My Photo Editor Mind - Pt. 4 Start Shooting
So you have your story, subjects, story arc, and shot list. Now you need patience. This isn’t a daily, you don’t have to get an image today; patience is the key. Wait for those moments of depth and intimacy. Get to know your subjects and have an understanding of who they are and then capture their essence, not just what they look like.
Also, I want to be surprised; I want to see something I’ve never seen, or something I’ve seen before, but in a way I’ve never seen it. I want emotion; I want to feel something when I look at the pictures. Take chances, experiment with different angles and lenses, make mistakes! I think my best lessons learned were from my mistakes.
For previous post go to maryvignoles.com
My Photo Editor Mind - Pt. 3 Story Planning
I’m going to explain this in simple terms to get my point across about planning. Imagine you are shooting a wedding; whether or not you realize it, you’re probably thinking of the various shots that will complete this story. You need the bride getting ready, the groom walking down the aisle, etc. You might also be thinking about how you can make that walking down the aisle pic look different…hmm, is there a high vantage point? You also might to shoot details of the ring, get a portrait of the bride, and on and on. You know the narrative (we all know the narrative of a typical wedding), so you can think about the different ways and angles to complete the story. Put this all together and you have the makings of a thoughtful collection of images – opening shot, closing shot, details, sense of place, etc.
A long time ago when I was young and foolish, I spent six months covering a story with the idea that if I shot enough rolls of film, I would have a story…automatically! Wrong! I had to learn this the hard way, so learn from my mistakes, don’t be me.
I would suggest you do this when planning your story.
Going back to the recession family mentioned in Part 2, the parents lost their jobs and because of this they have to leave their home. Think of all the ways you need to tell this story. First, we need a family shot; so begins the shot list. Think of different ways you can shoot this; no I’m not talking about the family portraits framed on the wall; that’s not enough, but maybe they have dinner together, go to church together, or go to the daughter’s softball game together. If you can’t think of different possibilities, then maybe this is a great question to ask them. Now you do this with everything: Where are they moving? Are they apartment hunting, looking online? Are the parents (or older children) looking for work? What are the parts that will tell this story? Once that is done, come up with ten variations on each theme. The point of all of this is to start thinking about your narrative; this is the first step. If you don’t think about your narrative until after you are finished shooting, you might miss some great shots. Of course, there will be surprises and unplanned events you can’t anticipate, but figuring out the narrative beforehand will give you a roadmap to success.
Next week, starting to shoot your story.
For previous parts go to maryvignoles.com
My Photo Editor Mind - Photo Story/Projects Part 2B
It’s been one of those weeks, way too much work to concentrate onwriting a blog, so instead of rushing to finish my next segment, I am going to have to postpone it a week. I am sure that will give you more time to do research on your story idea, find your subjects and think about the story arc. Until next week.
My Photo Editor Mind - Photo Story/Projects Part 2
So now you have decided on a topic for your story. Let the research begin! Doing research will help you get a better understanding of your topic, and this will give you ideas about how to tell your story and find out whether the story has been done before. It will also help you focus and clarify the direction and give you an idea of where to find subjects.
I think that finding a subject for a story can be one of the most difficult parts of a photo story. Many, many years ago I wanted to do a story on college women and binge drinking. I needed to find a subject who went with the story I had been researching; I knew I wanted someone of legal drinking age, so I went to bars to find a subject .… and got turned down repeatedly until I found a woman who agreed to be photographed. Rejection is part of the process, and there can be a lot of it; you need patience and perseverance, but the payoff will be worth it. A great subject can make a story.
Finding subjects can be difficult. I’ve recently been asked where to find subjects for a story. Well, if you have done your research, you might have heard of an organization that serves your topic, but consider support groups and social media too. Find out where the people you want to focus on gather. Let’s suppose I couldn’t find my college student at a bar. Well, I could go to the college campus, find out when parties were being held, talk to students, or find out where the women’s dorms are. This is a lot of footwork and knocking on doors; again, this is probably one of the hardest parts of doing a story.
After you have found the subject for your story, you have to ask yourself, “Now, do I have a story or a situation.” “What?” you might ask. “What’s the difference?” Let’s say, for example, you are working on a story about the recession. You have a family where the parents have lost their jobs (it already happened). That’s a situation. But then you find out they are losing their house too, and they are moving out of their house because they can’t afford it. Now you have a story. Now you have a story arc. There will be results from them moving out of their house and those results will be your photos. It doesn’t necessarily have to be that dramatic; it can be more subtle, but you need an arc.
Just wanted to say again, finding subjects can be the hardest part of your story, so if you do your research well, find a great subject and make sure you have an arc, you will be setting yourself up for success.
