Photos That Tell Stories: 5 Guidelines To Make Your Photo “Do The Talk”

To be able to get great pictures you have to learn to tell stories.
I know that it seems that one thing has nothing to do with the other, but deep down they have the whole relationship. We often think that a good photographer is one who has a magnificent and spectacular SLR camera, one who has a range of suitable lenses for each situation, or perhaps one who has been able to afford a very expensive SLR photography course.
While it is true that all these means help (to a greater or lesser extent) to obtain that desired photo, I have to tell you that the secret of a great photograph has nothing to do with the camera itself, nor with the lens, nor with the advanced technical knowledge of the person who has captured it. No way.
The magic of a photograph lies, most of the time, in the story it tells.

How do photos tell stories?

We believed that to tell stories you had to become a writer, novelist or storyteller. But nothing is further from the truth. Have you ever heard that famous saying that “A picture is worth a thousand words”? It is because the images speak. Tell stories.
This phrase does not apply only to the informative photo, the typical journalistic photo that tells an event. The phrase is also valid (and above all) when it comes to photos that convey a story, feeling, emotion or reflection.
Take a look back and think of all those photos that once captivated you. They all conveyed something, told a story. The story was not written, it was not explicit, but it was implicit in the photo, subliminally. A subtle message that your brain receives, processes and files without you even realizing it.

A few inspiring stories

Here is a small inspiring selection that will make your mouth water 🙂

5 guidelines for telling stories through a photo

Once you start looking for that “story” and putting it into your shots, your photos will never be the same. You will impress yourself first and you will feel enormously proud and satisfied, I guarantee it. Here I leave you a series of simple guidelines that you can follow and apply every time you look for one of those stories. Keep in mind that these are not absolute rules, there is no white or black here. To tell a story, anything can go, you have to experiment first and foremost. That said, here are a series of little tricks that work for me and for many photographers:

1. Use inanimate objects and things and give them human properties. (The example of the 2 bottles of coca-cola). A simple bottle or glass can star in a story of love, happiness or loneliness. A lonely or old tree can tell a great story.
2. As they are real people, portraits convey stories much more easily. When shooting portraits, try to make the character reflect some clearly identifiable emotion: surprise, laughter, fear, pleasure, peace, confusion, etc.
3. The old and children are always a succulent subject to photograph. Both age groups touch us more easily and evoke stories in our minds with little effort.
4. the spontaneous scenes they are the ones that tell the best and most sincere stories.
5. black and white photos they evoke nostalgia, they are romantic and they make their way to our hearts and minds with great ease.

I hope that today’s article has helped you understand the magic behind those photos that often leave you speechless with admiration, and that soon your photos will also begin to leave others speechless 🙂