Although it seems to come in waves, we get a fair amount of discussion about storytelling in photography. We get discussions of storytelling related to equipment. We get discussions of storytelling related to lighting. We get discussions of storytelling related to post processing. The problem is none of this is really about storytelling; it’s always about equipment or lighting or post processing or any of the other conventions of photography.
Here we will be discussing the art of storytelling itself because this (storytelling) is what that (photography) is all about… telling the subject’s story.
It doesn’t matter what camera you use (although using your phone is recommended for a lot of reasons). It doesn’t matter what lens you use. Your post processing software and workflow are truly of little importance. What is of monumental importance is the quality of the storytelling.
And just to reinforce the point, the story being told is the subject’s story.
And just an FYI – there are some basics to go through before getting to the specifics about storytelling.
Why We Photograph
There are a lot of reasons people give to explain taking photographs but it would seem the real reason is rooted in the fact that we’re social creatures. We photograph to document our lives, as an expression of interest in a subject and to validate or corroborate the importance of what we saw. All of this is to share with others.
We have documented our lives from the beginning of time using both words and images. Words came when we sat around the fire, talking about what we did that day. Images started with paintings on the cave wall. In a modern, technical society we are able to combine words and pictures in social networking, video chat, web-based presentations, digital books, digital video, television, motion pictures, magazines, etc.
It seems the desire to document our lives is somehow hardwired in our brains. Go to any high school or junior high and look at the kids' notebooks or phones – they are filled with pictures of their friends, their siblings, their friends, their pets, their friends, themselves, their friends, their parents, their friends, etc. It seems that no one has to tell them to do this. It’s hard wired.
Look at the popularity of Flickr, 500px, Facebook, Snap-chat, Instagram and other social networking sites. For many, these are really nothing more than places to document their lives and to do it in a way that can be shared with others. These are the modern and technical equivalent of putting the drawing on the wall for the next group that inhabits the cave.
As societies become more technologically advanced and more literate, the documenting of our daily existence becomes more prevalent.
Today it’s very natural to pick up a camera, be it a dedicated camera or, more likely, the one in your phone, and photograph. Holiday meals, before the prom, the big game, on vacation, the dog, the cat, the Christmas tree, the family gathering, boyfriends, girlfriends, weddings, divorces, husbands, wives, yourself, your room, your house, your son, your daughter, your mom, your dad, your car, your neighbor’s car… all of these and more are photographed and shared regularly.
We share our photographs freely and openly with family, friends and with the complete strangers who visit our web pages.
We photograph to express our interest in a particular subject. This can be the landscape, the cityscape, our kids, our families, cars, motorcycles, baseball, architecture, our family activities, our pets, our plants, our travels… this list can also just go on and on.
The act of photographing is simply the means of exploring those things that have meaning to us or interest us. It allows us to share that meaning or interest. Notice here that for the overwhelmingly vast majority of folks, the interest is in the subject, not the process of photography.
And finally, we photograph to validate or corroborate what we saw.
At one level this validation is simply to prove that what we saw was there… to say that, at least for that moment, it existed in front of our eyes and in front of our lens. The photograph proves it. But more importantly, the photograph validates that we saw what was there. The photograph validates both that we saw it and how we saw it. Most importantly, the photograph validates what was important to us about what we saw.
The validation comes from the mere existence of the photograph. Whether we do anything with that photograph is not the question. It makes no difference if the photograph sits printed in an album tucked away in a bookcase or is posted to the internet for the world to see; the fact that the photograph exists and can be shown to another is the validating factor.
Notice again that none of this has the slightest thing to do with the process of photography itself. The vast, overwhelming majority of people do not participate in photography for photography's sake. The process of photography is simply a means to an end. And that end is communication with others about the subject… the story of that subject from our perspective.
Photography As Communication
At its heart, photography is communication. It’s communication about the subject being photographed. It’s communicating the reality of the subject along with the ideas, perceptions, understandings, feelings and emotions the photographer brings to the subject. That is, simply put, it’s about that subject and what that subject’s story means to us. (And there is no denying that it may mean different things to different people.)
There are a few fundamental requirements for communication to happen. At its basic level, communication is sending or transmitting “intelligence” or "a message" from one person (a sender) to another (a receiver) that is understandable by the receiver using a method or channel.
Obviously, if any one of these basic requirements is missing (a message, a sender, a receiver or a channel), no communication occurs.
In photography, the message must be understandable by the person viewing or reading the photograph. This is where the complex interrelationship between the photograph and text helps to communicate a better understanding of the subject and the subject’s story. The text could be a short introduction to the work, an essay about the subject and/or individual captions for each photograph.
Very basically, the photograph gives us the nouns while text gives us the verbs.
In this approach to photography:
- The full message is contained in the combination of the photograph and text. The photography provides the information the text can't. The text provides information the photography can't.
- The photographer is the sender of the intelligence or message.
- The receiver is the person who views or reads the message (Here we refer to “consuming” a photograph as reading.)
- The print, book, phone, magazine, network, etc., is the channel to convey the intelligence.
And rather than a simple restatement of reality, as photography is often characterized as being, the message or subject’s story is filtered through the photographer's perception, recognition, understanding and appreciation of the subject.
Assume four photographers attend a custom car show. To the first, the importance lies in the variety of engines used to power the cars. To the second, the importance lies in the different interior designs. To the third, the importance is found in the different paint schemes. To the fourth photographer the importance lies in the people attending the event and the commerce the event generates.
None of these choices are right and none are wrong. They are simply what each photographer feels should be the focus or subject of the work; what the message, intelligence or subject’s story should be.
The photographer encodes that message in the photographs. The reader then decodes the message.
The channel used to get the message from the sender to the receiver is irrelevant. It doesn't matter if the photograph is electronic or physical. It can be as an individual print, in a web gallery, in an email or a text, in a book or a magazine. It can be held in the hand or read on any one of a number of devices connected to the internet.
When or where the complex of photograph and text is read has no impact on the communication. It can be accessed at some undefined time in the future and accessed from some undefined place independent of both the storage system’s location and the sender – the important thing to recognize is that the communication from sender to receiver still occurs. It occurs over both time and distance and both the time and the distance spanned are irrelevant to the message.
The two unchanging principles that have defined photography and therefore photography’s communication from its beginnings are reality and transparency.
The principle of reality holds that what is presented in the photograph is real. Transparency holds that the photograph is presenting the subject as it was seen. Both of these may seem to be keen perception of the obvious, but each one needs to be expanded a bit...
Reality holds that the subject of the photograph actually existed. This has nothing to do with what is photographed or how it is photographed. It is all about photographing the scene and the subject as it existed at the time.
Transparency holds that the photograph is presenting the scene and the subject as it was seen. This certainly does not mean we can't make adjustments in terms of contrast, sharpness, color balance, cropping etc., but we can't manipulate it to the point that it is no longer the scene as it was seen.
Both of these principles embody the trust that society places in photography and are central to the viability of the medium, giving photography a special place in the public eye. It is the continuation of this trust that photographers must adhere to.
The watershed is whether the photograph conveys what was actually seen or presents what the photographer wished he or she saw. To present the subject as the photographer wishes it had been seen is to create visual fiction. Photography is non-fiction, telling the subject’s story. Anything other than this makes the work about the photographer and not the subject.
It bears repeating that these twin principles of reality and transparency have allowed photography to earn a special trust with most people... namely that you can believe what is seen in the photograph as being the subject’s story. These two principles are mind numbing in their brevity and simplicity but are also astonishingly demanding.
Creativity and Creative Development
(Please Note: this section and those that follow concern the photography of a project. Concerns with writing introductions, essays and captions follow and they are astonishingly similar.)
