IS PHOTOGRAPHY STORYTELLING?

[@delsolarpablo]

To me photography is a selective cropped version of reality and can be many things: documenting precious moments, capturing pleasant images, historic record, storytelling and so on. Sometimes a good image is many things, sometimes just a great landscape. The great thing about photography -photographers I should say- is that is there is not just one way to look at reality.

[@theartofphotography]

+Pablo del Solar nicely said

[@77darkghost77]

you litteraly have stolen the words from my mouth: it really depends on the photographer's approach and creativity! And of course to what he would like to communicate, and at the same time what people see in his photographs!

[@robertbutts9835]

And is it all story telling ... We as photographers are documenting something wether it be as you say so many things . And a cropped version of reality .. sounds almost frightening to being not real .. or a fictionalized version of something .

[@davidrothschild8913]

I love when you're asking questions and make me feel like I'm back in college again. And I will always feel that asking questions more important then saying answers

[@ropersix]

At its best, photography (on its own, without accompanying words) is really more like poetry, which often has small elements of storytelling while remaining a separate and distinct genre. Both poetry and story evoke emotion and thoughts in the viewer's or reader's brain, but story does it with character and plot development so that a reader (or movie viewer) starts to identify personally with the characters. With photography--even Dwayne Michaels' sequences--the viewer is still mostly just an observer, guessing about who and what the characters are--maybe creating his or her own story about the photos, but never really getting to "know" the characters. Storywise, as best photos are an invitation to create your own story. Just because something has a few elements of a story doesn't make it storytelling. And I certainly don't see that as any kind of negative or bad thing.

[@masonltompkins]

I would argue that photography itself is not storytelling. Photography is a medium, the same as paper and pen, canvas, spoken word, poetry, film, fabric, wood, architecture and so on... What happens though, is an artistic human picks up a camera, and uses a photograph to communicate. We are storytellers, and Photography is our medium.

[@merysunartha6452]

And you as story teller move your idea to images or videos as story telling image

[@masonltompkins]

+clash ongems exactly :-)

[@certs743]

What are your thoughts on the concept that the medium is the message.

[@masonltompkins]

+Daniel Stewart I'm unfamiliar with that concept so idk. I'd be happy to learn! :)

[@certs743]

Mason Tompkins This explains it far better then I can. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_medium_is_the_message

[@legrat6678]

Yes! The moment you mentioned Duane Michaels I blurted out "YES!". Such a natural storyteller. I first encountered his work as a teenager and I still love it, yet it's so hard to find. Like you say, he's rarely talked about, yet his work is so seminal. Thanks for mentioning him; he'd be a great subject for a spotlight video. :-) And I really liked the way you analyzed the different practices of Photography. I agree with you that many of them aren't storytelling, they're simple documentary, just capturing a detail to record it. Interestingly some of those can subsequently tell a story, usually in what a certain period found memorable, or what they left out and didn't value. Great video!

[@Daniel_Zalman]

I don't think a single image can tell a story. It can provide information but I don't think a single image, on to itself, be a platform for a narrative. What an image can do is spark the viewer's imagination and lead to rumination about the narrative behind the image.

[@CheeekyCarley]

My first semester photo professor said the exact same thing a couple years ago, I completely agree.

[@JC-xx5dm]

Lead to rumination. I think you nailed it. I think photography should at least attempt to invoke all range of emotions in the viewer.

[@monfrancaisaccount69monfra8]

an image can tell a thousand words, eyes, facial expressions, colors, geometry, nature is telling us a beautiful story that we refuse to hear

[@allbushnocraft3031]

nonsense have you ever seen a carravagio painting or a crewdson image if you can't get a narrative for either of these you dont understand visual communication.

[@DarkAngelEU]

Look up portraits of the South by Richard Avedon. They do tell stories.

[@itsjohnthomas]

Hey Ted, I think photography is storytelling. Stories are so intertwined into our lives that it may be difficult to separate what is and isn’t. I think just the aspect of pressing the shutter doesn’t always tell a story, but when combined with “creative thinking” (your term from another video) a photography can tell a story. The story comes from the individual communicating, not just a shot of a landscape, forensic evidence etc.

