Lecture #4 - Picture Stories

Okay, I know I have not been as diligent as other students with blogging our lectures but hey! I'm still doing it - kudos for that right?

So for our fourth lecture, we discussed picture stories. Now before this lecture, I thought storytelling through pictures could only happen in illustrations, artworks and photographs. Boy was I wrong! As it turns out, stories get told pictorially in all sorts of ways - the drawings on currency notes, graffiti on buildings and trains, magazine  and newspaper covers, billboards, album covers, and so so many more!

Which, when you think about it, makes so much sense. I mean, they do tell stories - just not the conventional idea of a story. This is particularly evident in the spectrum of photo-journalism which has grown so much recently, and encapsulates a whole range of photo capturing methods from phone cameras to massive DSLR's. Another useful development in photo-journalism has been the addition to many online news articles of a gallery of online photos.

One thing I found very interesting was when Professor Redman made a point of showing us that simply the framing of a photo can completely change the impact that it has. He used an example of a number of photographs taken at the funeral of Jonathan Thurston's uncle, whereby simply changing the angle and perspective of the photo, the meaning and symbolism was totally altered. I took note of this, it could be useful in my storytelling..

We also looked at the rise of digital manipulation of photographs, altering the message they portray and the way they are interpreted. The controversial issue of airbrushing and retouching photographs was raised, which proved to be really intriguing. For example, take the below photograph of the gorgeous Cameron Diaz. In my opinion, I think the first photo is more beautiful than the second - but the latter is the one that was sent to print. 

So what makes a great photo? As it turns out, a number of things. These include it's framing (as above), focus, angle/POV, exposure, timing, and most importantly - capturing the moment. 

Another topic which was raised was that of Video Journalism. This area of journalism encapsulates a huge chunk of picture storytelling, such as newsreels in cinemas, propaganda films, TV news, videos submitted via social networking, and of course video journalism itself. 

I'll leave you with my favourite quote of the lecture: 

"If it makes you laugh, if it makes you cry, if it rips out your heart, that's a good picture." - Eddie Adams