Let Your Photos Tell A Story
Statues signifying strength and learning on a facade in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Imagine you're out and about trying to make photos, but the light or subject matter isn't ideal. So what do you do?
Pack it in and reach for a brew.
Keep moving in the hope of finding a more photogenic subject or location.
Embrace the challenge of making something out of nothing.
More and more these days I find myself choosing the final of the above options.
After all these years in photography I still get a real buzz out of making photos. I see it very much as an act of creation, by which I mean art.
And the challenge of choosing subject matter that’s neither great nor grand, exotic or pictureseque can be great fun. Even so called banal subjects can become great fodder for the enthusiastic photographer.
As long as you take an inventive approach to making photos and your image is based around strong composition and good lighting you’ll likely produce a really interesting result.
Can you see that’s what I’ve done with this photo of a group of statues, split into two pairs, on either side of the corner of an old building in St. Petersburg.
By photographing upwards I’ve been able to monumentalise the statues and by zooming in I’ve been able to isolate them from their surroundings.
Notice the building’s relatively spare color palette. Its primary function in this picture is to serve as a relatively nondescript background for our statues and the similarly colored vertical bars that surround them.
I think the background servers its purpose with distinction.
Colorful historic buildings by a canal in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Be Different And Produce Creative Results
The photos in this post were made on a canal cruise in St. Petersburg, Russia. While it was fun photographing grand buildings along the route, it was only part of the story I witnessed from water level.
I was just as interested in telling the story about the life cycle of this most beautiful city. And to do so I felt I needed to document the condition of the buildings along the canals in a way that explored the following:
Decay
Intervention
Renewal
For example, this image made from the water line, features a lovely, historical building painted in a bright, positive orange hue.
But a closer look shows an area of disrepair underneath the balcony that’s directly above the building’s main entrance.
It’s not necessary to explain why that small area is in a state of disrepair. Perhaps renovations to the building are not yet complete.
In a way it doesn’t matter as ambiguity and duality are often what makes images interesting.
If you provide the viewer with all the information there’s very little incentive for them to look more closely and think about what it is they’re looking at.
St Petersburg Canal Cruise With A Difference
This series of images feature lovely vignettes from my canal cruise through St. Petersburg.
They’re not the grandest moments along the cruise. In fact I’ve photographed sites that many other tourists would hardly give a second thought to, being preoccupied with their drinks and probably only focusing their attention on the classic tourist sites.
Probably the main difference between photography and the other visual arts is that, rather than creating a world from scratch, the photographer has to deal with what's in front of their lens.
You can see that’s very much the case with these images. There’s literally only a few seconds between seeing something, deciding you want to photograph it and creating a well composed and well exposed image.
But it’s not hard once you’re familiar with your camera and understand how to use it to attain your creative vision.
Needless to say practice is important, particularly when it comes to making photos quickly. Likewise, composition and an understanding of how to manage light is often the difference between a keeper and an image that just doesn’t make the cut.
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Stories That Make Something Out Of Nothing
It's important to encourage and nurture your creative side.
While it's the illuminating and transforming nature of light that determines what and how I photograph, the need to create often overpowers a desire to limit myself to great subject matter or beautiful light.
The trick then is to tell stories that make something out of nothing. A slightly alternate approach to seeing and photographing the world around you can only aid you in this regard.
Take a look at this photo of a couple walking by the shores of the River Neva in St. Petersburg.
It’s a simple photo to make and I was keen to record the color contrast between the distant sunlit dome and the rain filled clouds above.
But the light on the river was quite nondescript. I needed some foreground interest and I was lucky to have this couple walk right into the corner of my frame.
It’s interesting to me that the color contrast in their shirts works in a similar way to the warm/cool color contrast in the buildings along the far shore of the River Neva.
Two statues and a window on a canal cruise in St. Petersburg.
Having Fun With Your Photography
There's always the potential to suggest realities, meanings and outcomes somewhat removed from the subject matter depicted.
The challenge is that the photographer, working outside of photo illustration or extreme abstraction, has to do so with the subject matter that's in front of her.
It can help when what your photographing includes a sense of irony or fun. This photo of two statues, on either side of a window, introduces an interesting story as one of the figures depicted is holding a severed head.
What the story is I don’t know, but it’s an interesting image just the same.
The statues and the architectural elements surrounding them are organised in a very symmetrical manner.
I love the way pairs (i.e., the number two) are used throughout the design and I did all I could, in the few seconds available to me, to concentrate attention on that fact.
How many pairs can you see in this image?
Making images that explore a sense of fun or irony is a great way to set your photos apart. But creative photography doesn’t stop there.
Here’s some approaches that will help you create interesting and visually dynamic photos on your next big travel adventure.
Embrace abstraction
Design your photo around light
Design your photo around composition, as opposed to subject matter
Work to tell a story
I’ve written extensively on how to tell a story in a series of images. The following posts are significant and highly informative. I’m sure you’ll find them helpful.
Most of all you should be having fun with your photography.
There can be times when, to get the image we want, we have to push ourselves, both physically and emotionally. But realising our goals makes it all worthwhile.
Over the years I’ve learned that the fun comes through the work. Put simply, we have to earn our success. And I don’t see that as being a bad thing. Do you?
A colorful facade by the canal in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Once you get your head around shutter speeds, apertures, ISO and focus you’re on your way to making good photos.
I had to consider all those aspects to make this photo of a colourful facade, from water level, while on my St. Petersburg canal cruise.
While not a portfolio image it does help to tell the story of these grand, historic buildings along the canals in the city known as the Venice of the North (a title St. Petersburg shares with Bruges).
After being seduced by the vibrant, buttery yellow color of the building I did what I could, in the few short seconds I had available to me, to make a relatively cohesive and harmonious image.
But the transition between good photos and truly great photos is all about creating images that explore your own, unique world view.
Introducing a sense of narrative will help you tell a story through the photos you make. It’s a great way to elevate your photography to the next level.
However it’s by incorporating your own opinions, responses and emotions into the photos you make that will, eventually, elevate the best of the photos you make into art.
What you find out about yourself, and your place in the world around you, is the ultimate learning experience that creative endeavors like photography will help you discover.
So, to borrow from an old Kodak slogan I seem to remember being used to promote the Kodak Brownie 110 camera in 1979, “There’s no time to be napping when you should be out there snapping.”