[@Livestoriz]

Hi Ted, this is a great question to ask. Photography can be indeed seen as (technically) an interpretation of reality, however we can go further than this and imagine it as a way to express via the medium the mood, atmosphere, people, their lives, an interesting event, or more abstract use of light and shadows, colour or b&w. Beyond this, I see photography as a creative juxtaposing of these basic ingredients into something more cohesive and beautifully presented. This is to me, storytelling. The beauty of all this is that every photographer (I define a photographer anyone with a camera), can see things differently even from the same vantage point, so all this becomes an identification with a particular situation and the unique exposition of what one saw. This means we can all tell a story, albeit at a different level, and this is what motivates me in photography.

[@nikolaidonskoj]

When I shoot the core question is: "What is the story?" Sometimes, I see a shot I must take, and the story only becomes obvious afterwards. In those instances, the subconscious sees the story beyond the immediate image. I love to hear the stories that other people see in my images. For me, that is the greatest fun of a photograph.

[@AArtinartt]

Great that you bring this up.....to me, there's no story in photos, but memories to others or the photographer. A story is like you say, a series of photos. One single photo can only be a moment, a line in a book or a scene in a movie. Mood in a picture, can make the viewer remember the feelings they once had themselves, good or bad. A remember the story that made them cry, feeling happy or sad. I don't tell stories, I make other remember theirs, is my motto !

[@jackdavenport3151]

Great video as always. Think you're right on the money with this one Ted. I see a lot of photos characterised by 'it tells a story' and I'm left scratching my head trying to work out what the story is. Trying to pigeonhole photographs in this way limits artistic freedom to explore the craft. I take a lot of abstract photos and I'm not trying to tell a story. I am trying to convey emotion or feeling. There is a difference.

[@coresss19]

actually, in marketing, the best storytelling strategy is applied through images, rather than text!

[@CillaChoiceBitsofBliss]

This is the second video of yours that I've watched and both times you've made me pause and question my own motivation and style behind the camera. I've learned that when my defense mechanism wants to shift into gear that I need to back off and think through the whys. You asked us for a discussion and it's a little difficult for me to verbalize at the moment because I feel like I need to take a walk and process. I use photography and words to complement one another. I've taken very few photographs that stand alone and tell a story. It has happened and they weren't always purposeful. The very subjective nature of art is that it doesn't wield the same message to every viewer. I've had comments on a photo I've posted that I thought was pretty or fun, but others would seem taken in by the composition. I'm left scratching my head with no idea how to replicate that impact. The only thing that I can do, is to present to the world that piece of me that begs for expression through a lens and spilled through the end of a pen in words. That remains true to who I am and how I create. I keep learning to be able to elevate those creative skills, but at the end of the day, the unburdening of myself for others to censure/view/admire is for my benefit. I have release. That in itself is kind of selfish. Huh. What about that? I'm creatively selfish. lol

[@MichaelZieschang]

Maybe I'm too new into photography and too less educated in art but I do think that capturing moments, putting things and people or the remains of people in relationship to each other and interprete it with your own thoughts and feelings has a big narrative component. Maybe the noun 'story' makes too much of it. But I've learned a few weeks ago for myself that photography works best in a series. Thank you for this Video.

[@alexanderhugestrand]

I've seen images that people claim tells a story, but I've found the complete opposite to be true - that the images say nothing at all and leave you to your imagination. They are like an empty canvas in that regard. That *lack* of story in combination with elements that makes you curious, asking yourself "what's going on?", and elements that make you feel something, is what makes a great image IMO. Great video by the way! You always bring up such interesting topics. :)

[@mafe123ish]

This video makes a lot of sense. Photography, as an art, doesn't necessarily has to be storytelling, and it did confuse me when people said that photography is all about telling a story when for me it's something different, I like the distortion of reality, for example. Thanks again Ted! as simple as this video is, it helped me understand a little better what I want to do with photography and it made me realize that sometimes I beat myself up because I don't naturally follow all this patterns and concepts that people put on top of things.

[@paulabuermele1547]

When you view a photo I have created, all you are seeing is the story of what I am seeing. I am sharing the connection between myself and the subject in the photo. Many times I see photos my friends have posted on social media and I would love to fix them technically. Then I realize that they didn't post the photo because of its technical quality, they posted it to share with me a visual connection to what is important to them. Before I photograph something, I think about why I am drawn to that subject or scene and, if I share the resulting photograph, I am sharing something about myself. Some viewers sense the same connection as I and appreciate the photo and others do not. I learned this concept from Ansel Adams who said, “There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.”

