Have you ever looked at a photograph which evoked question after question?  Have you ever looked at a photograph that made you think?  Have you ever looked at a photograph that made you wonder and left you deep in thought?  The reason why some photographs do that to you while others do not is because they tell a story or they ask questions.

          It has been said that you can measure the success of a photograph by the length of time people stare at it.  The longer the picture engages the viewer the better the image.  One way of enticing people to look at your images for longer is to let your photographs tell a story.  Stories speak to us.  Stories help us to identify with the subject.  Stories trigger our own memories and stories.  Stories help us to connect with the image.

          It has also been said that if your pictures are not good enough it is because you are not close enough.  The other way of saying the same thing is that your frame needs to be filled; there cannot be any dead space.  Every part of the image needs to make a contribution to the image rather than just filling up space.  I will still write about composition in future.  Getting really close often helps to tell a story.

Pondering Life, Ghana           This image is filled.  The background is blurred.  So how does it tell a story?  The image does not "say" where this is taken, nor does it add any story about the lady.  This image does manage to tell a story because the lady is the story.  One cannot help but look at her eye and ask:

• I wonder what those eyes have seen;
• I wonder what her story is;
• I wonder what she is thinking;

          Filling a frame to tell a story does not always work because you are removing information that may add to the story.  To successfully tell a story with a shot like this you have to shoot someone / something with character.  Just looking at the person or thing must tell a story all by itself or the shot will just be a portrait or still life without a story.

          If the subject itself does not tell a story you have to tell the story by stepping back.  Step back to include items in the frame that builds the story.  In this case the surroundings tell the story.  The surroundings make us ask the questions.  Here is an example:

          Not to detract from this lady, but her face (although beautiful) does not have the character of the previous lady.  Her face does not tell an interesting story all by itself.  She is very photogenic and would make a very nice portrait but such a portrait would only be a very nice portrait, it would not tell a story like the previous lady does.  It would not make you ask questions or wonder about her.  By stepping back and crafting an image that includes scenery that do tell a story does the trick.

          The scene now makes us want to ask:

• Where is this?
• What happened to the building?
• Is this the only place she has to live?

          When facing a scene, ask yourself if you can make it tell a story or make it ask the viewer question.  Ask yourself where the story is; is it in the person / object or in the surrounding.  Make your images tell a story or ask questions.  This is not always possible and depends on what your shoot.  Make a point of looking for story telling images.  Look for people / objects with character or history.  Investigate things that make you very curious.

          Enjoy your shooting.