arcimboldo
Member
never understood this term of "story telling"
What do they mean by telling stories in photography
- Thread starter arcimboldo
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Murchu
Well-known
Is it so hard to imagine a story with pictures fulfilling the role of words.. 😉
Sparrow
Veteran
Mmm ... lets think about that
DougFord
on the good foot
Research storyboard(ing).
Pablito
coco frío
arcimboldo, your name gives you away.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Generally, words are involved too, because a picture is usually open to far more interpretations than (carefully chosen) words.
Cheers,
R.
Cheers,
R.
Bob Michaels
nobody special
Pickett Wilson
Veteran
The Eddie Adams shot doesn't tell the whole story, though. Which Eddie regretted.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Dear Bob,
Not really. Who are they, after all? Why is the little girl nude, running and screaming? Who is shooting whom, and why? Without words, these pictures tell only very partial stories. Sure, we all know the words. But imagine you didn't. What are the stories?
Cheers,
R.
aad
Not so new now.
I thought it was the listing of the gear used.
keytarjunkie
no longer addicted
Buy yourself a book like Alec Soth's Niagara and you will find out for yourself!
Merkin
For the Weekend
This image by Stieglitz tells a pretty full story:
http://legacy.earlham.edu/~vanbma/20th century/images/stieglitzsteerage1907.jpg
No photograph or series of photographs can tell a truly complete story, due to the limitations of the medium.
http://legacy.earlham.edu/~vanbma/20th century/images/stieglitzsteerage1907.jpg
No photograph or series of photographs can tell a truly complete story, due to the limitations of the medium.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Highlight: Not really, unless you know what it is. For that matter, even when you do know, you need to know what 'steerage' was.
Last para: absolutely!
Also, a single shot cannot normally tell as much of a story as a photo essay.
Cheers,
R.
Murchu
Well-known
Yes, my own thoughts would be that the single image, no matter how powerful, communicates in a similar way to us as a news headline might. It relays a critical element of the story, but not the whole story. For the whole story, I think that is where the picture story comes in. With a series of images, the photographer (or editor) communicates key elements of the story to their audience, in the same way a journalist would with an article/ piece.
Exdsc
Well-known
Photography is closer to poetry in spirit than story telling. For stories there is movies etc.
Writing poetry is far more difficult than telling a story.
Writing poetry is far more difficult than telling a story.
kxl
Social Documentary
I agree with Roger that a single photo, unsupported by words, does not really tell a story since it lacks context and instead "assumes facts not in evidence." Any iconic photo w/re to the Vietnam War era does not hold any meaning to the average twenty-something.
I do think that a series of photos, without words, may be good enough to establish context and tell a story. It would be a challenge, but good storytelling generally is.
I do think that a series of photos, without words, may be good enough to establish context and tell a story. It would be a challenge, but good storytelling generally is.
Merkin
For the Weekend
A clever person can determine from the context of the image what is going on. All it takes is an eye and some thought. You don't have to know the title of the image. You just have to look and think.
Roger Hicks
Veteran
Sorry, what do you mean by 'context'? A picture on its own has no context, no matter how clever you are. You may recognize content, but clearly, this is nothing to do with context, and indeed, less to do with cleverness than with learning.
Cheers,
R.
Merkin
For the Weekend
Sure it does, in the elements of the image.
Was the image taken during the day or at night?
Roughly when was the image taken?
What is the setting?
What are the people doing?
What do we know about the people?
What does all of this information 'say?'
Was the image taken during the day or at night?
Roughly when was the image taken?
What is the setting?
What are the people doing?
What do we know about the people?
What does all of this information 'say?'
Pablito
coco frío
True, but also true: no word or series of words can tell a truly complete story due to the limitations of the medium.