[@christophk.4544]

Photography has many Faces in my opinion and it depends on how you use it. Sure it can tell you a interesting Story or it just capturing a special moment. But sometimes its there to save important memories about a great time you had with Peoples you really loved (like Family-Members or Friends)...or of a historic Moment.

[@sergeyusik9934]

“There are always two people in every picture: the photographer and the viewer.” - Ansel Adams Once you see a well framed "conflict" on the picture with some actions of people in the frame, their communications, some unfinished actions, some not straightforward meanings with a space for questions to be asked, it becomes more interesting to a viewer to dig into and look thru all subjects, characters and details across the frame and, _upon_viewer's_life_experience_, complete the story answering: what, when, who and why. That's what I call a storytelling photography and not only. And yes, a story could be told even with one picture! In case there is a lack of obvious "conflict" in the frame some photographers fulfills it with description text or sequence of photos. There are cons of this fulfills - it left less space to a viewer to be come a "co-creator" while "reading the story". It just that simple.

[@darkroomvampire7514]

I agree. You hear so much about "storytelling" in contemporary photography, I wonder what storytelling even means anything anymore.

[@josegastonbarriga680]

To me, It is a way to visually communicate and express what I have perceived without the use of words. It is the moment transcribed into a photo that allows viewers creating their own story without words.

[@samfenstermacher]

While pondering your question, the work of Dorothea Lange came to mind. In the book "Looking At the American Country Woman" Lange used paired photographs, one portrait and one environmental, along with her own notes to tell stories. I think it was part of her style to pair several of her own documentary photographs with text to tell stories.

[@RollinCampbell]

Every photograph tells a story. It is up to the person viewing the photo to create the story. That is what makes photography so wonderful, so many different views or stories can be created from a single image.

[@TheStoryLeader]

I teach oral storytelling to business people and my minimum definition of a story is “a sequence of related events”. It’s a boring story if it’s too predictable. it’s not relatable if there’s no central character. Our brain’s neocortex is a sequence memory prediction organ - meaning it memorises sequences from all senses and predicts what will happen next - that’s why we pay attention to stories - they are unpredictable sequences. The neocortex doesn’t care if it’s predicting sounds, vision, touch or feelings - all senses are processed the same way - repeated pattern - memorise it -> predict the next event. With this definition we can see that a single photograph can tell a story, because our eyes ‘saccade’ around the image in a sequence - it’s an interesting story if the photographer includes a relatable central ‘character’ and unpredictability. You can see from this definition that music is also story.

[@GLOBIK]

I don't think photography is always about storytelling but it can definitely be a great medium to tell a story if that's what the artist wants. Jeff Wall is a great story teller that uses photography as a medium. He creates meticulously elaborate or simplistic scenes where every detail is premeditated. I would almost call him a "one frame filmmaker" if that makes any sense. Is anyone else here familiar with his work?

[@LeorC5]

I think that to me the term 'storytelling' in the context of photography means something like "how much room does this photograph leaves for your imagination?" / "how easy it is for your imagination to complete a plausible story for that image?". To me, a photo with a 'good story' triggers your imagination easily and makes most observers perceive an interesting background story for that image.

[@esmailhassanali1107]

photography is storytelling with a difference. unlike videos whereby the producer tells you his side of the story, start, plot, end, a good photograph captures a particular moment in a story. A good photograph will make you pause, contemplate what happended just before the shot, and after, and in the process lets your own imagination create your story, and thats what makes photography beautyful.

[@trooper97]

I think it depends on the intent of the photographer. Sometimes I'm looking to tell you a story, mostly series work, but other times I just want you to see beauty through my eyes.

[@WolfgangSchroyens]

For me personally it is the reason why I photograph. I want to tell a story with my pictures. If there's no story in my pictures then for me it's a no go! The problem for me is (and I'm still learning it...) How do you tell a story in one frame? Every story has basically a beginning, a middle and an end. Now for me the composition, mood, scene which are obvious at first glance constitutes the beginning. Then I try to use 2, 3, 4 or more elements that interact with each other one way or the other. This is my middle. Finally I Try to keep an open end so the viewer can make the end up for him/her self. This can be emotional or rational. That is what I try to find as my photographic subject, a story. And sometimes I'm amazed at how many stories can be found anywhere if we just look for them.

