Photo reporting as an independent genre became widespread in European journalism in the first half of the 20th century. One of the first to put this genre into practice was the lawyer Erich Solomon, who spoke several languages.
The man secretly photographed politicians of international stature at the conferences of the League of Nations. Print photographers instantly recognized the value of this style of shooting without posing.
Nowadays, this reporting style is not only used by qualified photographers. With a quality digital camera, a little photography experience, and being in the right place, you can get highly artistic images to post on the Internet. It happened that even amateur shooting carried sensational material.
The concept of a photo essay
A photo essay is understood as a separate truthful story in numerous photographs that convey the objective state of affairs. Thanks to such an essay, viewers receive maximum information about the development in a certain historical period.
The use of the reporting method indicates that the survey was carried out without interfering with the natural course of events, but provides support. This makes it possible to obtain an objective picture that is important for history or politics. Essays of high artistic value are also obtained.
A few photo essay ideas for beginners:
- You should not take a picture in the daytime in front of the window, as there is a risk of getting overexposed photos. It would be optimal to turn your back or sideways to the window.
- When shooting an event in a beautiful room, it will not be superfluous to photograph the surroundings in order to attract the viewer.
- You can take a photo of the public, not just the main targets.
- Some details are also worthy of the photographer’s attention.
- You can always find a suitable color combination or normally outlined geometric lines.
- Photograph the elderly or children. Due to them, you can give photos of sensuality.
Experienced photographers note that you can find two options for selecting material for the design of a photo essay. The first is real photos when the lens is pointed and the button is pressed. The second is monitoring after filming. In the course of work, you will have to view the frames, which may become the basis of a masterpiece.
Sometimes organically inscribed artistic or technical details will give life to a promising project. A photo essay, due to the literacy, conveys complex thoughts and shows a certain event from any point of view of the author.
The most exhausting process is the selection of personnel in the gallery. All pictures should reflect the original ideas of the photographer to the maximum. The impression from one frame is transferred to other photos. The viewer’s attention is held by the correct selection of adjacent images in some respects. First, you need to review all the photos containing technical errors. Storytelling is a photograph in real-time and rich in information, showing all the important details. Pictures that distort the appearance become so due to the wrong angle or lighting system. A lot of pictures still remain in the material, but need to be formatted.
Unique reportage: how many and type of photo
The final number of photos and the choice depends on the place where everyone wants to tell their story. Up to 8 pictures can be published in printed publications, although sometimes more. A personal blog or slides can fit many more frames.
A number of essays during the creation of an artistic photo session provide for the creation of thematic series, consisting of dozens of pictures. The author must make them concise in order to capture the essence in a small image, regardless of the place and restrictions.
A series of expressive shots will be better remembered than a long selection of high-quality photos on one topic. This is important to keep in mind when creating a story. This is done so that the viewer does not get bored while watching. The concept is also significant.
- Ideas for creating a photo essay
- Using a variety of storylines.
- Getting personal options.
- Sequence organization.
- Trend tracking.
- Starting a career with video filming.
- The need for additional training.
- Portrait photography.
- Development of interesting lessons.
Using a variety of storylines
The key rule for choosing a plot is the requirement not to allow repetitions. It is necessary to find the necessary bright moment in the process of shooting, which would be included in the reportage as the basis of the idea. Next, you need to sort out the rest of the secondary plots that supplement the main line with information.
The main difficulties appear when selecting the most optimal frame from several similar ones. It is difficult to select when the quality of the pictures is almost identical. Then it is better to focus on those images that immediately caught your eye. You can ask to pick up photos of strangers with an unwashed look.
Even the opposite opinion will have value. This is due to the vagueness of the author’s vision, due to which the opinion largely loses its novelty. Criticism is needed to refresh the plot.
Receiving personal options uy
After selecting the basis of the content idea, you need to explore the range of images. Next, you need to pay attention to the layout, shooting point, cut-off angles, composition, and other visual means.
The audience will quickly absorb the information if everything is connected in a logical chain. Multi-layered compositions will allow you to achieve the effect of presence, and the color scheme will give the desired emotional background.
All shots are taken in the middle plan and bring viewers closer to the necessary details. But all pictures can be horizontal, so it’s better to review the frames and look for analogs. The project will be memorable if there are many plots.
Sequence organization
Once you’ve completed your photo collection, you need to compose a great story from the selected frames. Photos must be arranged in a certain sequence with each other. Files should be located so that they reflect the author’s opinion about a particular event. It is necessary to clearly articulate a certain idea.
This name reveals the thematic richness of the photo collage. Literary techniques allow you to highlight the central thought, focusing the attention of the audience on a specific thought. An outstanding name suits the story, but picking the right one is quite difficult. You can safely turn to strangers for this. The presentation of material in a photo essay involves the use of the same expressive means as other works.
The following templates are distinguished:
- the material is based on a strict plot structure with a clear chronology;
- a key frame connects everything into one mosaic;
- frames differ in associative links.
It is always difficult to start, but such approaches will help to gain professionalism. Every interesting aspect of life is worth capturing in a picture.
Trend Tracking
Change always causes a lively and genuine interest in many people. Before you tell a fascinating story, you need to arm yourself with a camera and other shooting elements. Filming can last for a long time because you will have to shoot a dog in a shelter or a military man on a campaign.
There are enough moments of life around that are constantly changing. You can capture the construction of a building or the growth of a tree. Even add a beard can be an attractive subject.
Starting a career with video filming
There are many events in the world that need to be captured, regardless of location. Thanks to this, you can become a photographer at not only regional but also international level.
Everyone can take a photo of visiting a local museum or any other exhibition of agricultural products. You can also take pictures of people who are just talking to each other. These details will seriously affect your career in the future.
Need for additional training
You can shoot students of any educational institution or the educational process itself. This allows you to be yourself and get a lot of new experiences. Also, this option will turn ordinary models into future screen stars.
A visit to various laboratories will allow you to capture many interesting processes. Even when shooting food preparation, there are enough fascinating moments.
Portrait photography
Experts recommend paying attention to neighbors and their habits and traditions, which can also become an object for getting practice. But they need to agree to this. Over time, a photo can become viral due to its distribution over the network. And the biography of such people will also allow you to become a professional.
Developing interesting lessons
Sometimes you don’t want to leave your cozy home. Then you can arm yourself with a camera and shoot how you prepare your culinary masterpieces. The main thing is that even with mistakes, you approach the matter with humor.
Photo essay in practice
In fact, the main content of the essay should be displayed in one key shot. Sometimes two or three is enough. The remaining frames complement the described event. The more stories and ideas are photographed, the more fascinating the story will be.
It turns out that photo reportage is a method of reportage shooting. Also, this name hides any series of photographs in the media or at an exhibition. A photo essay is a great replacement for staged videos where you have to come up with a plot.
According to the king of photography, Henri Cartier Bresson, photography allows you to feel the very essence of the phenomenon and reproduce this essence at once. It follows from this that without the development of skills, knowledge, or enjoyment of the process, a photojournalist will not succeed.
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