draw attention to a particular element within your photo (in this case, the woman’s eye):
Lastly, experiment with color fill and diffusion to dial in your own unique touch. Some camera attachments like ND filters can even change the way your camera takes photos. Tiffen’s Black Pro-Mist filter, for example, is a popular choice for photographers that want to achieve a dream-like effect with softly blurred highlights. A more extreme example is the Prism Lens FX’s Starburst FX filters that create star-shaped flares in the highlights of your images.
4) Show Emotion & Action
One of the most effective ways to tell a story with your photography is to capture emotion and action within your images. Emotion and action can help to create a sense of movement and drama within your photos. This will help to convey the mood and message you're trying to communicate.
Watch your subject and wait for the right moment to capture a gesture, expression, or movement that tells a story.
Be prepared to take multiple shots. Capturing emotion and action often requires a lot of trial and error. Don't be afraid to take multiple shots to get the perfect moment. If it's a portrait, set your camera to a high shutter speed and have the model perform some sort of action. Snap photos in burst mode or just tap the shutter as quickly as possible to capture some candid moments.
Movement can also add a sense of energy and dynamism to your images, helping to tell a story of action and motion. For example, you might use a slow shutter speed to capture the blur of a runner in motion, or freeze a moment in time with a high shutter speed.
5) Edit To Enhance The Story
The final step in telling a great story with your photography is to edit your images. Editing can help to enhance the mood, tone, and message of your image, and can help to create a more polished and professional look. Regardless of whether you are shooting film or digitally, there are a few go-to adjustments I like to make:
white balance
exposure
contrast
saturation
color (or black and white)
crop + straightening
these adjustments will help you dial in the feeling you are trying to create in your photos.
Take this photo for example:
I took this on my iPhone - it’s not a special photo by any means, but take a look at how many ways this same photo can be edited to give a different feeling:
I don’t think all of these edits are tasteful, but this is just a quick example that showcases the power of editing your photographs. The rule of thumb is to take the best photo possible in-camera, but don’t be afraid to add a little sauce in post-production.
Some artists take editing to an entirely new level, almost to the point where it becomes more important than taking the actual photo. While this technique is borderline graphic design, it is certainly interesting to see how far you can push your original images.
If you’re looking for a way to edit your photos quickly from your phone (my preferred method of editing), check out my mobile presets for Snapseed. This pack isn’t free, but it’s a steal considering it includes 6 of my secret color recipes that I’ve been using over the past 3 years to build my portfolio over @fivespeed.home. It comes with an in-depth written guide about how to edit photos and some common mistakes to avoid.
Closing Thoughts
TLDR: remember these key ideas:
Details
Composition
Light
Action & Emotion
Editing
Keep these in mind next time you pick up your camera, and you'll be well on your way to telling better stories with your photography.
Good luck!