[@TheAtmousphere]

For me I shoot because it is pleasant to the eye at first, but then when I go back and take a look at it I can remember what I was feeling in the moment I took it. I can recall what was going on in my surroundings, and maybe not to the fullest of detail, more or less I know what I was thinking and memories I attached to it when I pressed the shutter. I think we create a story the moment we see something familiar that is attached to something you remember when you see the subject or whatever it is that you're shooting. Those memories along with the pleasant view of the photo give me a story. Although I do agree that not all photography is storytelling, but the eyes do tell stories! Anywhere where there are people involved stories are involved. I never go out with the intention to make a story out of my photos, I just shoot, shoot, shoot. Eventually something becomes a story or not. The ones that do not, don't necessarily mean that they are less than the category that does tell a story. They're just different. This is my take on it, anyways this is a great question. I wonder what other people think about this?

[@joeylindeman2842]

Good "tutorial" to end my search with. I watched about 12 tutorials about photography storytelling, each with a different vision, and all burping up different but very common photographytips. So this one is refreshing. I think i'm ready to go out and shoot now.

[@Acquavallo]

Photography isn't storytelling, but it can be. Photography isn't art, but it can be. It's all in the approach; if someone just photographs a landscape, where's the story, but if Jeff Wall puts together a tableau, there might be a bit more of an argument. However, it also depends on how much of a story we want. Storytelling is supposed to be the conveying of events, often with embellishment. Maybe than, Muybridge would be storytelling because his work conveys events, or is it just one event? How many events do we need? Because if we really do need events, plural, Dwane Michaels also falls apart with just the single event of 'Chance Meeting'. You would really need a photo-roman like La Jetée than to be storytelling. I think the problem is people are confusing storytelling with Narativeness. Jeff Wall if definitely narrative, but maybe not a storyteller. Storytelling involves a sequence of events, whilst narrative can simply be the single event or the elusion to events taking place (in Jeff Wall for example). This is really a problem of semantics; what do we call photography's ability to embody story, action or events? I say we look at what it does carefully, scientifically and find a term that matches, and I think that term is Narrative. At my art school no one would dare call photograph storytelling, but many people go on about narrative.

[@eniotneets1895]

I look at it from the other side, the photo becomes the story. You have a picture of a moment. Later you come across that photo again, and then it becomes the story. You also have photos taken of a wedding party to be able to look back later, and the stories from that wedding will automatically reappear. The stories are then released through the photo.

[@Rambleswithmycameraonyoutube]

A single photo can tell a story but not necessarily the whole story or the true story. My latest video is part of my series about me telling the story behind my photos, but I think a photo on its own can't tell the whole 'Story' but it can create a multitude of stories in the minds of those viewing it. Sending Love from Ireland Sean

[@jamestheredd]

I believe all art is storytelling in it's broadest perspective. A single photo takes You on a journey just like a book does. The story may be short, long, abstract, straight forward, compelling, not compelling, confusing. But I think there is always a narrative in Photography.

[@szabopal85]

All photos capture one specific moment of the wold of the photographer. So they transmit that specific moment, that view, those thoughts, emotions. Ie they always embed tons of information in a very specific way. It is up to the viewer how / what we can decode from the information. Sometimes the purpose of the photo is to tell the beauty of our universe (eg landscape photos). Can a landscape tell a story? The power of elements? The superiority of nature over man? The happiness and promise of a colorful sunrise after the dark night? Can we read emotions from the eyes of a human or an animal if we speak about portre? Can an object radiate calmness, stability, trust or playfulnes and desire? I think the answer to all of these questions depends on the sensitivity/openess/fantasy/mood etc of the viewer. In case of certain photos this process is quite smooth/easy/straightforward for any viewer, some other photos require more effort/time to get discovered and interpreted. But all has something to say. Otherwise they would be only a simple full black picture (or white).

[@edelweisskoenig]

I am so glad I found this video. How often did I hear this sentence, a good picture has to tell a story and how often did I look into empty portrayed faces that didn't even tell me a word. Maybe it's just me not listening enough, maybe it's just marketing talk. I think a good picture that "gets you" can stimulate your phantasy and that is where the story starts.

