Through mediums of media, I have learnt that stories can be told in various ways. For this studio, we look at how photography can be used to tell stories. Photo essays tell stories through the lens and in doing so, depicting the human condition and way of living.

After watching various tutorials on how to create photo essays, I struggled with understanding how pointing my camera in different angle on the same image could tell a different story. After much debate with myself , I figured out that as humans, we use sensory images to understand the world and the same applies to photographs. The point of a photo essay is to use the camera body and angles and technique to tell the story in the best way. Tilting the camera versus a symmetric balanced shot tells a different story. Often photojournalists in war zones capture action shots of long shots to show the extent of the destruction.

For my own reference, I have a list of types of images/shots listed below:

  • Establishing image
  • Action image
  • Portraits
  • Close-up or detail image
  • Sequential shots
  • Interactive shots
  • Detail shots
  • Concluding shot

A useful slide from Brian’s slideshow that explains photo essays simply:

PHOTO ESSAY – CONSTRUCTING A STORY four main categories

1. Establishing image – context and environment. Often recorded from a high vantage point.

2. Action image – medium-distance capturing action and interaction of people.

3. Portraits – often essential to any story people are interested in people.

4. Close-up or detail image – need to identify significant detail within the overall scene and then enlarge it to draw the viewers attention to it.