“A picture is worth a thousand words.”
…or so the saying goes. A great image allows the viewer to see a story captured in a moment in time. National Geographic photographers do an excellent job of telling a story with just one image. You can see some examples in the National Geographic photo of the day segment.
So if a picture is worth a thousand words, does that mean that 10 pictures are worth 10,000 words? Where one picture captures a moment in time and tells a part of a story, a series of well-captured pictures can tell a complete story. A great example of storytelling through photos is Ami Vitale’s series of images that tells the story ranch in Montana.
Instead of capturing as many photos as you want to tell a story, this challenge involves limiting oneself to only capturing 6 images. That limitation can make you slow down and make every image count and consider how every single image can help tell your story.
Types of Images needed for a story
What do you need to do when you tell a story? You need to convey a sense of the place by setting the scene, introduce characters and share the plot and possible conflict. So how can you do this with images?
You need to capture a variety of images that will help you tell your story. One of the images you need is something that sets the scene for your viewer and lets them know where the story is taking place. This can be a wider shot of the scene but it is important to give your audience that sense of place.
You will also need to explore the scene and help your viewer to see some of the important aspects that support your story. As you explore the scene keep an eye out for details that other people might miss. Look for the picture within a picture. Try to find any interesting aspects that might make your story unique. Explore different angles and don’t settle for a snapshot. Try to use some of the tools in your Photography Toolkit like perspective or foreground interest to change a good shot into a great shot.
My Story of the Yueh Hai Ching Temple
The first thing I did was decide on the subject of my storyt. I chose a small temple in downtown Singapore called the Yueh Hai Ching temple.
The first shot I wanted to capture was one that helped set the scene. The outside of the temple has so many details and the temple is surrounded by larger buildings. I decided that if I put something in the foreground it would make my image a bit more interesting so I framed the image with an ornate roof of one of incense burner structures in the foreground.
This image helps to set the scene where the story takes place.
The smell of burning incense was in the air because the burning of incense at a temple is a way to make a sacrificial offering, burn away negative energies and bring good health. I wanted to capture these sticks of incense so I framed them against a dark background and slightly underexposed the image so the smoke would be more visible.
A big part of the temple is the smell of incense in the air and I wanted to include this in my story. Incense can have a strong smell and I thought an image of the swirling smoke would connect with the viewer’s other senses.
Then I started to explore the temple. Inside the temple there were openings where there was no roof and light streamed into the room. The light hit one of the murals on the wall and I wanted to capture this mixture of light and shadow. I decided to once again use foreground interest to try to give the viewer something more than just a plain photograph so I included the pillars with Chinese characters on them in the foreground.
I feel this image helps tell my story because the it helps to reproduce the mood inside the temple. It also showcases some of the beautiful artwork in the temple.
Along with the light streaming in from gaps in the ceiling, there was some artificial light inside the temple. Some of that light lit some banners on the wall and there were other lights that created light and shadows on that same wall.
This image helped to tell my story because it shows some of the details of the temple and how carefully everything is arranged. Those banners are perfectly spaced and aligned.
The first image in this series showed the whole temple from the outside and it shows a glimpse of the amazing details of the roof. From the inside of the temple, looking out of one of the openings in the ceiling I wanted to capture these incredible details and colours. In the background you can see one of the buildings that tower around the temple. I loved the brightness and shadows and how the viewer is looking through an opening to the outside world.
This image supported the telling of my story by showing the beauty of the details of the temple. When you look closely, you can see a plant growing up on the roof. That one detail makes me have so many questions and helps me tell a story of a temple that is so well take care of but still has an imperfection.
This is an example of one image that could tell a story. A sacred turtle in a blue plastic tub with a sign. How sacred is a turtle which lives its life in a blue plastic tub surrounded by plain white walls? Worshippers need to be reminded not to throw coins at the turtle so this has obviously been a problem in the past. There is a lot to unpack in this image. This image is worth a thousand words.
If I were to pick one image that told a story a would choose this one. I like the story that this image of a lone turtle tells. But it would be an incomplete story. Can you see how the other images in this story help to better tell the story of the turtle in a blue plastic tub with a sign asking worshippers not to throw coins at it? This image can act as a key part of the plot and conflict in the story of an ornate temple which is well cared for but has a turtle living a lonely life in a dirty plastic tub.
Equipment
I brought three lenses with me to photograph the temple: the Nikon 14-24mm f2.8, Nikon 24-70mm f2.8 and the Nikon 70-200mm f2.8. I used the Nikon D850 camera which captures beautifully detailed files. I found that I mostly used the 14-24mm and the 70-200mm lenses. It is probably because I like to use lenses that give a different view than the eye sees. I was trying to get a slightly wider view with the 14-24mm and more tightly cropped images with the 70-200mm. I did use the 24-70mm for one of the images.
Upon Reflection…
Would more than 6 photos tell a more complete story? Probably. Upon reflection, there are many other images that I would have liked to try to capture. Perhaps I could have captured an image from a different perspective that showed this tiny temple surrounded by giant skyscrapers.
Unfortunately there weren’t many people at the temple. There were a couple of guards but they didn’t want me to capture their picture. I would have liked to include people to help tell my story but I can only do the best with what I have in front of me.
I really do feel that one of the best parts of this challenge is the limitation of only capturing 6 images. That limitation forced me to make every frame count and think about how it can help tell my story.
I am looking forward to trying to tell another 6 shot story in the future. I highly recommend that you give it a shot.