[@monfrancaisaccount69monfra8]

when you see pictures from WWII you can definitely hear the story, photography is not always about telling stories, you know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words

[@christianhein9177]

I am actually writing my Master Thesis this semester on a very similar topic, exploring the edge between documentary and artistic photography when used in photographic essays which are documenting (*and in a way doing "artistic research" on) social circumstances and therefore transforming multiple images into a story : - )

[@alannorthdevonuk763]

How did you get on with the thesis?

[@godeepmudmedia]

In my experience, photography definitely can be storytelling. It can also be just an image of something I like that I want to capture for future reference. Sometimes, a picture of a tree is simply a picture of a tree. Generally, when I do something that I would consider storytelling, it tends to be a series of images. Even then, I notice that it is open to interpretation by the person who is viewing the images. I enjoy when I take pictures of something that I hope will have some form of story to it and others see the same scenario I did. On the other hand, I like to hear their take on it if they see it differently.

[@sambitmitra3207]

For me photography is something that is random. And it is because of this quality photography is an art. After looking at an image anyone can interpret anything from it, just like a painting and it proves how vast and wide this field is.

[@JRileyStewart]

This topic is well worth our time to think about. For years, as this idea was being batted about, I struggled with the notion about "photography as storytelling." I've come to accept that yes, there's a story in every image. However, we as viewers often need to be sufficiently interested in the image to invest the time/effort to define the story. The most beloved illustrator of all time, Norman Rockwell, was universally accepted as a storyteller. If he could tell a story in one image, then anyone can, even photographers. Are Gregory Crewdson's photographs not stories? I think they are, clearly. And does it really matter if the story one sees in a photograph is the same story intended by the artist? Why impose such constraints on the outcome of any art? I'm one of those who think images should and do conjure up stories. They may be simple or complex, fictional or non-fiction, etc, but anytime art (even photographic art) stops you and gets you thinking about what's going on in the image, isn't that the essence of storytelling? Aren't we imagining a story? Isn't that the goal of any artist?

[@GilFeliciano]

Thank you for your thoughts on this Ted! Since hearing that concept from quiet a few photographers I admire, I felt an extra sense of pressure to create a "story" but just couldn't do it. At look at classic photographs looking for a "story" and short of some photojournalistic pieces, couldn't find one. Your thoughts and many of the comments here will help me feel less stressed about my photography and more enjoyment. I can't thank you and your listeners enough

[@RamaSivamani]

For portraiture I think where I would classify storytelling vs not is how you would cue the model for posing. If your cues are primarily about the physical poses and the angles that you are creating then I might not consider that storytelling. However if your cues are story related then it probably is approaching storytelling. For example if I have a model reaching for an object the posing I give her are pretend she is this character reaching for this object because of the significance it would hold and I create a back story motivation that the model uses as a guideline for how to reach for this object and what expression to hold while reaching for it and that's the photo I take then I would definitely consider that storytelling. A lot of staged fantasy photography or photography using props to create a narrative I would say does become storytelling.

[@capuccinolight]

Certainly, it depends a lot on the spectator's ability to read through different layers of meaning and make sense of all that. Photography can both compress a huge amount of information on a single frame as well as merely 'point' at some object without making further comment on it, then we could ask: how much of the photographer's intended message can the viewer decipher? Is the language universal or at least common? BTW thanks for this amazing videos, your channel is a great source of inspiration, keep up!

[@edma22]

If you split photography into documentation and documentary you cleave it into the shots intended to simply preserve an image and those intended to convey more meaning. The forensic example in the video is an excellent example of documentation. You're basically creating a visual catalogue of the scene. Street photography, on the other hand (despise the term if you like but you know what I'm referring to) is intended as documentary, as the way in which the photographer interpreted the scene and presented it to us. So I suppose that every form of photography that is presented to us for interpretation is a form of storytelling. Writing this I realised that I use a digital camera for everything I do that is documentation and film for when I have a story to tell.

