Storytelling: creating photo series

I'm sharing an excerpt from my Photography Guide [Print Edition] about Storytelling through creating series or collections. In a way each of my blog posts are a photo series, usually of a place or an adventure. I make these series as a way of telling a story of our time somewhere; what it looked like, how it felt, the mood etc.  And if you like taking photos of your travels, learning to approach storytelling in this intentional way may be useful.

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Have you ever gone on holiday, taken hundreds of photos, and then later - scrolling back through your camera roll - you find they feel flat? The excitement you felt at the time isn't there anymore? Often that's because snapshots alone don't tell a complete story. They might show what was there, but they don't convey the experience. And then other times you see photographs and you can see the light dancing, it's like you can hear the wind whipping through the scene and feel a sense of emotion overflowing out of the image!

To truly tell a story, it helps to think like a film maker and have intention with the story you are telling as the photographer. A strong narrative often includes three types of shots:

ESTABLISHING SHOTS • this could be a big wide landscape, a viewpoint overlooking a city or a wide angle of a bustling market square. It sets the scene and establishes where you are.

MID SHOTS • these are the shots you'll likely take the most of, showing subjects, culture, elements of interest within the big wide scene. It could include street views, traffic, portraits in front of backdrops etc. These photos insert yourself in the story, whether physically in the frame or what you are seeing through your lens as you experience it. The mid shots bring the viewer into the environment.
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DETAIL SHOTS • close up shots of small details that further tell the story of where you are & what you are experiencing. It could be a steaming cup of coffee, the textures of spices in a market or the pattern of a handmade rug. These bring the flavour and texture to the story.

​When you combine these three types of shots, you create rhythm and variety that keeps the viewer engaged and allows them to experience the place as you did - first seeing it as a whole, then stepping into the scene, and finally noticing the little things you might otherwise overlook. And this curated series will transport you as the photographer, back to that time and place, and the memories.

​So when would you use this technique? Curating travel photos together. A portrait session. A carousel of images promoting a business product. Printing photo books. A collage for the wall. Photo series are everywhere! But are they created with intention?

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Here's some examples of series or collections, that when viewed together tell a story that each image alone cannot.

If this is something you’ve been wanting to learn, I’ve put everything I know into my guide. You can grab your own copy of The Photography Guide [Print Edition] here.