Real creativity comes when a photographer-
- investigates a subject of interest, and
- develops a project around that subject that reflects his or her personal “take” or appreciation, and
- recognizes the significance of any given scene to advance that project, and
- captures that scene in a way that reflects his or her understanding and appreciation of the subject’s story, and
- recognizes the additional information needed to fully realize the telling of the subject’s story.
The rest of the process – the entire rest of the process – is devoted to presenting the results of the project. Nothing more than what was seen, nothing less than what was seen and nothing different from what was seen.
Just to be as clear as possible about this, real creativity is not something that is “done to” or “added to” or “applied to” a photograph in post-production. It’s not adding sprinkles to the cupcakes after they’re baked. Creativity is baked into whatever your project is from its inception. In the end, it’s what directs and drives the project. The project itself is the creativity.
There are all kinds of “step programs” that have been put forth to help folks initiate and organize their “creative process”. Some have as few as four steps and at least one has 22 steps. But in the main, there seem to be five phases or periods of creative development that the photographer, and hence the project, will go through.
Notice that there is a change here- it will no longer be referred to as the “creative process”. “Process” implies a number of preset steps that you follow and, at the end of the “process”, you have your project all tied up in a nice, neat package with a pretty bow on top.
Sorry.
From here on it is called what it truly is, “creative development”.
The first phase is the genesis. This is the phase in which you develop the kernel of the project. This is the idea phase. It’s the “what if…” or the “how about…” or the “wouldn’t it be neat if…” stage. This stage may last only five minutes or it may last days or weeks while you figure out exactly what the idea is.
Once you think you’ve got it figured out, write it down. This helps give the idea shape and makes it real. When the idea is ‘only in your head’, it is perfectly formed and immensely doable. When it’s on paper, the shortcomings become evident and can be addressed before moving onto the next phase. Remember, if the shortcomings evident at this point aren’t addressed, they will be harder or possibly impossible to fix later.
Keep in mind that “the idea” is not always about “something totally new”. It can be about seeing something in a new way or taking a different approach to the subject. Next is the development phase. This phase includes refining your idea and doing all of your research. If your project is your child’s fourth birthday party you probably won’t have a lot of research to do but if it’s the architecture of your town’s downtown area or photographing the Founder’s Day activities celebrating the town’s sesquicentennial, you might have a considerable amount of research to do.
In this phase you need to be open-minded and follow where the research leads you. This is when you start considering all of the options that are available to you. You literally start thinking inside the box, outside the box, above the box, below the box, without the box, etc. You’re not selecting final options here, just looking at all of those available to you.
Project development is followed by synthesis in which you try to narrow all of the options down to the approach that will guide you through the actual photography of the project. Some refer to this as the “ah-ha” moment.
But it’s not really…
What a number of writers would have you believe is that after you have come up with the idea and have done the refinement and research, you can go off and do all kinds of other things and the synthesis will be forming in your subconscious. It’s there, in the background, magically creating your project. And then BANG! On a Saturday morning at 9:37 it hits you… you’re outside mowing the lawn… and there it is… the long awaited answer to how to approach the entire project. And it’s just so perfect! It can only work!!
We won’t go on with this because it isn’t always a moment. It isn’t even usually a moment. It isn’t even sometimes a moment. Like the genesis phase, the synthesis can come in a single, blinding, all-encompassing, jaw-dropping flash, but more often it develops slowly and with considerable consideration. You may have to try several approaches or combinations or rearrangements
before you have the “right” synthesis for your project.
In many ways, synthesis can be like editing your project. Editing and synthesis are both very intense experiences and you have to work through both with a measured approach, considering all of the elements and looking for a way to combine the elements that reflect the true idea of the project. You may not hit the “winning” combination right away. This is also the phase which can take the longest as you try different ideas to see which one is the most effective at getting the subject’s story told.
Synthesis leads to implementation. This is when the actual photography starts. This is when you start to exercise your vision at two complimentary levels- at the level of the project and then at the level of the individual photographs that are defined by the context of the project.
As you were open-minded during the genesis phase, you have to be open-minded during the implementation phase. This means that you’re open to all of those photographs that are within the context of the project and might help move the project forward. Notice the word “might” and all of the implications for shooting. During this phase you will always shoot more photographs than you will need in the final project because you won’t be able to determine which you will be using while you are shooting.
This is where evaluation and feedback come into play. It is also referred to as editing. The idea here is to use just those photographs that, within the context of the project, advance the project in the strongest and most complete way possible. If it doesn’t do that, regardless of how good or unique it is, it’s not used. At this point, it is consideration of the individual photographs that support and advance the project.
The other part of the evaluation process is whether the project as photographed meets the goals set out in the genesis and development phases.
If it does, great! And yes, it has happened that you get to this point and are disappointed with the results. (It happens more often than most folks would care to admit, actually.) Perhaps the photographs are not forceful enough. Perhaps the project loses focus. Perhaps it moves in an unforeseen direction.
There can be any number of reasons a project misses the mark but it’s always valuable to try and figure out where things might have gone awry so you can either try to fix the problem or start over, moving in a different development direction.
In the end, after going through all of the development phases, the project must reflect your unique take on the subject. The photographs, and hence the project, need to reflect your knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the subject and your consideration of the needs of the reader to engage with the project.
Without both of these, the end result will be flat and emotionless at best or feel like it was assembled by committee at the worst. The photographs may be technically perfect but if there is no recognition of the reader’s needs, they simply become things to look at and not a unified, cohesive statement of the subject’s story.
Creative development functions within the context of any project, regardless how big or small that project is. Creative development does not wrap the project with some type of external sleeve but rather guides the project from within and is present from inception through completion. It also lives within the photographer’s knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the subject.
The photographer simply has to realize it.
Six Traits of Successful Storytelling
Just as the exposure for any photograph is based on a “three-legged stool” (ISO, aperture and shutter speed), telling the subject’s story is a three-legged stool as well. While the first two legs, the photographs and the text, have to work both separately and together, the storytelling, the third leg of the stool, has to work as well. There are six traits or characteristics that will help shape your storytelling. These characteristics are engagement, framing, structure, theme, brevity and avoiding the trendy.
1. Engagement.
Within the first few sentences or the first few photographs the reader will decide if it is worth continuing with the work so it must be put together in a way that engages the reader from the very beginning. The storytelling must elicit the reader’s interest by making the subject’s story relevant and interesting in some way.
The storytelling has to find the human element. Facts and figures are nice and, at times, may be necessary to advance the subject’s story, but these generally reduce the story to a collection of bullet points. A solid narrative that makes the subject relevant to the reader is always preferable. There are some basic questions that can help focus the narrative:
- Who am I trying to reach about this subject?
- How do I cast this story to meet the reader’s needs?
- Why does the reader want to know about this subject?
- What does the reader want to know about this subject?
- What is the context of the story.
The other aspect of engagement is for you to allow your enthusiasm for the subject to come through the work which will help frame it for the reader.
2. Framing.
The framing of the subject’s story is where you, as the storyteller, establish your perceptions, ideas, impressions, appreciations and understandings of the subject and use those to conceptualize the story. The idea of framing the story is critical as it will give the reader a “frame of reference” for the work.
It must be noted that the framing is never openly stated but rather comes through in your approach to both the subject and the subject’s story.
3. Structure.
You need to provide a structure that the reader can follow. There are two levels of structure that need to be addressed.
The first structural level is often just thrown out as a reminder that every story needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end.
The “beginning” or start of telling the subject’s story is both the where and the how that gets the reader into the story. Right from the start you have to provide the reader with enough material to get and keep their attention. The job here is to open the story for the reader and keep them interested enough to move on through the remainder of the material.
