Creating a Story
Whether you’re shooting for the family album or for National Geographic, constructing a story and providing the viewer with key elements gives the photo story life and generates interest in the viewer. A story should have several key components: an establishing shot, a close-up to explain what is going on,
a photo or photos with a key moment that creates an interest, an image that can finalize the story, and a visual style that ties these together.
Part of the process of shooting a story for National Geographic entails a story conference involving the writer and photographer
team working on the particular story. This conference occurs at the outset of a project to make certain everyone is on the same page. The photographer and writer each bring a unique narrative to the story. In this chapter, we explore that process of finding and weaving a story together.
The Components of a Story
Many aspiring photographers want to know how to find a story to shoot. They are thinking that the story needs to be some grand work, instead of finding what is important to them. But what could be better to photograph and construct as a photo piece than a subject
near to you? Too often, the photographer is thinking on too large a scale, ignoring what is in his or her own backyard or neighborhood. Look at the people around you. Try photo- graphing your son or daughter during a soccer or swim practice. Try shooting a story on a local Fourth of July celebration or on your family vacation. These are naturals and are easy to work with because we immediately
eliminate the intimidation factor that so many find a very large hurdle.
To see how today’s photographers are using web technology, visit http://mediastorm
A photographer assembles a story much the same way a writer does, with an introduction that includes an overview of the subject, a main body of work addressing
details, and a closer. A successful photo story contains its own narrative that carries the viewer through the different parts of the piece.
Set the Scene
As the photojournalist—and this is truly what you’ve become, since you will be creating a visual narrative—you need to create an image to establish where you are and how the subject fits into that environment. This opening shot will bring the viewer into the world of the subject and provide a sense of place.
Back in the days when I was a newspaper photographer, an unwritten rule of covering
a news story was to shoot an initial overview of the scene as you approached the story. This still holds true in magazine photography or in sharing your vacation photos with relatives: open the story with a scene-setter.
What is a scene-setter? It’s a photo that visually describes the location in which
you are shooting. Whether it’s Dubrovnik or Disneyland, this establishing photo can be very simple in its construction. A well-
composed image of the gates of Disneyland or an overview of the city of Dubrovnik shows why this place is different from home. It introduces the location to the viewer.
The Magic Can Be in the Details
Once you have an initial opening photo, you can work on several photos to create the
story of the trip to Disneyland or Dubrovnik. Shooting the entrance tickets clutched in a tiny hand says a lot about where you are. A close-up of the lavender iris flowers for which Croatia is famous introduces that fact to the viewer. These detail photos can provide much information about your location and can be
a way of creating a more personal interaction with the story. Moving in close for detail forces the viewer into a more intimate relationship with the photo story.
Here is where research on your subject really pays off, as it allows you to capture what you find interesting about this subject or place. The photographer’s personal perspective is unique and should be considered central to the telling of the story (somewhat like the three blind guys describing the elephant).
The photographer’s job is to stop the viewer and draw her into the story, bringing her information that she may not have been aware of or conveying a fresh sense of place.
Bring Life into the Story with Portraits
Effective portraiture can bring life to a story because it obviously conveys a sense of whom we are photographing. People love seeing and understanding other people, and a strong portrait is a very inviting way to draw someone into your story.
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A Day in the Life of Africa was one in a long line of the best selling “Day
in the Life” ser ies. One of my assignments on this huge , all-digital project was to photogr aph par k r anger s in South Afr ica inoculating water buffalo. Par t of the job of the photojour nalist is to move in to the subject,
thereby taking the viewer by the “eyeballs” and making her feel as if she is within that circle of activity occur r ing in the photo. A little fill-flash
helped on this by br ightening the shadows. 9mm lens, 1/30 second at f4
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An opening photo often will be one that conveys a sense of place ,
providing the viewer with a feeling of the area he or she is seeing. On the Car ibbean islands of Tur ks and Caicos, I was photogr aphing a stor y on the luxur ious and idyllic lifestyle a tour ist can lead in these beautiful islands.
We used this photo as the “sense of place” image to create that feeling of
“I want to be there” to the viewer. 17–35mm lens, 1/125 second at f8, Singh Ray Gr aduated Neutr al Density Filter
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Sometimes composition takes the back seat to the immediacy of the image . This whale leaped immediately off the starboard
side of the National Geographic Sea Lion dur ing a recent trip to Mexico’s Baja Califor nia, where I was photogr aphing the huge density of wildlife . 90–250mm
lens, second 1/500 at f8
A visual opposite of the image of the whale leaping, here a whale
quietly breaks the surface of the Sea of Cor tez. This photo tells a totally different stor y from the explosive ener gy of the other
image . 12–60mm lens at 39mm, 1/500 second at f6.3, 100 ISO
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An area that aspiring photographers may have difficulty with is shooting close portraits of strangers. This is discussed in detail in Chapter 8, but here are a few important points regarding portraits in a photo story.
