However, I can look at photos and then find something I can share that I learned and have an example to show you. I prefer to work this way.
Today I am doing the opposite.
When I write I have a slow build up to when the storyline is established. Once this happens I write away and the time after I finished the idea to editing the final product is very short.
One of the ways I come up with a storyline is through reading or conversations. They spark an idea and then I might Google to research and gather more material. I might find a quote that helps make the point more emphatically than my wording can do. Coming up with a lead or a hook for me is the when the story then just flows quickly onto the page.
When I work in photography to tell a story the workflow is so different. I may have an idea or been given one by someone to cover. I usually make phone calls and talk to the subjects before showing up. At this point I have already got a pretty good idea of the story. Once I arrive I allow the story to go another direction and try not to force it. I do see if things are going as I expected and if they are then great, if not I must then decipher what the story really is all about. To me the pinnacle moment with the photography in story telling is when I have a moment that tells the story pretty much by itself. Once I have this “decisive moment” I then continue to shoot. I look for ways to introduce the subject/story. I look for detail shots to use as transitions or even points in themselves about the story. I look for a way to end the story visually as well. When I leave I have all the visual content I will need. I cannot call back and get a photo I missed—I can when I write. I can call back and ask for clarification when writing. Sometimes this can even change the story, but with photos I would have to go back and reshoot to fill in any holes in the story and I have done that before.
|