As you start progressing through your photography journey, you will gradually notice that you are starting to build a lot more depth within your photos. Naturally without even noticing, you will start to capture stories within everyday life.

Storytelling is an incredibly powerful tool when it comes to photography, if you can master the aspects and perspectives, you could potenially turn your good photos into great ones. In this blog I’ll be discussing why telling stories through your photos can provide more questions than answers, but for the better.

The Meaning of a Story

The first step to establishing stories through your photography is to understand what a story involves, and furthermore how to integrate them within your photos.

Overall, like in every sense of the word, a story in photography terms involves a photo or series of photos that contain an element of mystery or surprise , and therefore leaves the viewer with questions. For example, noticeably in this image there is a poster of one of the famous landmarks and viewpoints looking across the town of Onomichi, Japan, displayed on the front of the store, therefore creating a visual effect of a double image and meaning. Furthermore by facing away from the camera, the boy on the bike also creates a sense of mystery within the image… who is this person, and where are they heading?

Alongside this, a photo containing a story is also one which can describe, explain, and portray any set of emotions. The image could radiate a sense of happiness or sadness, joy or sorrow, whichever emotion it portrays, it should also be able to take the viewer along on a rollercoaster of emotions. For example the first photo below represents and portrays a sense of love and togetherness, a frame of happiness and joy, however the second image portrays a darker and more moody atmosphere that can bring the feeling of mystery and sorrow.

Naturally, everyone’s opinion on how you portray, develop, and showcase a story through an image will vary, however overall the concept is the key to what matters.

How to Approach

How to approach and consume the subject of storytelling through photography is a difficult one to explain and digest, as realistically a good portion of it comes down to luck. This is because in order for you to get a single photo with a story it often requires you to be in the right place at the right time, and therefore the more time you dedicate towards shooting, the luckier you are going to get.

However, a method myself and others have developed through a number of years experience within the world of photography is to tell your story through an album or set of photos from a specific location. For example, by using a gathering of photos from different perspectives, this allows you to control a narrative within your work and to carve out a collection which tells an overall story. This method can especially be beneficial when it comes to sharing your content on social media platforms such as Instagram or Threads.

Personally when piecing an album together, the story would usually consist of between 6 and 10 images altogether, and therefore even the most basic of images become key pieces of the puzzle. Below are examples of the types of shots you can utilise within your photography to help show a story from different perspectives:

Establishing Shot

A key type of image to essentially set the scene for a series of photos is an establishing shot. This image can be used to connect with the audience and to let the viewer know exactly where you are. For example this could be a photo of the city or the wilderness of a landscape, any kind of open shot which establishes where you’re shooting from.

Subject Shot

Next up we have the subject shot. Typically subject shots are useful for allowing you to connect with the audience on a more personal level by allowing them to view interesting subjects and cultures from a first-person point of view. Specific examples of this can include people, vehicles and transport, architecture, animals or essentially anything that is relevant to the setting.

Detail Shot

Furthermore, the third type of image to utilise would be a detail shot. This type of photo places much more focus on specific details and elements within the environment you are shooting, which in turn allows the image to become unique in its own right. Think of this image as if you are viewing the world with a magnifying glass, once again helping to enhance and display a different perspective.

Examples

Example 1 - Hong Kong

Example 2 - Miyajima

Example 3 - Seoul

Example 4 - Tokyo

Storytelling Through Photography

Copenhagen Travel Guide

The Biggest Travel Regrets