Next week, starting to shoot your story.
If you missed part 1, it’s on my blog at maryvignoles.com.
My Photo Editor Mind - Photo Story/Projects Part 1
I’ve been talking to a lot of photographers lately about photo projects, so I thought I would do a multi-part series blog post on the subject. By no means will I cover every aspect, but here are a few things to consider.
There are so many aspects to doing a photo story, but let’s start out with why do you want to shoot one? What do you want to say? Is it a trend story? Does it have a news angle? Or is it something you want to shine a light on? If you don’t have a story in mind, I always think the more personal the more universal. Pick a topic that you care about. You will probably be more invested in the story.
I’m not trying to be funny, but ask this of yourself honestly. Are you doing a story because really successful photographers do stories and you think you should too? As I’ve said before, there is a place for all types of photography in this world, so be true to yourself.
How long should you spend on a story? I know people who spend years, and I know people who spend a week. Think about the way you shoot, and ask yourself if you’re the kind of person who gets bored after a week. There’s nothing wrong with that, but maybe a really long-term project isn’t right for you. If you don’t spend 2 years on a massive and complex story, are you a bad photographer? Goodness no. Depending on the topic, a well-shot and well-planned one-week story can be just as hard-hitting as a year-long story.
As both a photographer and photo editor, I’ve always been drawn to longer term projects. I like getting completely immersed in a story, the same reason I choose novels over short stories. I never read short stories. They lack the intimacy I require to be immersed in a topic, but that’s just me.
Set yourself up for success! You don’t want to start a story, and then after a month, you are no longer interested and quit. You might feel like a failure, so be mindful of who you are and what you can accomplish. With the success of completing a task comes confidence in yourself.
Next week, finding a story subject.
My Photo Editor Mind - How I Edit Photos
Thought I’d pass this along to anyone who has struggles with editing their work. You have to break down an image and look at each separate part and how it adds to the whole. A good image talks to me; it’s telling me a story, so I look at the elements that either support the message or detract from it; and so it begins. For me, it’s a process. I first will look through all the photos to get a sense of what I have to work with. Next, I go through and tag the ones I feel in my heart, the emotional connection. Next, I start ripping them apart, looking for the faults in a photo. Composition – is it composed well, are limbs cut off, is there an awkward space in the image? Lighting – after all, what is photography but painting with light? Is the lighting so bad it takes away from the moment, or does it pull me into the moment? The background – is it distracting or enhancing the photo? Are the subjects in the photos drawing me in or drawing me away from the story of the image? Next I compare similar images. Which is better? Is the problem in the photo able to be cropped out? Was the lens choice appropriate for this picture? I then go through all the images I have not chosen because it’s always good to take a second look.
I go over the images quite a few times, deleting images with each pass. If this doesn’t help you, I can.
My Photo Editor Mind - The Way I Edit
I was talking to a client recently and sensed that he was somewhat hesitant as we were talking about his work. After a few more minutes, he finally said that he was afraid that my honest approach was going to turn into me ripping him (and his work) apart, breaking him down and building him back up. This is not the way I edit and coach. I remember as a photographer having that happen to me. It put me in a funk for days, and the recovery period was so long. Days would be lost in me thinking about my future. Eventually, I’d pick myself up and go and improve, but the editors that were really helpful didn’t crush my dreams and spirit. Nor did I lose days on self-loathing. Maybe that’s why I edit like I do now. I am honest but feel that by building on what a photographer does well not only strengthens the photography, it builds confidence, and with confidence comes positive thinking and success and general improvement in all aspects of photography.
Let’s face it. For the most part, photography is not the best paying job out there. You are in this profession because you love it and bring a lot of passion and dedication to it. Different photographers have a different take on the world. You bring your experiences to the table. In the world of photography, there is a place for everyone. So go get ‘em!
My Photo Editor Mind - Toast Crumbles
Why is it that the best blog ideas come at the most inconvenient times? Most of my ideas come to me right before I go to sleep or when I’m in the shower. Not the best places to take notes. I’m not one of those people who can sit in front of a computer and write either. As soon as I sit down, writer’s block sets in, I get a headache, start sweating, and … nothing. Not a single thing comes to mind. Is it the intimidation of having enough words? Can a sentence be a blog post? I’m better bouncing my ideas off someone, talking specifics, talking about a photo project, a way to improve a story, a direction, a style. So I’ve resigned myself to the fact that all my blog ideas will come mid-shampoo or that I’ll wake up in the middle of the night, reach for the notepad on my night table, groggily scribbling, only to find the next morning that I’ve written something that looks like “toast crumbles.” What are toast crumbles? Is that my handwriting? Oh well, I guess I need to step away from my computer for a while.