The “middle” of the story is where the reader gets the most information about the subject. This is the “meat” of the subject’s story, if you will, which gives the reader the details of the subject’s story. This section must be built to keep the reader’s interest. Care needs to be given to keep from overloading the reader with information, however. You don’t want to give the reader so much information that they “glaze over”. This is a delicate balancing act between too little information and too much.
But the “middle” of the work, which was set up by the “beginning”, has to lead to a logical “ending”. This ending has to provide what could be considered the successful culmination or conclusion of the subject’s story.
One way to visualize this is that you are building a hamburger with the story.
The beginning of the story is the top of the bun. The bread is the strong opening with the sesame seeds providing a few of the details. Below that you have the “fixins” ketchup, mustard, lettuce, onion, tomato, avocado, bacon and cheese supporting the main idea, the beef patty. And finally you have the bottom bun which is the conclusion or ending of the subject’s story.
So you have the opening, the main idea with all the supporting details and the conclusion of the subject’s story.
One thing should be obvious from the beginning, middle and end structure that is one of the keys to successful storytelling – you won’t be able to do this with just one photograph.
The other structural level you will need to address is how the story will be organized. That structure can be:
- Sequential – Once upon a time… and then… when… but while… and then… finally.
- By priority – showing the story elements in their order of importance.
- By event – the founder’s day celebration, Bobby’s fourth birthday, etc.
- By activity – Mary’s summer in Little League.
- By location – Our visit to Grand Canyon.
- By subject – my new car.
You should limit a particular work to one type of organization except when in combination with sequential organization. You can base your work on your summer vacation (structure by activity) but then it could be organized sequentially by what you did first, what you did next, etc., or by priority covering what the most important parts of the trip first, etc.
4. Theme.
The theme is what the story is about. It is also called the subject of the work. It may seem keen perception of the obvious but you should restrict the work to a single theme. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to start out with one theme, wander to another and then jump to a third. This becomes a problem for the reader as the second and third themes are often related to the original only tangentially. The best way to prevent this wandering is to use an outline. And what you find is the more detailed the outline, the easier it is to tell the story you want.
5. Brevity.
Whenever you are involved in storytelling the idea is to give the reader as concise a work as possible that still effectively presents the subject’s story. There is an old but still very true guidance that holds you never use a phrase when a word will do, never use a sentence when a phrase will do and never use a paragraph when a sentence will do. The goal, both photographically and textually is to fully explore the subject but in as compact and concise a manner as possible. The other idea that applies here is economy of expression - avoid the fluff and repetition that can sometimes work its way into a piece on both the photographic side and the text side.
6. Avoid the trendy/bleeding edge stuff.
Unless your your subject’s story is about the trendy/cutting edge/bleeding edge stuff that appears every now and then, leave the trendy/cutting edge/bleeding edge stuff out. More often than not it simply gets in way of telling the subject’s story. It may be fun to do but more often than not, it leaves the reader cold.
Six Traits of Successful Photography
In a traditional approach to photography you learn a lot about the mechanics of exposure, composition and "photoshopping". But mechanics are just that, mechanics. And, at the risk of sounding redundant, they become mechanical. They produce results that look well… mechanical.
There are six traits or characteristics that go far deeper than simple mechanics or technique. These traits, which photography shares with writing, are ideas, element choice, organization, fluency, voice or style and conventions.
1. Ideas.
It has often been said that light is the heart and soul of photography… not so! Ideas – and hence storytelling – are its heart and soul. Ideas bring the story into existence. Ideas allow photographs to spring to life. Ideas come from our interests. Ideas shape the message being told which in turn generates the content.
- An interest in paintball can lead to photographing the competition.
- An interest in bicycles or motocross can do the same.
- An interest in people can lead to portraiture.
- An interest in architecture can lead to photographing buildings.
- An interest in geology can lead to photographing the landscape.
- An interest in history can lead to photographing sites of local significance.
- An interest in… well, the list can go on and on.
But, on the downside, there is a huge problem with ideas. They can easily lead you astray so you have to limit them within a project. The more narrowly defined the project (to a point), the more the ideas are going to fit.
Now, some may say that limiting ideas in a project is "counter-intuitive" or "self- defeating." To a point they are right. But without some self- imposed structure, projects tend to wander and lose their focus. The message becomes muddled and, often, abandoned.
2. Element choice.
The objects that appear in the photograph are the elements and it is how you use these elements to tell the subject's story that is critical.
Most of the time, element choice focuses on what to include in the photograph but it also is about what to leave out. This can be more important than what to include. Often, there can be distracting or competing elements around the subject that have to be managed in terms of the story being told. Here is where a little caution is needed- you can't remove so much that the context of the subject is lost. If the context is lost, the flow of the story is lost. And, after all, that is what we are doing… storytelling… but it’s the subject’s story we are telling.
Beyond this idea of what to leave in and what to leave out is whether or not the strongest elements are being used to tell the subject’s story.
3. Organization.
This flows directly from element choice. If you have the strongest elements in the frame, the next step is to make sure all of them are supporting the subject or main element.
This often requires some walking around and looking.
Sometimes you have a degree of control over the placement of the elements.
If you are photographing a still life you have complete control over the placement (organization) of the elements in the scene. Similarly, if you are photographing people or cars or boats, etc., you can pretty much stay in one place and move them around until all of the elements are arranged (organized) appropriately in the scene.
But if you are photographing landscapes or buildings or the Little League game, you don't have that degree of control. You will have to do the moving until the elements are positioned appropriately. This can mean moving in closer, moving to the left or the right, moving in or backing up or zooming in or out so you can include everything you want in the photograph.
Notice the word "appropriately" is used to describe arranging the elements in the frame and not the word "correctly". There is no "correctly" in any of this. The arrangement or positioning of the elements is based on the story you want to tell – on the message you want to communicate to others about the subject.
For example- you and your family are on vacation at Grand Canyon. Rather than (or in addition to) photographing them standing by the National Parks Service sign in front of the visitor's center that says "Welcome to Grand Canyon", photograph them at some of the points where the canyon lies in the background. The story is the family vacation to Grand Canyon. So maybe the approach should be photographs of Grand Canyon that include the family rather than making photographs of the family that try to include the canyon.
If the family is gathered at Uncle Jacob's farm, instead of doing the group shots in front of the house, like they are every year, how about using the barn or the tractor or the barn and the tractor as the setting? And rather than having everybody stand in front of (around?) the tractor, how about having some folks sitting on the tractor?
In these examples, the elements have been chosen more carefully and the organization of the elements has been worked into the photograph to strengthen it.
4. Fluency.
This is probably the most subjective of the six traits. The fundamental question to be answered here is whether or not the content flows easily and freely in the frame allowing the reader's eye to move without difficulty?
In the photograph of the family gathering on Uncle Jacob's farm- if we had one group standing at the front of the tractor, one group in the center and one group by the rear, we would have a segmented, mechanical photograph. If, on the other hand, we had all of the family members intermingled and just kind of hanging around the tractor, the photograph would appear much more natural and it would be much easier to read.
5. Voice.
This trait is closely linked to fluency in terms of subjective evaluation. Voice in photography is synonymous with style. If you follow your own stylistic inclinations, you will create work that has more of a chance of connecting with the reader because it is personal and looks nothing like something “created by committee”.
And there are all kinds of personal traits in voice- Some of us take a more formal approach while others are more casual. Some of us take a wider view of the world, looking more at the overall scene, while others take a tighter view, looking at details. These are some of the elements that go into making up a photographer's style or voice and all of these approaches are valid.
The important thing to remember here is that the subject of the photograph is what you photograph; your style or voice is how you photograph it… the subject is what your subject’s story is about while your style or voice is how the story is told.
