writing of photo essays

1. A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS

2.  Print media usually use a combination of words and
pictures to tell the news, but some only use words.
 If you have ever seen a newspaper with no pictures,
you will know that it does not look attractive; it does
not make you want to read it.
 Photographs make pages more attractive, they tell the
news lucidly, let readers know what people, places and
things look like (new, unusual, interesting and
significant things about people can be communicated
by pictures as well as by words).

3.  Photo essay tells a story in pictures, it is a form of
visual storytelling, a way to present a narrative through
a series of images.
 It evokes emotions from the viewers through a series of
photographs and takes the viewer on a narrative
journey.
 In a photo essay, both narrative and pictures drive the
story; the pictures support the contents in the text, but
a person can understand the topic without having to
read the text or captions.

4.  With a wide range of topics to explore, a photo essay
can be thought-provoking, emotional, funny,
unsettling, or all of the above, they are unforgettable.
 A photo essay can be defined as a work where there is a
dialectical relationship between the image and the
text; where the image rather than being subservient to
the text is able to raise questions of aesthetics, politics,
and the ethics of production.
 Thus, a photo essay refers to a catholic category of
image and text relations.

5.  Photo essays are used to cover events like natural
disasters, to show vastness or variety, or to compare
and contrast photos.
 Photographs by photo journalists have conquered the
emotions of the world.
 The photographs or images capture the raw image and
they make an impact on the mind of the reader and
the writer process the image in words.
 The blending of images and words works perfectly to
satiate the curiosity of a reader.

6.  The blending of images and words works perfectly to
satiate the curiosity of a reader.
 Photo essay is an important part of print media and
the writer has to have the ability to influence the
reader by adding the necessary information.
 Photo essay captures different moods and emotions
depending on the context or situation.

7.  Day-in-the-life photo essay
 Historic site photo essay
 Behind-the-scenes photo essay
 Local event photo essay

8.  This kind of photo essays tells the story of a day in the
life of a particular subject.
 It can showcase the career of a busy farmer or
struggling artist, capture parents’ daily chores and
playtime with their children, or memorialize the
routine of a star high school dancer.
 A day-in-the-life photo series can be emotionally
evocative, giving viewers an intimate glimpse into the
world of another human being.

9.  Taking pictures of historic landmarks offers a variety
of different perspectives—the use of unique angles,
depths, and lighting.
 The use of drones and reflections are also useful in the
pursuit to find the ideal vantage point and display a
variety of scenes of the same subject.

10.  Behind-the-scenes photo essays are great ways to
capture what goes into the making of an event i.e.
from the beginning to the end.
 With this type of photo story, you can see production,
process, end product and how everything moves
together in harmony.

11.  Local events like fundraisers, art shows, or festivals are
great places to document a photography project.
 Candid photos of people working, performing, or
taking in the sights can be compiled into a photo essay
along with background objects to help paint a scene.

12.  There are two types of photo essays:
 the narrative
 the thematic
 Narrative photo essays focus on a story you’re telling
the viewer.
 while thematic photo essays speak to a specific subject.
 Creative photography can expose a truth or instil a
sense of hope, it can be fun, sentimental, eye-opening,
or gut-wrenching.

13.  Do your research. There may be many types of photo essay topics
available, but that doesn’t mean your specific idea hasn’t already been
tackled by a professional photographer. Look up the best photo essays
that have already been done on your topic to make sure the narrative
can be executed in a new and interesting way.
 Follow your instincts. Take photos of everything. Overshooting can
be useful. You never know what you’ll need, so the more coverage you
have, the better.
 Use the best images. From your lead photo to the final photo, you’re
creating a visually vivid story. However, if you use too many images, you
risk diluting the impact of your message.
 Be open-minded. Your project may evolve past its initial concept, and
that’s okay. Sometimes a photo essay evolves organically, and your job
as a photojournalist is to extract the right narrative from the images
you’ve captured—even if it wasn’t the original idea.

14.  A photo essay can be made more effective with the use
of words.
 Photography and writing skills come together in a
successful photo essay, which is typically a written
work that relies on accompanying photographs to help
tell a story.
 Give your photo essay a title, and add a concise written
statement.
 This will help position your work and enable the
viewer understand your intention, or at least guide
their perspective.

15.  A solid written statement and title will be relevant to
your topic, detail your primary objective, and
introduce your point of view.
 It’s an opportunity to clarify your intentions to the
viewer and ensure they walk away with a clear
interpretation of your work.
 Depending on your photo essay, you may want to
include several paragraphs of text, but even just one or
two sentences of background can be enough to expand
the viewer’s understanding of your work.

16.  A solid written statement and title will be relevant to
your topic, detail your primary objective, and
introduce your point of view.
 It’s an opportunity to clarify your intentions to the
viewer and ensure they walk away with a clear
interpretation of your work.
 Depending on your photo essay, you may want to
include several paragraphs of text, but even just one or
two sentences of background can be enough to expand
the viewer’s understanding of your work.

17.  A title or caption describing the essay's topic
 A descriptive opening statement that may explain to its
viewers what they can expect to encounter
 An explanation of the transitions that occur in the main
body of the essay when moving through it from one
paragraph to the next
 Individual descriptions for photographs or the elements of
a given photo
 Cutline (which appears beneath or next to an image and
comments on that specific images) to accompany each
photograph
 A summation, preferably one with a conclusion to the story.