My attempt to tell a story through a picture...

So in this picture, I tried to convey the impression that this cabin is scared of its own shadow and is hiding itself behind the trees. Thoughts?

 

I can see the potential for a story here and why you’re shooting here. I don’t think you’ve got it yet. Something I do with places I can return to is go back at different times of day when the lighting and shadows can really change and tell different visual stories. Even though you’re talking about the cabin’s own shadow, those fronds can create some great shadows too. You might or might not wind up including the fronds themselves, as their shadows alone on the cabin could do the trick.

 

Something you say catches my attention. The cabin “hiding behind the trees.” I bring up the stage whisper often, which has to feel like a whisper but also has to be louder than one so folks in the balcony can hear it. Relates here in that the photo can suggest hiding without being literal enough to make the cabin too hidden to the viewer’s eye. I’d think suggestively as well as literally.

I want to cry, because I'm doing all these pictures on the road so there is literally no way to go back to the locations right now. My mom and I are in the process of moving, and we've been going back and forth from state to state to get everything settled, and we're pretty much living out of hotel rooms right now. :( It's a very long story, but that's the gist of it. But I do see what you're saying, and will keep it in mind for future pictures.

and will keep it in mind for future pictures.

Yes. There's always the next picture!!!

 

Please don't cry (I'm hoping and assuming it was figurative). Some of my favorite photographs were ones that didn't quite make it but that I learned something from.

 

There's also something special about doing photos, especially when on the road, that you can't go back to. That specialness and the knowledge you will only get one chance at it can inspire you.

 

It's wonderful how engaged you are and how excited you seem about all this.

Yes. There's always the next picture!!!

 

Please don't cry (I'm hoping and assuming it was figurative). Some of my favorite photographs were ones that didn't quite make it but that I learned something from.

 

There's also something special about doing photos, especially when on the road, that you can't go back to. That specialness and the knowledge you will only get one chance at it can inspire you.

 

It's wonderful how engaged you are and how excited you seem about all this.

 

Nah, it was figurative, though still a bit frustrating. I'm going to keep plugging along with my pictures, though. It makes me happy.

I agree with Sam's point about shooting at different times of day under different lighting conditions. I also understand that that isn't always possible (as in this case). Don't give up on post-processing to create a 'mood' that you want.

 

I don't know which tool(s) you use, but this is just a relatively quick example using Photoshop. These days, there are also mobile 'filters' that you can use. I'm not suggesting that this is any better than the original, just one example of how some PP can change 'the mood' of a photo. I usually avoid posting different versions of photos on PN. I'm only posting this example because you're interested in the 'Digital Darkroom' forum. I hope you'll continue to pick up some PP tips and tricks there.

 

I also love the fact that you're already into 'storytelling' with your photography! A huge step for any photographer starting out!

 

Mike

 

Nah, it was figurative, though still a bit frustrating. I'm going to keep plugging along with my pictures, though. It makes me happy.

I used a Motorola Moto e6 smartphone, and Adobe Online Express, a free online photo editor.

I used a Motorola Moto e6 smartphone, and Adobe Online Express, a free online photo editor.

 

I went back and re-did it. It isn't quite as dark as the one in the previous post, but I tried bringing out more shadow.

Another question...should I message someone before posting a different version of one picture? It's never good to bore people, I know.

 

Edited November 3, 2020 by amandadeanne

should I message someone before posting a different version of one picture? It's never good to bore people, I know.

Not sure who you'd message. Best just be guided by your own sense of propriety. You're doing fine so far, at least from my perspective.

Hi Amanda, Often, a single picture doesn't tell a story. You need a bunch that are then included in a written essay about what you want to describe. The picture than is shown as what you just described so the audience can put it together. Sometimes a caption below a picture helps to tell the story. Especially if you're not writing a whole story.

 

For example for your picture, a caption might be: "Traveling from place to place was exhausting. It was lonely at times. The places we stayed were isolated and away from civilization."

 

The New York Times newspaper has photo essays in their Lens Section that pull pictures and words together that are often beautiful. They may give you some ideas. Check it out. Link: Lens

Sometimes a picture can't describe everything you're feeling. So adding words is perfectly acceptable.

Sometimes a picture can't describe everything you're feeling. So adding words is perfectly acceptable.

 

Amen!

Hi Amanda, Often, a single picture doesn't tell a story. You need a bunch that are then included in a written essay about what you want to describe. The picture than is shown as what you just described so the audience can put it together. Sometimes a caption below a picture helps to tell the story. Especially if you're not writing a whole story.

 

For example for your picture, a caption might be: "Traveling from place to place was exhausting. It was lonely at times. The places we stayed were isolated and away from civilization."

 

The New York Times newspaper has photo essays in their Lens Section that pull pictures and words together that are often beautiful. They may give you some ideas. Check it out. Link: Lens

 

Awesome suggestion. I hadn't even thought of doing that. Thank you.

The first rule of telling a story with a photograph is that if you have to explain it then the photograph didn't explain itself.

 

The problem I see with the photograph here is that the story you want it to tell seems to be entirely a construction of your own imagination. That's fine for writing a poem or a novel; and while a photograph can take a thousand words to describe, it nonetheless needs to do describe itself in explicit terms to avoid ambiguity.

My attempt to tell a story through a picture...

One picture can tell a story, sometimes it takes an essay of pictures to achieve that. An essay of pictures can be in several different forms.

 

Here is a link to a Master Lesson given by Neil Ambrose. It essentially concerns Wedding Reportage, but the essence of this lesson is a Story in a Picture or Pictures, and this lesson is applicable to a wide range of Photographic endeavours: LINK

 

***

 

I am particularly fond of Picture Stories made from a (rigid and contrived) collection of various images.

 

Here is a link to a gallery containing a sample of three picture stories: LINK

 

WW