We all have our own approach to things. If you follow your instincts in this then you are developing your own voice. Doing that, while putting your perceptions, ideas, emotions, understandings and appreciations of the subject into the work will create photographs that will connect with others.
6. Conventions.
Of the six traits, this is probably the easiest to look at as it is absolutely objective. This trait looks at all of the technical and appearance issues relating to the photograph.
These include such things as:
- No color or tonal banding
- "Correct" tonal balance
- No color cast
- Appropriate density (lightness/darkness)
- Appropriate contrast
- Appropriate detail/texture in the shadows and highlights
- Solid, crisp focus on the main subject or element, etc., etc., etc.
Paying attention to these conventions helps create a photograph that doesn’t call attention to itself but calls attention to the subject. The photograph becomes almost transparent and allows all of the attention to focus on the subject’s story.
*The "Six Trait Writing" system was developed by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratories, Portland, OR
Six Traits of Successful Writing
Whether you are writing an introduction to your project to give context, an essay to expand the reader’s information or captions to enhance the individual photographs, the goal is still to tell the subject’s story and communicate a message about the subject. Just as with the photographs, there are six traits or characteristics that help shape the writing. These traits are essentially the same as those guiding the photography — ideas, word choice, organization, fluency, voice or style and conventions.
1. Ideas.
The ideas to incorporate in the writing will all come from the photography and will answer one fundamental question – what do I need to tell the reader about the subject that the photographs can’t? Another version of the same question is… what is the context the reader needs to have to fully understand the photograph? Some examples are-
- We have a photograph of a group of people… who are the people in the photograph? Why were they photographed? What is the importance or relationship of the people in the photograph?
- We have photographs of a community event… what was the event? What was being celebrated? When was the event? Where was the event?
- We have photographs of what appears to be a family vacation… the first thing that needs to answered - is it? Who are the people in the photographs? Where were the photographs taken? When were the photographs taken?
These will often take the form of reporter’s questions – who? what? when? where? why? how? and so-what?
A process point here – as you develop your ideas you will want to jot them down at least as notes. Using those notes, you can develop a simple outline to help guide your writing. Having a good outline can help the writing process go more smoothly.
2. Word choice.
Very simply, you need to make sure the words chosen to accompany the photographs in either an essay, introduction or caption are specific and accurate using language that is natural and not overdone.
We have a photograph of a girl pitching during a softball game. Example 1 (boring caption):
“Mary pitches during her game Tuesday. She and her team won the game over the Mustangs 8-0.”
Example 2 (same game but much better caption):
“Mary comes hard to the plate during the third inning of her game Tuesday against the Mustangs. Her pitching befuddled Mustang batters who could manage only two hits. She recorded eight strike outs in dominating her city league arch-rivals in the 8-0 shutout.”
We have more of the story and the word choice – ‘comes hard’, ‘befuddled’, ‘dominating’ etc. - shows rather than tells the reader what happened.
3. Organization.
Organization is a necessary consideration in writing an introduction or an essay. A well organized piece puts events in a logical and easy to follow order that keeps the readers interest. The organization ties the writing together into a focused and unified piece that comes to a logical resolution. The most often used organizational pattern is sequential where one event leads to another and so on to the resolution. Another pattern of organization is to use a single, overriding element as a touchstone throughout the piece.
Below, in what would serve as a brief (approximately 225 words) introduction to the photography, the events are presented in order of occurrence and the weather is the touchstone.
“The only thing wrong with this year’s Founder’s Day celebration was the gray sky overhead that kept temperatures down and threatened rain at any minute. It was almost cold as the bands and other marching units arrived at the staging area to get ready for the Fireman’s Parade. Band members complained about cold fingers having to play even colder instruments but all seemed to warm up not long after the parade started.
Stepping off on time, the parade was led, as always, by the American Legion Color Guard followed by the Citizen of the Year and the junior high band. While the parade was winding its way through town, the finishing touches were being put on the homemade game booths that lined the ‘midway’ at Community Park. As the high school band, always the last unit of the parade, arrived at the park proudly playing the school’s fight song, the festival was declared open and people started to pour in from the parade route.
Ignoring the weather, kids raced to the small carnival ride area while still bundled-up grown ups mingled. And then came the real signal that Founder’s Day had started… the cooking of the Polish sausage for the sandwiches that everyone looked forward to every year. The aroma defied the heaviness of the day and began to envelop the park with its magic.”
4. Fluency.
This is probably the most subjective of the six traits. The fundamental question to be answered here is whether or not the content flows easily and freely, allowing the reader to move through the writing without difficulty. Are awkward or confusing word patterns or constructions avoided? Is jargon that might slow the reader avoided, if possible? The real test of fluency is simply how does it sound when read aloud?
5. Voice.
This trait is closely linked to fluency in terms of subjective evaluation. The basic question to be answered by this trait is very simple – does this read like something I would write or does it sound like I am trying to imitate someone else? Another way to think of evaluating this trait is ‘is this how I would say something?’
6. Conventions.
Of the six traits, this is probably the easiest to look at as it is absolutely objective. This trait looks at the execution of the writing including correct spelling, correct punctuation, correct grammar, etc. Having significant errors here can be a real deal breaker for the reader.
*The "Six Trait Writing" system was developed by Northwest Regional Educational Laboratories, Portland, OR
Writing Captions
Caption writing is an art unto itself which is why it is addressed here by itself!
The-photograph-stands-alone crowd notwithstanding, every photograph "published" needs a caption. In this case our definition of "published" is very loose. It includes photographs posted to social media, photo sharing sites, "professional portfolios", books (either print or digital), magazines (either print or digital)... just about anywhere really.
The purpose of the caption is to give the reader information that puts the photograph in context, provides additional information that is not readily available from the photograph and amplifies and extends the reader's understanding of the photograph.
But beware – captions are astonishingly deceiving. They are short and because they are short folks feel that are easy to write.
Often we get a caption that simply restates the photograph. This is especially true if it starts out "pictured here..." or ends with "poses for a photograph".
And then there are the captions that drift off into discussions of what the photographer went through to "get the photograph" or the equipment and various settings that were used to "get the photograph". None of these discuss the context or fulfill the function of the caption.
Following are three examples of captions that add to the information provided by the photograph. In all three the subject is identified but in a way that adds information to the photograph and that explains the subject. There are supporting details in the captions that help to explain the relevance of the photograph to the reader.
In each of the three examples a complete description of the photograph is given to show the depth of analysis of the various elements in the photograph and how that analysis is not carried over into the caption. The analysis also includes some assumptions made about the content based on the visual semantics.
In the photograph below, we see two people seated at a table in what appears to be a public situation – we assume this given the other people in the photograph and the "wall of windows" designed to encourage people to look out at something. They are wearing name tags so it would be safe to assume they are part of a larger group. Given the table card in the lower left advertising a desert, it would also be safe to assume that the setting is some kind of restaurant. The time of day is unknown. But these facts from the photograph are about all we know or can deduce.
Consider the photograph with the caption:
A family friend’s photo is the only one of Mom and Dad celebrating Dad's 80th birthday with a bus trip to Bowie Raceway. The track restaurant surprised Dad with a small cake after lunch. He enjoyed the racing and the cake (which he shared with Mom, of course!). The trip was part of the Senior Celebrations program at their church and they honored Dad’s birthday by waiving the admission fee for both him and Mom.
In the photograph below, we see an old car parked on a patch of grass in what is obviously a rural setting. Given the visible condition of the car it appears to be well maintained. Given the patch of what appears to be gravel in the lower left of the photograph it could be assumed that this photograph was taken with the car simply pulled on to the side of the road. Given the angle of the shadow relative to the car it appears the photograph was taken around midday. The specific location is unknown.
