Kat's Site

Visual Storytelling: Photography is important

Introduction

As a society we have seen many different ways of storytelling. Whether it’s through verbal exchanges, carvings in stone or wood, ink and paper, type writing, printed media, recordings, photography and many other forms of storytelling. We are constantly looking at images everyday, they can be found in our personal devices, books and all around us. In my opinion you do not have to be a professional photographer in order to take pictures. Photographs are a great way to capture images that you would want to cherish forever. As many of you have heard, a picture is worth a thousand words. A single photo can evoke emotions through a person’s mind. The majority of the media we consume is digital which has increased the popularity of photographs. Why not utilize photography to its fullest potential.

In this blog post I will discuss tips to enhance your photographs and how/if I have used the tips, I will reflect on outside resources revolving around photography, and I will also share my personal experience with photography.

Key Concepts Summary

The following tips can be found in David duChemin’s 20 ways to make better photographs

• Get Pickier- Allows for more thought out and well orchestrated photos
  • I don’t religiously take photographs but if I do I usually spam the capture button because I don’t want to miss ‘the moment’. I could spend more time looking at what I want to capture instead of aimlessly taking photos.
• Better Contrast- Look for things that aren’t commonly found together but may photograph well
  • The only time I have used contrast is when editing a photos setting with my phone or photoshop. This seems like something tedious that I may not think much about when taking photos in the future.
• Change Perspective- Look for new angles and unique P.O.Vs when taking photos
  • I usually find taking angled photos much more fun than taking straight on photos.
• Create Depth- Helps photos to not feel so flat
  • I don’t play around with foregrounds, lines, etc so incorporating this into future photos can help add a uniqueness to my images.
• Get Balanced- Make use of objects that can help grab viewers attention
  • I haven’t noticed this in any of my previous photographs. From now on I can use certain objects to draw the eyes of potential viewers.
• Pay Attention to the Moment- Slowing down and actually observing your subject(s) can help you to be ready for ‘the moment’
  • When taking pictures in the future, I will try and take in what I am seeing instead of just taking pictures of everything. This will allow me to appreciate what I intend to photograph.
• Look to the Light- Be aware of shadows, lightness vs. darkness also realize that good lighting is key to decent photographs
  • Just like contrast I only play around with shadows during the editing process when it comes to photos. Utilizing light and shadows during the process of taking photos can help enhance my pictures without editing.
• Use the best lens- Knowing how to use different lenses and what they can capture can be useful
  • I mainly take photographs with my phone since I don’t own a camera. Phones have limited lens settings but I could start to work the different settings into pictures I take in the future.
• Expose for Aesthetics- Learn and understand the different photo settings and how they can impact your pictures
  • Most of the pictures I take are at concerts and I usually play with the brightness setting to make the pictures less busy.
• Put a Great Foreground in Front, Attention at Background- Give thought to what is close and far in your photo, make sure to avoid any clutter or distracting objects
  • When taking pictures I don’t necessarily pay any mind to the things around what I want to capture. Keeping this tip in mind can help minimize any distractions I might capture.

Exploration of Resources

1 Becoming a Better Photographer

There were certain strategies that stood out to me:

• Thinking about the story that will come from a photograph
  • Connects to duChemin’s tip ‘Pay attention to the Moment’ as it suggests you to think about what you will photograph and what the photo will tell the audience.
• Your photographs get enhanced when you break the rules
  • Connects to duChemin’s tip ‘Get Balanced’ as it suggests to not follow basic rules of photography such as the rule of thirds.

2 What is Visual Literacy?

Visual literacy to me, is the ability to absorb information from visual forms of media. This video also goes into brief detail about visual elements of art, principles of art and what visual literacy involves. Visual literacy is important when thinking about photography because it can help us analyze images. It allows you to dig deeper from just what we can see from first glance. When thinking in terms of how visual literacy can help me improve my storytelling abilities, I initially come up blank. However, if I take a step back I can look to capture emotions or subjects that evoke emotion into an audience instead of just snapping photos to have them.

Visual Elements of Art:

• Line
• Shape
• Color
• Space
• Texture

Principles of Art:

• Emphasis
• Balance
• Harmony
• Variety
• Movement
• Proportion
• Rhythm
• Unity

Visual Literacy (usually involves):

• Art History
• Form
• Iconolgy
• Semiotics
• Hermeneutics

3 The Story Behind… Migrant Mother

There were many moments that took place when capturing the iconic picture of the ‘Migrant Mother’. Lange was sent to a pea camp to take pictures of the farmworkers. The weather put a halt to the farmworkers’ labor and therefore stopped them from being able to get paid. Lange was on her way home after a disappointing venture when she stumbled across the mother and her kids. I find this story inspiring because Lange was defeated yet she came across an opportunity that helped supply the farmworkers with food and get her work published. This story can help you appreciate what was captured in photographs and that there may be more to the image than just someone taking a photo for sport.

Personal Practice

As mentioned before the majority of the pictures I take are usually at concerts that I attend. The setting for these events is usually dark and the lights can cause distracting beams in the photographs. In the future I plan to adjust my settings according to my surroundings and what will help to enhance the images. The tips I most definitely will try to take into account would be ‘Get Picker’, ‘Create Depth’, and ‘Expose for Aesthetics’. I also will try to start taking photographs outside of concert settings to expand my comfort zone.

Conclusion

Thinking about all that I have learned so far about photography I realize how important our intent is when taking pictures. When looking back at my previous photographs they were taken to either fulfill requirements for a school assignment or to showcase where I was. Moving forward I want to start thinking about the subjects I wish to photograph, what underlying story it can convey and how the images can impact others.

If you made it through this blog I strongly encourage you to test out some of the tips that are mentioned. Whether you’re taking a walk, doing an errand or simply at home, try and snap a picture that is well thought out and share below!