Storytellers: A Photographer’s Guide to Developing Themes and Creating Stories with Pictures (Gal Zentner's Library) by Jerod Foster

Author:Jerod Foster
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: New Riders
Published: 2012-06-15T16:00:00+00:00

All lines in this frame help “pen in” the viewer’s attention on ranch owner Bob Macy.

Canon 5D Mk II, 65mm, 1/60 sec., f/4, ISO 200

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Exercise: Shoot Self-Portraits

Everyone has his own opinions about self-portraits, but I’d wager every photographer has made one or two of himself at some point. I believe they are valuable parts of the storytelling learning process. Sometimes we photograph ourselves when we want to try out a new lighting technique, or even as a placeholder for the actual subject or model. At other times we set out to make serious portraits that say something about our own unique selves.

These are significant moments in becoming better visual storytellers. You know yourself better than anyone else in the world (despite what your parents tell you), and one way to improve your ability to showcase another person’s story using photography is to do the same for yours. Socrates’ words “Know thyself” are a useful photography tip.

Your assignment is to create five self-portraits in as many environments. Produce images that convey who you are in relationship to each location. Do you know yourself well enough to create five distinct portraits? What are you going to use to tell your story? Your personality, occupation, faith, hobbies, and dreams are launching pads for generating ideas for images that say something real about you. Think about the composition you might use, the type of lighting, as well as all the content in the frame. Then, actualize your ideas.

Each self-portrait does not have to say everything (there’s no image out there that can do that), but each image should reveal important information about you if anyone ever sees the photographs. Work the way you would to make storytelling portraits of other people. Imagine how your audience would consume the information in each image and interpret and imply meaning back to, well, you.

Photographing yourself for storytelling purposes is one of the strongest ways to drive home the significance of portraits in general, as well as the value in learning more about your subject’s life, role, and story. The same “insider” knowledge that you use to make portraits of yourself is the same type of understanding you strive to obtain when making portraits of others.

If for nothing else, you’ll at least have five bio portraits should you need them for marketing someday.

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