Consider the photograph with the caption:
Cousins Mike Leopold, Bill Leopold and Sarah Jackson restored Uncle Jacob's 1963 Ford Futura after discovering it in the back of the barn on the family farm. While Mike and Bill did the mechanical and body work, Sarah handled all the restoration chores for the interior. The project lasted two years and was finished in time for Jacob's 75th birthday celebration.
And finally, in the photograph below, we see an old bridge crossing what appears to be a long-dry river bed, canyon or arroyo in a minimally inhabited area. There are telephone or power poles scattered in the distance and there is some type of structure visible in the upper left. The bridge appears to be a single lane and the road surface leading away from the bridge appears to be dirt. There appears to be a road taking off to the right just past the bridge as well. It appears to be a desert setting.
Consider the photograph with the caption:
This single-lane bridge at Canyon Diablo, AZ, was part of an early alignment of Route 66, allowing motorists to safely cross the canyon. The highway alignment and bridge, which to this day is used by local residents, was later replaced, bypassing both the canyon and a popular tourist stop known as Two Guns.
Many caption-writing tutorials will urge keeping the caption as short as possible so we could have "Mom and Dad at Bowie Raceway", "Uncle Jacob's old car restored" or "The Canyon Diablo Bridge". And while we might have a name or an identifier for the subject, we have little else.
The object here is to make the caption part of the message or story that gives the reader a well- rounded understanding of the subject. In that vein, the length of the caption is not the issue – within reason.
Some publishers/newspapers/ magazines limit captions to a certain number of words in the belief that if the caption gets to long, the information should be contained in a story that would reference the photograph. This doesn’t always work. While length is not a hard-and-fast issue, captions should be kept under 120 or 125 words.
Supporting details included in the caption should not be obviously stated in the photograph. To say that Mom and Dad were seated at a table would be redundant. Unless there is something specifically unique about the paint or the color of the car, to say it is red is redundant. To say the bridge is concrete is redundant.
The related information included in the caption is designed to give the reader context for the subject.
Just like the essay or the introduction to the project, remember, the key to writing a good caption is to be concise.
Subject and Supporting Details
The subject is, far and away, the absolute, 100%, most important consideration in making a photograph.
Period.
Full stop.
There may be other considerations, but the subject makes or breaks a photograph right from the start.
It’s what the photograph is about.
Pure and simple.
Some considerations --
The subject must be tangible. That is, it has to reflect light. While your topic may really be the relationships between people, it is the people in the photographs who are demonstrating those relationships. We see it in their faces, their body language, etc. So, in reality, the subjects here are the people.
The subject must be readily or easily identified. It doesn't have to be the largest thing in the frame, but it has to be easily identified as the subject. It’s the "what" in "what the photograph is about." It has to be clear, concise, coherent and the reader shouldn’t have to search for it in the frame.
Because photographic subjects exist in the real world, placing them in their real context is critically important. A portrait has a totally different context if done in a sterile studio rather than in the subject's natural or normal environment. The context of the photograph gives more information about the subject and a better idea of what that subject is all about.
It bears repeating that in presenting the subject, and the project, the photographer translates all of his or her perceptions, ideas, impressions, understandings and appreciations of the subject into the project and, therefore, into each photograph in the project.
Let's say there are two photographers... one sees the automobile as a necessary evil and the other sees it as a liberating device. The first may show the city streets, choked with cars lined up bumper to bumper not really moving and people dodging between them. If the light is right, the photographer might get the clouds of exhaust fumes rising above the gridlock. The second may show the automobile cruising along an open road that’s free of congestion, convertible top down, under a sweeping, bright blue sky. Both are photographing the automobile, but from drastically different perceptions, impressions, appreciations and understandings.
The most important time for the photographer’s expression is when the subject is being evaluated.
The subject is evaluated based on the story being told and filtered through the photographer's perceptions, impressions, appreciations and understandings. A little planning goes a long way to ensure the subject is captured with the expression that tells the subject’s story.
This evaluation includes the subject itself, of course including the best viewpoints, the best perspectives, etc. Most importantly, this includes an evaluation of the best way to present the subject in terms of the photographer's perceptions, ideas, understandings, appreciations and impressions. This may take some ‘time and walking around’ and assuredly more than one photograph.
When evaluating the subject, here are some of the things to consider:
- Is the subject being presented as it reflects your perceptions, ideas, impressions, appreciations and understandings? as part of your overall project?
- Is the subject being presented clearly as the subject?
- Does the context support your perceptions, ideas, impressions, appreciations and understandings of the subject? as part of your overall project?
- Is the lighting conducive to your presentation of the subject?
This is not a checklist but more an awareness.
Considering these points helps assure the subject is presented clearly, concisely, coherently and appropriately both in and of itself and as part of your overall project?.
While the subject gives the photograph its structure, the supporting details flesh it out and give it its context.
Imagine a park. There are the standard grass, trees and cement walkways. In the background there’s a shopping center and a parking lot. Cars are passing by on the street.
There are a few people seated on the benches. This is obviously a small park in a city setting. We don't know if it's a large city or a small city, if it's in the city proper or a suburban area, but it is in a developed area.
Imagine another park. This one has all of the standard features of the first except the shopping center in the background is replaced by houses and the street is devoid of traffic. There’s a large swing set and play area visible. The houses in the background appear to be farther away from the camera than the shopping center was. There are a number of people in the park, mostly mothers or fathers with young children. This is obviously a larger park in a residential or suburban setting.
Now, imagine a third (and final) park. In addition to all of the standard features of the previous example, we see that the houses in the background have been replaced by ball fields and a stand of trees farther back. It appears that the streets visible in the first two parks have been replaced by well-manicured grass and walking paths. There are a number of people in the park, ranging from mothers and fathers with children to senior citizens. All of the details certainly point to a much larger park.
In each of the three examples, the subject is a park, but the details of each certainly give a much different impression of each of the parks in question.
Another example:
Imagine a photograph of a modest, three-bedroom ranch style home in an established residential area. The lawn is well manicured and the cement driveway leading to the garage is well swept. There’s a tree on the right side of the scene. There’s a walkway leading to the front door. The home is brick and has wood accents. The background appears to be a moderately wooded area. The scene is under a blue sky with puffy white clouds.
Now imagine a photograph of another modest, three-bedroom ranch style home in an established residential area. The light-brown rock in the front yard is well defined and the cement driveway leading to the garage is well swept. There’s a grouping of small cactus on the right side of the scene. There’s a walkway leading to the front door. The home is stucco with wood accents. The background is predominantly rugged mountains with little vegetation. The scene is under an absolutely clear blue sky.
Obviously, both houses are fairly similar in size and basic location, each being a "modest, three-bedroom ranch style home in an established residential area". But here is where the supporting details take over. The first home could be almost anywhere from the Northeast to the Northwest but the second home is obviously somewhere in the Desert Southwest. The supporting details help locate the home.
When evaluating the supporting details, here are some of the things to consider:
- Do the supporting details support your perceptions, ideas, impressions, appreciations and understandings of the subject- that is, are they helping convey the context of the subject?
- Have the supporting details been pared down to only those necessary?
- While paring down the supporting details to only those necessary, have enough been included to maintain the context of the subject?
Again, this is not a checklist but more an awareness. Considering these points helps assure the supporting details are presented clearly, concisely, coherently and appropriately for the story so the reader can understand the information contained in the photograph.
The real question here is how to manage all of the supporting details that come with a subject. Which details serve the view of the subject and which don't – that is, which details do you want to emphasize and which do you want to minimize? Which details help tell the story or get the subject’s story across? There are no pat answers to any of these questions.
