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Chuck Inglefield | profile | all galleries >> Pre 2/14/2007 Archive >> Other Stuff That Seemed Important at the Time >> Thoughts & Opinions >> thoughts on the art of photography >> storytelling tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

storytelling

I like images that tell a story. Even better, I like images that only begin a story, or tell the middle of a story, but leave the ending open to interpretation. Images that force me to use my imagination stay with me much longer after viewing them than those that don't. It may be that the image is mysterious, or curious or even a bit absurd. No matter what the storyline is, if it is unfinished, then the image to me is almost always stronger because of it. To me, this is the difference between art and a snapshot.

Key to this concept of storytelling is keeping an image simple. An image should only be telling one story. It is tempting as a photographer to tell as much of the story as possible, by including many elements in the image. Usually this creates multiple storylines that compete with each other and dilute the real impact of the image. What I am finding is that the image is much stronger, the less of the story it tells.

a few images to illustrate the point:
Frankly this image is just a snapshot from a trip I took to Kuala Lumpur. The subject is chinatown but there is just way to much going on here for the image to even begin to tell a story. It's only use is to serve as a documentation of the place itself and what it looks like.
too much information		Frankly this image is just a snapshot from a trip I took to Kuala Lumpur. The subject is chinatown but there is just way to much going on here for the image to even begin to tell a story. It's only use is to serve as a documentation of the place itself and what it looks like.
This image was taken a few minutes later and has eliminated many of the unnecessary elements/distractions. Doing so allows it to really begin telling the story of this place. The limited (albiet still too much) information in this image puts the imagination to work filling in the gaps of the story. This to me is a much better representation of chinatown than the first image.
storytelling		This image was taken a few minutes later and has eliminated many of the unnecessary elements/distractions. Doing so allows it to really begin telling the story of this place. The limited (albiet still too much) information in this image puts the imagination to work filling in the gaps of the story. This to me is a much better representation of chinatown than the first image.
This is one of my favorite images of all time for the very reason that it is all about storytelling. We arrive here, not necessarily at the beginning of a story, but in the middle. And the end of the story is completely left to the imagination.
even better storytelling		This is one of my favorite images of all time for the very reason that it is all about storytelling. We arrive here, not necessarily at the beginning of a story, but in the middle. And the end of the story is completely left to the imagination.

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