Guest post by Becky Johns who is a communications professional and photographer from mid-Michigan. She writes about public relations,social media and a whole lot of other things at becky-johns.com. You can also check out her work at http://flickr.com/beckyjohns or contact her at http://becky-johns/photography
To me, photography is one of the purest forms of storytelling. You know the saying “a picture is worth 1,000 words”? Well, there’s a reason for that. It’s because photos are one of the things that can look the same, yet entirely different to each individual viewer.
Storytelling in itself is an art. Those of us that are media makers know this well. When setting up a photo—everything from the camera settings to the subject in focus to the composition to the final edit matter in the story the photo will tell.
As a photographer, I have the responsibility and privilege to show the rest of the world the “moment” in a way that represents reality and evokes the right feeling.
I come from a photojournalism background, so I am naturally drawn to photographing situations when “the moment” is what needs to be captured. When there really is a “right” moment to snap the shutter. I prefer to photograph people rather than things. I prefer to go macro instead of wide angle. I prefer to focus on one thing and let everything else fade out. To me, that’s choosing the story I want to tell.
Lighting matters. Not just because I need to get proper exposure, but the way the light hits something, it can either show or hide what’s really there.
Expression matters. When trying to evoke an emotion with a photograph, taking the shot at the moment that expression happens on a face is crucial. Know how to look for it.
Composition matters. The way a photographer frames the subjects gives context for the situation. How close two people are together, whether there was eye contact, how big the room is or what the focal point of the photo should be. Yes, there are composition rules and guidelines, but it really comes down to what specific point you want the eye to be drawn to.
Color matters. Different colors evoke different emotions. Sometimes we’ll shoot in color with black and white in mind. Sometimes a photo needs a little tweaking. Sometimes a simple bump in color saturation changes how much the photo seems like a dream instead of reality.
When we pick the moments we photograph, we get to pick the way a moment was remembered. We choose how to tell the story. That makes all the difference.
Photo Credit: Becky Johns