The idea is to take the time needed to study all of the aspects of the scene, not just the main subject. Be prepared to make adjustments. Moving a step to the left or the right could make all the difference in the world. Moving in a bit could help. Moving out a bit could make improvements. Making the photograph from a low viewpoint or a high viewpoint could dramatically change things. Include more detail, include less.
In the end, the subject and the supporting details will make or break the photograph. It takes a bit of time and a bit of effort to develop the evaluation skills needed, but, with practice, they build on themselves.
Intelligent Composition
Photography embraces a number of approaches to composition. There are approaches on top of approaches. There are approaches that are systems. There are systems that are approaches. There are "sure-fire" approaches and there are "guaranteed” systems. Most of these are cookie-cutter methods that are more interested in the system than in the photograph being made.
In reality, the composition of the photograph MUST reflect the subject’s story being told.
There are three fundamental principles of composition that have to be remembered. And these are directly from the Six Traits:
- Selection or element choice: This is what to leave in and what to leave out. If we leave too much in, the photograph can become confusing. If too much is left out, the photograph can be sterile. With either extreme, relating the subject’s story suffers (from Trait 2).
- Clarity of subject and supporting detail: The subject is unambiguously stated and the supporting details narrow it. The details provide additional information, set the context and create the visual layers that involve the reader (from Traits 3 and 4).
- Recognition of the significance of the subject of the individual photograph within the flow and context of the overall project. (from Traits 4 and 5).
These three concepts work together to tell the subject’s story. In a "tight" composition all three elements work together to communicate a concise, coherent message. If one element is removed or diminished, the photograph loses some of its impact. Which then means that the project loses some of its potential impact.
While what to photograph is a personal decision, there are some things to consider when figuring out how to photograph the subject:
- The Center of Interest (Subject): assuring that the center of interest is appropriate for the overall project and is appropriate for the photograph contributing to that project. This is the most important consideration of composition. The center of interest certainly does not have to be the largest thing in the frame or be in the center of the frame, but it clearly needs to be the “main thing”. It has to be what the photograph is about.
And, to repeat and reinforce an earlier concept, here is where the photograph goes well beyond simple restatement and becomes a very personal statement. This center of interest incorporates the photographer's perceptions, impressions, appreciations and understandings of the subject. After the center of interest is determined, the supporting details narrow the presentation.
- Simplification: This is the process of winnowing the supporting details to just those necessary to support the subject within the context intended. Too few details can lead to boredom and uncertainty while too many details can lead to confusion. There is a fine line in any composition – what to leave in and what to leave out – when is it too much? when is it not enough? This is always ultimately determined by the subject’s story being told.
And here is where we deal with the idea of "less is more". This is a theory of photographic composition asserting that the fewer elements there are in the frame "the better". This is very true, but only to a point.
If the selection process puts too much in the frame, the impact of the subject can be diluted or diminished. We have seen this over and over again. But if too little is put in the frame, we lose the context of the subject and it becomes boring and isolated.
Pictorial areas: There are three pictorial areas in a photograph- the foreground, the mid ground and the background. In traditional composition theory, the foreground is the "front" area of the composition leading into the mid-ground, where the subject is located. The background forms the back drop for the subject. All three areas can provide information about the subject.
Framing: Poor framing can kill an otherwise excellent photograph. This can include distracting elements in the background, foreground or at the edges of the frame. How many times do we concentrate so hard on the subject that we miss the telephone pole at the edge of the frame, the power line that cuts through the scene, the tree growing out of the person's shoulder, a floating tree limb intruding in the edges of the frame, signs, parked cars, people who happen to wander in the frame, etc.? The object here is to frame the photograph carefully and include only those elements in the photograph that support the subject. When considering a shooting angle, make sure you look at the subject, the background and foreground and then check all four edges of the frame.
Viewpoint: This refers to the angle of the camera in relation to the subject. A high viewpoint places the camera above the subject and is often considered to be an observational position. A normal or eye level viewpoint places the camera at a height relative to the subject that would be considered a normal standing position. A low viewpoint is from below the subject and is sometimes used for dramatic impact.
This is not to be confused with our point of view which is how we perceive and thus present the subject.
Visual distance: This is the apparent distance from the camera to the subject. A long shot or an establishing shot is an overall view of the subject and the environment around the subject. A medium shot eliminates some of the environment- this is somewhat tighter than the long shot. The medium tight shot removes more of the context and begins showing more subject detail. A close up or an extreme close up of the subject removes virtually all context.
Whatever you do about “composition”, whatever your approach is... always remember that the photograph has to reflect the message. Your photograph might be beautifully composed but if it does not advance the subject’s story, it certainly won’t work in your project and may even detract from its overall impact.
Editing The Photographs
We often refer inaccurately refer to “photoshop work” done to individual photographs as “editing”. That’s more adjustment than anything else. For our purposes here, editing is the process of selecting photographs for the final presentation of our project.
Big warning – editing is neither quick nor easy (even for experienced editors)...
Big hint – don’t try to edit the project until you have all of the photographs.
To start the editing process go through all of the photographs looking for ones that are obviously not going to make the grade technically. These could be ones that were poorly exposed, poorly focused or have other, obvious technical flaws. Get rid of those photographs. Literally – delete them. Hopefully there will not be many!
Those who use a raw file format need to take special note here – when judging the photograph for exposure, color balance, contrast, etc., you should not use the raw file. At the very least, bulk process all of the raw files to jpegs or tiffs to give you corrected photographs and do your editing from there.
Now the editing process to select the photographs for the project begins. As you start, remember that you are looking for the photographs to include in the project not ones to exclude. This is positive or inclusive editing.
To begin this part of the process, the first cut will be to select the photographs creating a universe of those that might be included in the project. As this is not the final cut you will be selecting more photographs than you need. All of these are the “maybes”. The next step is to walk away from the project for a little while. Give yourself a break. Go do something else. Then come back to the project.
The second cut will be a lot more exacting and you will need to be a lot more critical in the selection process. You will need to make sure each photograph selected strongly supports the project and each other. These are the “probables”. The next step is to walk away from the project for a little while. Take a break. Go do something else. Then come back to the project.
Now comes the third and final cut. You are going to be absolutely ruthless in the selection of photographs that show precisely what you want to show. After this selection process, you should be down to the photographs that will be used in the project… but you’re not finished…
The next step is to walk away from the project for a little while. Give yourself a break. Go do something else. Then come back to the project.
After getting all of the selection done and determining the photographs you want to use, the next step is to look at the flow of the work. Does each lead logically to the next? Does each follow logically from the previous? If not, rearrange them until they flow appropriately for the story. If this doesn't work, you might want to select a different photograph or two or add a photograph or two to improve the flow of the story. Infrequently removing a photograph improves the flow of the work.
The next step is to walk away from the project for a little while. Give yourself a break. Go do something else for a while. Seriously, maybe take a couple of days before you come back to the project.
The final step of the editing process is to go through the photographs once more and make sure they appropriately tell the subject’s story and are sequenced properly to tell that story based on your perceptions, impressions, appreciations and understandings of the subject.
It can’t be stressed enough that with the exception of the very first cut where you were throwing out photographs that do not make the grade technically, this editing process is entirely and completely positive.
You are not looking for the photographs to be eliminated… you are looking for the ones to be included.
You’re not looking for the photographs that don’t tell the story… you are looking for the ones that do.
And once you are finished with the editing, once your project is complete, it is ready to be presented however you intended. (Please see the appendix for a further look at this.)
The Theory Behind This
The photography-as-art question has been discussed, debated, argued – and, yes, proselytized – for more than 100 years without a clear resolution. At the slightest suggestion that maybe there is some room for disagreement or at least compromise, the yes-it’s-art brigade launches into full attack mode with a take-no-prisoners approach. The no-it's-not group generally doesn't offer much of anything in response so as not to keep what they see as pointless fulmination continuing until the end of time.
