There is a common refrain out in the blogosphere, “Every post should have an image that will grab attention and draw the reader into your copy.” While this is certainly a valid point, what if we turned that idea on its head? What if we were to base a post entirely around images and then pull together the copy to expand on those images? What would that look like? How would one accomplish it? What steps would be involved? How can you go about creating a photo story for your blog? Those are some of the questions that this article will grapple with.
Editors note – this article will be a high level discussion of this topic, future articles here on The Image Blogger will go into much greater depth on each of the concepts presented below.
To start with, let me dispel any notion that producing a “photo post” will be an easier alternative to a text based post. To do it right, I believe that what I am proposing here will actually be more complicated and time consuming than sitting down to write an “epic” post. So why bother? To understand that, you have to think about the sheer power of the still photograph. When I write “V-J Day”, do you think about a newspaper article, an explanation in a text book, a movie, or does the image of a sailor kissing a nurse in Times Square pop into your head. There is no more succinct way to sum up an idea than with a still photograph. When you string together a series of photographs, you have the opportunity to really explore and idea and draw the viewer into your narrative. You then can use a limited amount of copy to fill in the blanks, and you have a compelling photo story. Like something that would have appeared in Life Magazine back in the golden age of photojournalism.
The beauty of the photo story, in the framework of modern technology, is that there is no cost to reproduce it. You have at your disposal an unlimited number of pages upon which you can run any number of images, at any size you wish. Also, with today’s technology, you have a camera with you virtually every minute of every day, and you can use that camera to record your story over as long a period of time as you need. So the trick becomes figuring out how to tell your story with photos rather than words, or maybe more appropriately, deciding which of your stories could best be told through photographs.
Brainstorming a photo story
The Concept – What is the most visually compelling story in your current milieu? What message are you trying to convey? Are you a food blogger? Maybe a long term story about how food gets to your table – planting, tending the crop, harvesting, transportation (first to market then to home), preparation, and then finally to the table. Don’t you think THAT photo story would be far more likely to “go viral” than a similar story told through text with a single photo? Pre-defining your concept is critical to the process of creating a photo story. The scope and direction may creep over time, but without that initial direction you will just be flailing about gathering a collection of random shots rather than a cohesive body of work.
The Scope – Part of concepting your story will be deciding on the scope of the project and the approximate number of images needed. Will five good photos get the job done? Will it take ten to really tell the story? Maybe 15 or 20 will be necessary to fully engage your reader and get your point across. Keep in mind that more isn’t always better, sometimes more is just more.
Imaging Workflow – Another important factor when planning your story is establishing a workflow that ensure consistent images. Typically you won’t want to switch back and forth between color and black & white or between camera formats. If you are shooting with your iPhone, it is probably best stick with a single app and filtration method for all the shots. Sticking to a standardized process will build a complimentary body of work even if your photos are comprised of different types of subject matter.
Pre-production – A good portion of the difficulty involved in producing a photo story comes before you ever pick up a camera. You will need to decide on the locations or situations that you will be shooting and figure out your time-line. If you are producing “set-up” shots, you will need to find models and props. There are many items to consider in the pre-production phase of the project, but every minute spent here will pay off once the shooting starts.
Executing the story
Shoot, shoot, shoot and shoot some more. As you move into the execution phase of your project, be sure to shoot enough photos to cover your needs. Think about different angles and different approaches. What if you shot from a low angle or came in really close on a detail? Maybe you could back up to add context to your image, and always remember to shoot both verticals and horizontals. You never know which will look better when you start laying out your story.
For an in depth story, you will want to keep going back until you get what you need. For long term projects, consider going back to your location on multiple occasions. You will see things a little differently when you come back a second or third time. You will gain the perspective necessary to see past the surface and dig a little deeper.
As you are shooting, keep detailed notes so you have something to refer back to when writing your copy. As you shoot your project you will pick up new ideas and make new connections. These ideas and connections will be the basis of the copy that accompanies your photos. It doesn’t really matter if the scope or direction of your project changes as you move along, as long as you are able to tie everything together with clear and concise copy at the end.
Post-production
Once you feel like you have a sufficient body of work it is time to edit down to your very best shots. Start by losing the obviously bad photographs – poor exposure, missed focus, blinks, etc. Next get rid of any photos that you just don’t like and would not want to use. Finally take a close look at any extremely similar shots and choose whichever one you like the best. Even after going through all of these steps, the hard work of editing still lies ahead. From this select group, you must now select the photographs that best communicate the story that you are trying to tell. It is often extremely difficult for a photographer to make these important edits because they are so connected to the images, so now may be the time to call in some reinforcements. A trusted friend or adviser will be able to look at the photos and tell you if your point is being communicated and if the images work as a complete package. They will make connections and point out details that you had not seen before. An extra set of eyes can only help in the editing process, but remember the final decisions are yours alone. Take in all the feedback and constructive criticism, but filter it through your own thoughts and come up with a final edit and sequence that tells your story.
Once you have your editing decisions made and have narrowed your images down to a select few, it is time to process the images for a consistent look. Remember that back in the concepting phase of the project you came to some decisions about the look you would try to achieve with the images. Now is the time to process the images to get that look. First, find your “hero” image, the one image that is most critical to the story, and process it to your liking. Then keep the final processed image handy as you go through the rest of your photos. If you process them to compliment your hero shot, your story will maintain a consistent look and feel.
After you have all of your photos processed and looking their best, it is time to build your photo story. You will want to lay the story out in a way that emphasizes the importance of the photos and puts the copy in a supporting role. Think about using large photos and lots of white space around them. You may find that to really do the photos justice, you need to publish your story in the form of an eBook or PDF. But that’s okay, those types of specialty content drive lots of social media attention and can be far more valuable than simple words on a web page.
Written Content
If you are publishing your photo story directly on your website, it is really important to properly annotate your images. They will need descriptive file names, title and alt text, captions and descriptions. This is a lot of very valuable content real estate that Google likes to see filled up. Because search engines cannot “see” images, they rely on these fields to determine what the photo illustrates. If these fields are not populated, you are depriving Google of valuable SEO information that can help to rank your post.
Now that you have your photos laid out and captioned you will need to go back through your post and use text to fill in any details and segue from image to image. The copy doesn’t need to be long (you just need enough copy for Google to take the post seriously), but it does need to leave the reader with the feeling that they have absorbed the full story. Be sure to answer their questions and let them know what action to take next.
Conclusion
Photo stories are great for presenting problems and initiating “massive action”. This is why they are so popular among NGOs (Non-Governmental Organizations) that work to solve the world’s problems. How can you scale the NGO’s massive process down to work for your business or cause? Do you have any ideas for a photo story that will shake up your audience and get them talking? Start planning your shoot and making some photos, I think you will be excited by the results.
Again, this post is a very high level look at the steps involved in creating a photo story for your blog, I will be going in to much greater depth on each of these subjects in future articles. So stay tuned, and happy shooting!
Post Image Copyright Thomas Leuthard