Mini Lesson: The Photo Essay

THE  PHOTOGRAPHIC  ESSAY

A BRIEF LESSON FROM CHARMAINE BELEELE OF ANGEL KISSED STUDIO:

A Story In Pictures!

Photographers like Eugene Smith and Margaret Bourke-White set the standard for creating the “Photo Essay.” Here is the magic formula that Life Magazine  photographers used.   The next time you go on a family outing or a vacation, use this handy shot list as a guide  for  creating  an authentic photo essay:

1.  An Establishing Shot sets the scene.  (Photograph the signs!)

2.  Tight Close Ups are the best portraits of the main characters in your story.

3.   Proceed to create the story telling Detail Shots.  (These are little close-ups of the scene setting items that help tell the story. For example, the top of the birthday cake or the seashells at the water’s edge.

4.   Action Shots!!!! At any special event, prepare to capture the Climactic Moments, filled with emotion.

5.   Closing Shots!!!!! The end of the story is never just one moment, so shoot several moments that wrap up the loose ends of your story, and then choose the most dramatic, the most touching  or the most meaningful one.

Definition:  The photo essayist creates and selects images

to tell a story in the same way that a writer carefully chooses

words.  The photo essay can be 1-2 pages, a book, or an exhibit.

6.  IF YOU ADD TEXT-here is the best Text Tip:  The words should cover senses that are not simply vision. What do you want the viewer to smell, hear, even touch?  That’s what you write about!