But, just perhaps, the problem isn’t so much with the answer as it is with the question...
We live in a world of classification. Everything has to be put in a defining container – left/right, car/truck, health food/ junk food – you get the idea. So rather than assuming photography–as–art and arguing from the assumption, perhaps we need to re-frame the question by asking what photography truly is and what art truly is.
For the purpose of this discussion we need to go to the root or essence of both art and photography. Often, when we boil complex or emotionally charged issues to their essence, the realities and/or resolutions become astonishingly clear.
Unlike photography which has a relatively simple and well-agreed definition – Creating images by capturing reflected light using a camera (common) - art has a number of wide-ranging definitions. It seems one of the best and most encompassing is The expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power (-Oxford Languages) Some definitions use the same or similar language but add the qualifier by the application of the hand.
The important part of this definition comes in the last dozen words producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.
Based on this, art is concerned with the creation of aesthetic objects and, at its root, is inherently representative and interpretive while photography, which is directly creating the likeness of a subject by using reflected light is, at its root, inherently declarative and specific.
In artistic production, the artist creates a representation of a subject. Regardless of how “accurate” the rendering of the subject, it is still a rendering by the artist and not a view of the actual subject or object modeled during the production of the work.
When the artist is creating a painting of a landscape, for example, he or she can choose to eliminate or add elements to the painting as the work is being created. In essence, this capacity allows the artist to render (represent) the scene as he or she wills it to be (interpretation). When painting a portrait, the artist can change the background, add or eliminate jewelry, change the color of clothing the subject is wearing, etc., again while the work is being created and again this is the ability to represent and interpret that is inherent in art.
In this the artist transforms the canvas, paper, cloth, etc., being used for the rendering into the aesthetic object or the “work appreciated primarily for (its) beauty or emotional power”.
Conversely, the photographer does not have the same ability. He or she can certainly select the scene being rendered but as the photograph is being created elements can neither be added or eliminated, colors can not be changed, etc. It should be noted here that some camera manufacturers have included the capacity to adjust both white balance and color temperature in some camera models. This capability is significantly different from being able to change a portrait sitters shirt color from red to green as the photograph is being taken.
In the photograph, the photographer creates (declares) an exact likeness of the subject and the presentation is of that specific object.
The argument could be made — and has been made – that post-processing can handle all of those “needs” for artistic representation and interpretation but to do so would alter the photograph to the point that it is no longer the scene or subject selected. It is the scene the photographer wishes would have been there.
Art is about aesthetic objects while photography is about telling the story of the subject. Neither art nor photography is “superior” to the other. They are simply different.
In fairness, we have a long history of folks trying to define photography as art. Whatever the justification or rationale, it still holds that if there is no representation and interpretation, it simply isn’t art and again, this is about as judgmental as saying that if the game has four bases in a diamond pattern it isn’t football.
Often the definition of art will be turned into more of a description as the elements of color, line, shape and texture are added. Some go even further adding form, space and value to the description. So the description of art now reads – The expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, using color, line, shape, texture, form, space and value in producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power (by the application of the hand).
This description expands the concept of creating an aesthetic object, enhancing the representative and interpretive aspects of art but doesn’t include the declarative and specific aspects of photography.
To give a similar expansion to the definition of photography, taking it to the descriptive level, we would need to add the concept of the light captured being reflected by an existing physical subject. So the description would now read – Photography is the method of recording the image of an object through the action of light or related radiation on light-sensitive material. (-Britanica)
This enhanced description of photography solidifies the declarative and specific aspects – recording the image of an object – while being silent on the representative and interpretive aspects needed for the creation of art.
There are several seemingly popular ways to try and circumvent this essential reality – and don’t forget this is a discussion of the essences as originally produced.
The first is simply adding a qualifier such as “artistic” or “fine art” to the word photography in the belief that simply changing the name will make it so. And while some may believe this re-branding, it is simply that – re-branding. This is similar to major film manufacturers re-branding their products – the film was the same as before just the name, the box and the sales pitch were different.
The second circumvention is to evaluate the work based on the set of commonly accepted conventions including exposure, color, print quality, focus, tonal; balance, etc., with nothing more than a nod to content. While these characteristics are more definable and measurable than simple re-branding, they simply do not get past the representative and interpretive tests. And evaluating photography based solely on the conventions – focus, exposure, color, etc., is like evaluating a book based on it’s paper, type face and binding type.
And finally there is the all-embracing, all-inclusive, blanket circumvention of “intent”. That is “I created this fine-art photograph to have it appreciated for its beauty and emotional impact and to have this fine-art photograph certify my fine-art bona-fides.” Of course the concepts here are (first) if I say it enough times it will be true and (second) the actual ideas of “fine art” and “fine art bona-fides” are so ambiguous and poorly understood in this context that just about anything along these lines will suffice as an unarguable defense. And yet, it is still lacking the fundamentals of the representative and interpretive needed for true art.
So if photography is not art, what is it?
Well, first of all it is photography but beyond that it is a form of writing.
Over the past 40 years or so, significant advances in how we communicate have shown photography to be a form of language and the photograph to be the written expression of that language.
For years we have divided the ability to communicate into two broad categories – verbal expression and written expression. The verbal side of the equation covers the ability to speak and listen – to use verbal signs (words, inflection, volume, etc.) to transmit meaning from one person to another. The written expression side uses graphic signs or symbols (letters, symbols, images, etc.) to transmit meaning.
Written expression is also a way to record and transmit verbal expression – think sending a text message or an email instead of making a (voice) phone call – now think about how many times you have opted to send a photograph in that text or email because it was a more accurate expression of the subject than a purely textual based communication. If these two points are taken together, it’s clear that photography is not only a language but is also a form of writing.
It’s important to note here that textually based expression relies on signs that are words and symbols to express content while photographic expression relies on signs that are objects to express content.
The language of photography involves effectively aligning the signs (objects) within the defined frame so the photographer can effectively express (encode) the purpose of the photograph and enable the reader to understand (decode) the photograph’s meaning.
When we speak or write we use specific words to get our meaning across (semantics). And then there is a logical sequence to those words – one after another – to get our meaning across (syntax). And finally there is the understanding of those words based on the context in which they were spoken or written and in which they was heard or read (pragmatics).
In photography, the semantics and the pragmatics are essentially the same as in verbal and written expression – we include specific objects in the frame and the understanding of the photograph is based on the context of both the photographer and the reader.
The difference comes in the syntax. In verbal and textual communication words are presented as a sequence, one after another, while the information in the photograph is presented in its entirety.
This difference demands the photographer construct the syntactical structure which defines the meaning of the photograph.
What this fluidity shows is that the photographer encodes the photograph with a particular meaning as it is being created and the reader decodes that meaning within his or her particular context.
In order to refine the meaning of the individual photograph further, the photographer may provide additional photographs, as a writer may provide additional paragraphs, which mutually refine each other and refine the overall encoded meaning. This mutual refinement is a natural part of the language of photography.
So rather than the representation and interpretation of art, in photography we have the semantics, syntax and pragmatics from writing. These are essentially the declarative and specific aspects of the medium.
The concept of photography as art has been around in one form or another almost since the introduction of the medium and was heavily advanced after the introduction of the “hand camera” in the very late 1800s when professional photographers saw their incomes and standing threatened. One of the leaders of that movement, Alfred Stieglitz, used his magazine “Camera Notes” to proselytize the art position and help gain acceptance for photography.
