Before you develop a story with photography, it’s important to make sure you have a framework in place.
So grab a pen and paper or your favourite notes app and jot down –
- What you want to say.
- What’s your main message?
- Is it factual, educational or entertaining?
- How will you make it engaging and interesting?
- How will you make it relevant to your audience?
- Does your story have a structure?
A common technique used by filmmakers to develop the structure of a film is a storyboard. It’s a visual representation of the story as it unfolds and shows you all the important steps.
Once you’ve created a storyboard it’s easy to see if your story flows and whether you’ve missed anything.
Here’s some of the elements you might find in a typical storyboard.
- The opening scene that gets the story started.
- The key moments where something important happens?
- Location changes.
- Actors entering and leaving the scene to guide the direction and flow.
- Scene design – a simple visual representation.
- The lighting, colour and mood.
- The final scene which may be a conclusion or a cliff-hanger.
Depending on how you prefer to work, you might find a simple set of notes is enough to help you develop your photographic story.
If you’re a visual thinker, a visual storyboard will definitely help you bring it life though. Just sketch it out quickly with a pencil and make any changes as you go.
Either way, plan it out and make sure you engage and draw YOUR audience with a powerful story.
Hopefully these useful tips will help show you how to develop a story in photography.
Photo source: Unsplash. Standstome WorkLifestyle.
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Learn more about business storytelling photography and the other services I offer including headshot photography, personal branding photography and corporate event photography.
