For the longest of years, photography has been used to tell stories – an image that captures a part of a story, and in a more extended version, a series of photos can tell a larger story. 

Story Planning In Photography 

Whether pictorial or written, a good story does not simply appear out of thin air. It takes a lot of thinking and planning, involving different aspects that you must carefully consider. What is your story about? What memory are you sharing? What emotion are you trying to elicit in your viewers? And so on. 

To ensure you do not get stuck mid-story, it always helps to jot down your photo ideas before proceeding. Consider making a list of shots you want to take, a place you wish others to see, people you need to include, angles where the shot will be taken from, etc., and then arrange them in a story sequence. 

The Start, Middle, And End

When using pictures to tell a story, you need to focus on what picture to captivate your audience when they start viewing your account. The middle part should be captivating so that viewers can stay focused on the story, and the last part should be impactful enough so that they can never forget your work. 

For a start, some photo ideas can be environmental portraits of your story, such as a wide landscape shot or a place that holds significance in the story. For the middle, you need to show the interactive parts of the story, so it needs to involve some action. As for the ending, you need to have an impactful ending shot that shows the apparent conclusion of the story. 

Themes And Purpose 

One of the main things about any picture or a series of pictures that talk about a story is that they should be centred around a particular theme or consist of a purpose that brings value to it. 

The best way to learn storytelling through photography is to approach professionals in the field. Many artists use their photography to talk and share stories about things they strongly believe in. For example, consider the work done by one of the finest photographers of our time, Lorenzo DeStefano. 

Lorenzo DeStefano is a highly acclaimed photographer, playwright, screenwriter, novelist, producer, director, and more. While in high school, he worked as a location scout for the local scout commercial production companies and apprenticed to many independent filmmakers in Hawaii. At the same time, he discovered his passion for photography and explored his creative instincts as a street photographer in Honolulu. 

Some of his early works include ‘Rest Homes Hawaii’ and ‘Leahi Hospital-Children’s Ward”. During his traveling exhibitions, his other photography credits consist of ‘Cubanos Island Portraits,’ which have been extensively shown in Cuba, NewYork, London, Havana, and many more. They are currently in the Permanent Collection of MOLAA – Museum of Latin American Art in Long Beach, California and at the University of Miami’s Cuban Heritage Collection.