But in 1923, Stieglitz wrote, “My photographs look like photographs and they therefore can’t be considered art.” He never tried to cover up or explain the change in his thinking but it was clear there was a significant rethinking of his earlier position.
Even a dramatic change of heart by one of photography’s king-makers couldn’t turn the momentum of the photography-as-art movement around and the impression has remained generally unchanged.
But…
With today’s advances in photography we see more and more that the true essence of the medium is not in the art world but in the realm writing.
With photography akin to writing it seems we have to change the way we consume photographs. Bluntly, we need to read them and not simply view them.
With the development of the “photography-as-art” movement almost 130 years ago — or maybe even a bit before that — we began treating photographs the same way we treated paintings – after all both went in a frame or were pasted to a board, both hung on a wall, both were hawked in galleries or ritzy private salons. We were viewing photographs the same way we were viewing paintings (and we keep doing that for some reason!).
But photographs are not the same as paintings and the way we consume them has to be different. We need to stop viewing photographs and start reading them for the subject’s story.
Viewing is, by its nature, passive while reading is active. When we read we are actively engaged with the material at hand.
It doesn’t make any difference if it’s a text book for school, a newspaper reporting the events of the day or a novel we’re reading for pleasure. It doesn’t matter if it’s text- based, image-based or a mix of both. When we read we are actively pursuing the information contained. And, when we start reading photographs, we stop being “viewers” and we become readers.
Because of the normalization of viewing photographs, we generally begin with an evaluation of the overall conventions… that is how does the image “look”. Does it conform to current “sensibilities”. Sometimes there’s a cursory mention of “the scene” or the composition of the photograph but generally we are more concerned with the appearance of the work than the information contained.
And this leads to the non-specific comments of “nice capture”, “very nice”, “beautiful view”, “great work” or similar broad, nonspecific affectations of approval. More often than not, the appreciation of the work stops there. Whether a simple or complex image, much of the time it boils down to summing up the photograph as a “pretty picture” and moving on to the next.
Obviously, this is not where the understanding of the photograph should end or, realistically, even start.
It needs to be stated clearly that what follows is not a formal assessment of the photograph but rather a way to read the subject’s story as it’s being told by the photographer.
The place to start reading the photograph is in determining the subject. This is the “what-it’s-about” determination, the “what’s-the-substance” judgment. Once we have the subject we look for the supporting details that flesh out that subject.
The photographer’s responsibility is to give us, the readers, the syntactic structure necessary to understand the work. There was (and maybe there still is) a movement in photography to allow the reader to determine the meaning of the photograph. This wholly undermines the photographer’s view of the subject and basically reduces the photograph to an empty vessel.
Sometimes the syntactic structure is completely contained in the photograph allowing it to “stand alone”. We get this structure not only in the clear and unambiguous declaration of the subject but in the clarity and relevance of the supporting details and their relationship to the subject. These elements become clear as we read through the photograph. We get this level of structure sometimes. That having been said, we still need a context setting caption or title.
But then sometimes the photograph doesn’t supply the entire syntactic structure and needs a bit of help in the form of an explanatory title or a concise caption. Again… sometimes. Of course here we have the strongest possible expression of the subject’s story. The photographs and the text work together, providing the reader with as complete a perspective as possible.
Unfortunately, more often than not, the syntactic structure is simply not addressed and we are left to guess at the purpose of the photograph. The ultimate conclusion of this guessing game is “okay, it’s a pretty picture… moving on”.
The next area of consideration for reading the photograph is it’s context. This is sometimes included and is probably the most important bit of information outside the syntactic structure. But the photographer has to give this to us – we can’t just divine it out of thin air. Sometimes the photographer will state the reason or reasons for making a particular photograph or a particular series of photographs. This is like having the introduction to a book opening things up for us.
Other times, unfortunately, a photographer will use the “context” to explain how hard it was the get the photograph, how far he or she had to walk, that they battled the elements or what they carried in their camera bag. Then there are times the photographer might simply indicate the photograph was taken to test some new technique, a new camera, a new lighting system or some accessory. None of these truly contextualize the photograph nor are they extremely helpful in reading the photograph.
Sometimes analysis of the composition is included as part of reading the photograph but, in reality, the composition is part of determining the relationship between the subject of the photograph and the supporting details. The composition is, as it should always be, serving the syntactical structure.
Materials and processes used in making the photograph may be important for an archival study of a photograph but if you are trying to read an image on line it’s usually next to impossible to determine either. The photographer may list the make and model of the camera used and even less often list the software used to process the image but that makes little difference to the content or context of the photograph.
It would seem the only time materials and process would impact the reading of currently produced work is if the photographer is using one of the historical processes – carbon printing, platinum or palladium printing, gum bichromate printing, etc. And then both the process and why it was selected would rank with context.
Again, this is not a formal assessment of the photograph but rather a way to read the subject’s story as it is being told by the photographer.
Very simply, the more complete the information we have, the more complete the story is. And the story is at its most complete when we have the all of the semantics, syntax and pragmatics at our disposal.
To sum up all of this in very simply – photography and writing are the verbal expression components of the storytelling. It is the storytelling itself that is the “art”.
Appendix - Publishing Your Work
Right off the top, the first assumption here is that you are looking to get your work on the internet…
The second assumption here is that you are looking to do it on your own website but you don’t have one yet…
There are any number of website builder services on the internet that will allow you to create a website and publish your photographs… services like Wix, SquareSpace, Weebly. Web.com, GoDaddy, Google Sites, etc. And there are any number of portfolio building services that will do the same… services like Pixiset, SmugMug, Pixpa and Zenfolio.
Some of theses site builders are easy to use while others are more complex. Some are free, other are not. Some have a free service but also offer “premium” paid service. Some give you a free subdomain (web address) while others don’t.
The emphasis here is to publish concise, coherent and unified “photo series work”.
With all of the choices available for publishing, it is obviously well beyond the scope here to get into a discussion of presenting a finished, internet-based, photo series. Work can be presented as a “page-turning” book using a content management system or as a scrolling, single page website built on a drag-and-drop editor. Both are competent building systems but one is a bit more beginner friendly.
As you look for a place to publish your series keep a few things in mind...
First is the issue of cost and the next question to ask is if the service is a full-service provider – that is can you build your website and have it hosted there?
Next, make sure that whatever service you choose allows you to build a website that is responsive to all of the various screen sizes that are out there. This goes from the large desktop monitors down to the display on your phone.
Here is where an understanding of what exactly “responsive” means for photographs and how to work with it. For a photograph, the responsive process looks at the photo’s width and if it needs to be reduced based on the display screen. The other thing you need to understand is that there are a number of different approaches to making a site responsive so the best thing to do is test… test… test. The other part of that testing is to make sure you can include the introductory text at the start of the series and the captions with each photograph.
Finally, look to see if the service will allow you to use the design you want. Simply put, some services try to overwhelm you with the sheer number of templates offered. The question is, though, given the number of templates available, is there “the one” you want to use?
After that, what are the restrictions? Here are a few of the more popular ones -
Do they restrict storage? Do they restrict bandwidth? Do they restrict the number of connections over a given period of time? Are there any ads on your pages? Is the free service good only for a period of time – like an introductory offer? Is there support of some kind if you get in trouble?
The next question is what does the service provide to help you design, build and publish your site?
Before you start building your website, especially if it’s your first crack at it, you might want to do some research on the process you will go through. Search the web for “How do I build a website using (Fill in the name of the service here)” or “Beginners guide to (Fill in the name of the service here)”. If you limit the results to the last month or the last year, you should get some solid advice on how to build your website using the current version of the service provider.
And just remember… after you get your site the way you want it, you still have to promote it… more web research!
Copyright 2025, Don Althaus, M.A. All rights reserved