Telling Stories with Photographs

I like images that tell a story. Even better, I like images that only begin a story, or tell the middle of a story, but leave the ending open to interpretation. Images that force me to use my imagination stay with me much longer after viewing them than those that don't. It may be that the image is mysterious, or curious or even a bit absurd. No matter what the storyline is, if it is unfinished, then the image to me is almost always stronger because of it. To me, this is the difference between art and a snapshot.

Key to this concept of storytelling is keeping an image simple. An image should only be telling one story. It is tempting as a photographer to tell as much of the story as possible by including many elements in the image. Usually this creates multiple storylines that compete with each other and dilute the real impact of the image. What I am finding is that the image is much stronger, the less of the story it tells.

A few images of my own to illustrate the point:

Frankly this image is just a snapshot from a trip I took to Kuala Lumpur. The subject is chinatown but there is just way too much going on here for the image to even begin to tell a story. It's only use is to serve as a documentation of the place itself and what it looks like.

This image was taken a few minutes later and has eliminated many of the unnecessary elements/distractions. Doing so allows it to really begin telling the story of this place. The limited (albiet still too much) information in this image puts the imagination to work filling in the gaps of the story. This to me is a much better representation of chinatown than the first image.

This is one of my favorite images of all time for the very reason that it is all about storytelling. We arrive here, not necessarily at the beginning of a story, but in the middle. And the end of the story is completely left to the imagination.

By deliberating framing this image to include only the men's bodies, the imagination is forced to look at all the other details for clues.  We tend to do this naturally, without thinking that we are doing it.  Who are these men?  How old are they?  What kind of relationship do they have?

One final note about creating storytelling images.  The key to success lies in choosing to include only enough content to tell ONE story.   Always remember when composing your image:  Less is More. 

Comments

[Craig Persel]

Very good essay on a very important point. It is really an axiom for me to leave space and create mystery in my images. If everything in the photo is "spelled out" there is no room left for participation by the viewer. The potential dynamic interaction between the artist and viewer is paramount in the evaluation of the effectiveness and quality of a work of art/photograph. Thanks for sharing your ideas and examples Chuck.

[jude]

What I see in the work shown for your blog is what I've been trying to dabble in or at least THINK about when doing photos - backing up; looking for more in the photo than the person. I have a tendency to fill the frame with whomever I shoot.. I've been looking at photos where the person is STILL the focus but whatever else is in the image adds to the story of them..

It's such a different way of looking at things than I've done but I love it.. haven't done TOO much yet, but am becoming more aware..

[Timberland Boots Sale]

Thanks Lawrence. So here's something you might not believe...these images are unprocessed, straight out of the camera. I did one little trick to get this look