How Important is a Photo's Narration?

[jky]

How important are narratives -- words -- to photos?

Words definitely do serve their purpose as already mentioned in some responses...
except for street photos in my opinion.

 

[claacct]

Sorry, I can't quite see your point. Pictures are a part of telling them what you did, and what the place was like.

In fact, I'd suggest that unless you are a very good raconteur, they are likely to be more interested in what the place is like, rather than in what you did.

Cheers,

R.

Make the photos interesting on their own, make them such that people read stories in them and get drawn to the photos.

 

[paulfish4570]

i can speak to the photo/narration issue from a long-time newspaper editor's experience.
if a photo (or photo layout) stands by itself, its caption(s) - or an accompanying copy block - should provide some narration; one should not let a reader guess the context of the photo(s).
if a photo(s), accompanies an article, the caption only need make a connection with the article. narrative can be found in the article itself.

 

[dave lackey]

Great answer, Paul.😛

 

[bigeye]

I think that it's important sometimes for context - a good photo can be enhanced, but it's terrific when it can be folded into the photo, as Helen Hill does here: http://rangefinderforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=1462489&postcount=69