Details about developing a stroy, different types of stories, composition tips, samples, etc.

1. Storytelling through Photography

2. Copyright Notice
Presentation originally developed by a fellow ATPI Teacher
and modified by Drew Loker
Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
This presentation is for educational purposes only. No money is being made
and is provided with similar allowances for other educators
to use for non-profit, educational purposes.
Images are from various sources, including many of my own.
If you would like to high res images I have shot, please visit
www.DrewLoker.com for various work online.
If you are the original author of any of the samples, pictures, text, etc.
please let me know if you object to the usage and I will
remove your material promptly.
Photo by Drew Loker

3. Photostories are Helpful with…
Magazines
Newspapers
Brochures
Collages for Wall and
Art Displays –
Triptych and Diptych
Webpages like
Facebook
Business Sales and
Training
Dances, like Prom
Weddings
Parties
Crawfish
cook outs
Anniversaries
Any special occasion
Sports
Videos
Etc.

4. Events that transcend years
This is a collection from three
trips to the Wall of Water, great
Landmark to visit.

5. Why use images?
Illustrate – some
stories need illustration
Sometimes the image
is the story
Emote – add visual
emotion
Balance – overall look
of page
Keep your audience
interested
The picture above is one of many I took from the MS150 Bike Ride from Houston to
Austin to raise money for the fight to cure Multiple Sclerosis, a disease my mother-in-law
suffered from for 10 years. It wasn’t a fatal disease, but it was debilitating such that she
was unable to move most of her body the last 5 years of her life.

6. What makes a good Photo Story
Beginning
How did it get started
Middle
What kinds of details made the event
happen
Ending
What is a good parting shot
With all of the above, get GOOD photos!!
Be sure to take NOTES while shooting…get names, write
down what they are doing. FB: Captions and Tag people

7. Keep Your Camera Ready
You never
know
when
something
is going to
happen.
Get in the
habit of
having
your
camera
with you
Have it
ready for
general
shooting.

8. Keep It Simple:
Get Close
You waste
time and
distract the
viewer when
you are
farther from
your subject
than you
need to be.

9. Moving in focuses the viewer’s vision

10. Getting close involves the viewer with your subject

11. Distracting Surroundings…

12. are simplified by Getting Close

13. Keep People Busy
Avoid
Static,
Posed
Group
Photos

14. Show People Doing Something
People in
action are more
interesting.
We not only
see them, we
see them
interacting and
we begin to get
a story.

15. Show People Doing Something!

16. Watch for interaction between
people: eye contact

17. Keep the Background Simple:
Look At Edges

18. Frame foreground elements with
background elements

19. Simplify the
Background
by throwing it
out of focus

20. Look for an
Unusual Point
of View that
helps tell the
story

21. Consider
Getting
Above
the
Situation

22. Look for
“Frames” to
help tell more
about the
location.

23. Include foreground objects as a frame

24. Composition: The Rule of thirds

25. Rule of Thirds

28. Don’t always use Horizontal

29. Turn Your
Camera to
get a
Vertical

30. Practice Your Timing

31. Timing:
Can you see
everyone’s
face?

32. Strong sunlight creates too
much contrast
State the purpose of the discussion
Identify yourself

33. Use your
flash to
lighten
foreground

34. The interview and people shooting others are part
the story and of history.

35. Whose story is it?
In the
Heritage Project,
the documentarian
is part of the story.

36. Elements to consider
Story
Subject
Location
Composition
Perspective

37. Story
Plan your photos as
you would plan the
story
Plan to relate the
photo to the story
Be flexible – if the
photo suggests a
different hook for the
web story - go with it.

38. Location
How will location
affect your shots
How will time of day
add or detract
How much time to
take your shots

39. Subject
What is the subject of
the story
Does the subject
make a good photo
People make better
photos than things

40. Collages
Using multiple
photos to tell the
story.
A picture may be
worth a 1,000 words,
but sometimes you
needs more than
1,000 words.
Photography is
capturing the Decisive
Moment
Collages help show
the Extended
Moment.

41. Creating a Collage in Picasa
Making a
collage allows
you to take an
event and
compress it
down to one
image.
Select your
images and
select “Create
Collage”.

43. Collages
Diptychs.
A diptych is a
photograph that uses
two different or
identical images side
by side to form one
artistic statement.

44. Collages

45. Mosaics

46. Others, Surealism, Illustrations
Photos by Miguel Perez, West Brook Photo Student

47. Expansions
This is actually
a collage of
images very
carefully
stitched
together to give
SUPER shallow
DoF with a
WIDE field of
view.
Photo by Miguel Perez, West Brook Photo Student