Telling your story with photos

The BeginningThe Middle

The End

The preparation

• Make sure that your camera is ready to go with fresh batteries and extra memory. And bring along a journal to take notes about your pictures.

• Pre-charge your camera

The outline

• Every story needs an outline for your plot—even if it's only in your head. Your story may capture daily events or it may play out over time. The outline indicates what you want your story to say and helps you remember what to shoot.

Storyboarding your idea

• I use a storyboard for almost all of my artistic projects. It helps me get the idea onto paper. It also helps with communicating my creative idea to others. A great way to insure that your story has a beginning, a middle and an end.

Sample storyboard template

The headline

• If you want your story to be captured in a single picture, it should speak like a headline in a newspaper. The headline photo makes a powerful statement by itself; its content is understood immediately and raises few questions. The moment can be dramatic, playful, or reflective.

• Move in close to reveal a strong emotion. Include surroundings when they're critical to the completion of the story.

Capture the action 1

• Keep the camera steady• Too many action pictures have been lost to

unwanted picture blur. Hold your camera as steady as possible by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and your elbows gently pressed against your rib cage. When you're ready to take the picture, gently squeeze the shutter.

Ooops

Capture the action 2

• Prefocus your camera• Many digital cameras have a prefocus

option, which is a big help in action photography. Try to decide ahead of time where the action will peak. Then prefocus on that area by pressing the shutter button half-way down. Hold this position until you are ready to take the picture.

Make sure the subject doesn't escape 1

• Take the picture a split second early

• With the camera prefocused, press the shutter button a split second early – just as you see the first part of the subject entering the camera viewfinder. If the subject is crossing left to right or right to left through the viewfinder, you might want to press the shutter button just before it's visible in the viewfinder.

Make sure the subject doesn't escape 2

• Have the subject move directly toward you

• Fast subjects crossing directly in front of you zip by so fast you can hardly keep track of them. Position yourself so the subject is moving diagonally across the viewfinder or directly at you. That way it's easier to track and determine when to take the picture.

Position yourself well

• Select a vantage point

• Anticipate the action and choose the best vantage point. Try using low-angle shots – they exaggerate size and power and make your photos more dynamic. Slightly tilting your camera is another technique that can enhance the motion of your subject. Such diagonal compositions suggest imbalance and motion.

Another angle

How to Crop Images

• Cropping images gives you a second chance to frame your images and can be used in some of the following ways:

• http://www.digital-photography-school.com/cropping-for-impact

• http://www.yearbooks.biz/?event=FAQ.Detail&faq=379

Original shot

Cropped shot

Artistic crop w/filter

Original group

Cropped group

Heavy crop

Parade uncropped

Parade cropped

Digital file formats forsaving your work

• Here is a site with a few of the most common formats and why you may or may not want to use them: http://www.digital-photography-school.com/what-is-the-best-file-format-to-save-your-photos-in-psd-tiff-jpeg-gif -png

List of photo sharing websites

• A basic list of sites for you to choose from:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_photo_sharing_websites

Slide Presentation by Bobby Fouther

• This slideshow was produced by Bobby Fouther for MRG Foundation grantees in November, 2010.