■ Approaching a stranger on the street can be intimidating at first. However, a bit of confidence along with a compelling reason why you want to photograph that person can go a long way. You’re shooting a series of portraits on the craftsmen in the flea market or fishermen in a small village. Most potential photographic subjects will comply with your request if it sounds legitimate. The first few times are the toughest, and it does get easier.
■ Show an interest in what that person is doing. That’s what appealed to you
photographically in the first place, right? I’ve found that if I am sincere in my interest, more often than not I am allowed to photograph that individual. Here’s where asking some questions about what the person is doing can be of some value as it allows the would-be subject to be the expert. Genuine interest is often a ticket to making a good photograph. When you take the time to be interested, you’re an interesting person to the subject.
■ Photographing that person doing what attracted you in the first place is essential. This takes time as the first few minutes he probably will be staring at your camera waiting for you to take the photo. Explain that you would like him to do what he
was doing when you approached, and then give it time. I’ll often spend an hour or so (if it feels like I’m not intruding) watching and waiting for that one moment.
■ This bears repeating: Photography takes time. This makes budgeting your time important, especially if you’re not at home.
■ Last, but certainly not least, use that benefit of the digital technology—the monitor on the camera—to show your subject the images you’ve captured of him. This can be a tremendous ice-breaker, drawing the person’s interest further
into this process of making his image as powerful as you can.
Key Moments Are Essential
This is a natural extension of my last point, as working the situation for key moments also takes time. A key moment is, as Henri Cartier- Bresson described, existent in every situation in life. The dynamics of two people conversing on the street will build to a “decisive moment,” where the gestures of the individuals reflect the peak of energy in their discussion. It doesn’t have to be a dramatic over-the-top photo to
be powerful. An example of a key moment could be the second a woman touches her new grandchild’s face, how her face lights up as her hand is extended to touch the baby. Or when the Little Leaguer leaps in the air after touching home base with his team around him—now, that is a loud key moment.
Stor ies involving
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people usually benefit from a tight, close -1up por trait. This makes
the photos much more per sonal by forcing
the viewer to confront the subject visually.
This photo of a couple of kids was shot for
A Day in the Life of China . Typical of any son anywhere in the
wor ld, the 12-year-old on the left was scared his mother would
see him smoking.
35–70mm lens, 1/125 second at f4
These key-moment photos will bring life and energy to your story, and they can be the fabric that not only connects the images, but also helps the viewer understand how those moments felt as they occurred.
A key moment does not always have to be a super-dramatic, wide receiver flying through the air with the ball on fingertips photo. Good key moments can be much more gentle.
Anticipating human response allows the shooter to be ready when the decisive moment arrives. This is a skill that will develop the more you shoot. Knowing when to shoot is made easier by staying focused, literally and figuratively, on your subject.
Bringing Closure to the Story
You’ve got a good opener, a photo that introduces the viewer to your subject and
explains a bit of the character of the place or people. Your story then contains a detail or portrait, or both, that makes the story more intimate. You’ve introduced the viewer to a specific person or aspect of the story. You’ve worked the situation for those wonderful explosive or quiet moments that bring energy to the story.
Bill Allen, retired editor of National Geographic, says that each reader is coming into the story through his or her own door, and you want the reader to leave through your door. That door is the closing photo.
The closer can be as obvious as the sun setting over the kids walking down the beach on the last day of the vacation. It can be as gentle as a flower lying in the church aisle
as the bridal couple is walking away in the background. The closer wraps up the story and
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can direct the emotional feeling the viewer will be left with.
Looking at photo essays—not just any old photo essays, but really good ones—is of definite benefit to anyone aspiring to shoot one. W. Eugene Smith’s famous 1948 photo essay on the “Country Doctor” for LIFE magazine is one such essay, and scores of others can help guide the aspiring shooter.
Less Can Be More
In your vacation story presentation or in a National Geographic layout session, one rule holds true: less is more. Six photos of
kids kicking soccer balls will be good for the season-end dinner presentation, but in a story those redundant images will bore the viewer. One really strong action photo will speak volumes compared to several weak photos.
On assignment for Texas
Highways magazine , I spent a few days canoeing Santa Elena Canyon, which for ms the souther n boundar y of
Big Bend National Par k. Rich McCaffer y was my guide
and paddling par tner—this is Rich as he is just about to exit the canyon. A quiet scene , the paddle in the
air is that subtle decisive
moment that br ings a bit of visual interest to the photo. This photo ended up on the cover of the magazine .
12–60mm lens at 14mm, 1/250 second at f8
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When shooting a stor y, the photogr apher has to produce an image that will close the visual nar r ative . On an assignment
for TIME magazine , my subject was the Canadian Rockies. As a closing image , this photo of the highway between Banff and Jasper National Par ks creates that ending; the taillights streaking by provides that visual element of interest, pulling the
viewer into the photo. 11–22mm lens at 14mm, 2 seconds at f4, 400 ISO