[@jacksonohno]

I’m an artist, and I’m huge on creating aesthetically pleasing artwork, but I wish to create pieces that make you feel something within the person in the art piece, and resonate possibly with them. I wish to create images that inflict emotion but also speak. And I have a hard time know how to do that without creating a story board or something to lay it out. I want a series of pieces to push the story along, but I wish for it always to be a piece that is still beautiful

[@KristianPletten]

I believe everything is on a spectrum, where a single photograph may be able to tell a part of a story, and a series of photographs can tell a better story. I've been wanting to get into video for some time now because I think it's a better medium for storytelling. What I do like about photography though is that it leaves parts of the story open for interpretation. By the way, loving these daily vids Ted!

[@sbai4319]

Photography is the medium by which we can all show what we (photographers) see or construct for others to see. Perhaps the term short story is a apt description of what photographs tell.

[@LookRainy]

I have always been doubting the idea of storytelling in photography. Often I hear from people say that 'you need to tell a story with your photo', but I can't help but think photography isn't limited just to tell stories. Photography as an art form, in my opinion, is a way to portrait beauty in the real life or create beauty, and there isn't necessarily always a story behind it. You can love a picture just because you love it, not because it tells a 'story'.

[@merysunartha6452]

The beauty you capture itself is a story

[@lewisallrightsreserved7879]

Beauty is beauty, it isn't necessarily a story anymore than war or peace or a stock quote.People, including photographers can have various viewpoints on what is beautiful and why, but that's a viewpoint - it's up to the photographer whether s/he thinks something is a story, and of course the audience has their point of view. Garry Winograd didn't,t believe that photographs said anything though most? of them hint at narrative whether that was his intent or not. Same thing with (Andy) Warhol's work - there are people and events in his reworked found imagery, but what does it mean and what narrative if any is it representing and whose point of view if any. Life is both more simple and complicated than any narrative of any structure. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and it's better to find your own relationship to a picture or series of pictures, critics be damned. Narrative or not - is it a good picture? Does it work as Art? How? Why? Why not? "The value of the work is the value of the work"

[@monfrancaisaccount69monfra8]

when you see pictures from WWII you can definitely hear the story, photography is not always about telling stories, you know what they say, a picture is worth a thousand words

[@RAMSEYSPENCER]

Not every time you shoot is suppose to be a story telling ... sometimes you just wanna make specific photo depends really on your mood, cause a creative photographer is moody usually, thats how they come up with these great photos. So when you wanna tell a story it need to contain at least few photos ( 5 photos minime ) to try to make a very short story telling clear and understanding to others. Sometimes you also need to add a very smart title to name the session you did so people can interpret and imagine it, or you can write a small text about the whole session ( photo series ) and once you look at the photos, you kinda understand and you start to relate what the photographer is trying to say. but these days everyone as you said, they try to do A STORYTELLING session .. but there is hardly anything to tell beside just still photos that it could look nice as single image at the time or not. In This case if you just write or explain briefly about what you trying to say in one or 2 lines and then let them flip through the photo, then they get the idea. but putting sessions out there to try make people see you are A STORYTELLING .. is not easy .. unless you really really know what you doing, so all well be readable by everyone who sees it.

[@Andrea_Manconi]

My amateurish answer would be no, because a picture is a picture. It has some mathematical quality in it, it often quotes or replicates directly only the technical aspects of (say) paintings. So maybe an ad must tell a story while an architectural photo might not. Nonetheless I'm quite convinced that classic photos have their strongest point in their storytelling, because that's what we get hung by. In other words, it's like when we call "literature" only the narrative books, leaving the others aside.

[@jerkojie]

It isn't, not if you consider a story as a narrative with a beginning, a middle, and an end. Photography, in my opinion, does not do that. And that's why I love it. A single frame can sometimes provide the beginning, the middle, or the end, and its up to the viewer to fill in the blanks with their imagination.

[@seansullivan9109]

Personally, I would think the only way that photography could truly be deemed as 'storytelling' is, as you mentioned in one the last bits of the video, if it has a 'beginning', 'middle' and an 'end'. That in and of itself would imply that more than one image is needed to convey the 'story'. However, that being said, I do think that photography (that of the artistic variety) DOES convey a MESSAGE, or it evokes an EMOTION. I can see how those can be either misconstrued or even 'played up' as storytelling, but in the end I think you need a series of images to actually tell a story. That's just my personally opinion, though. I also agree with Pablo...so I think that photography, as with any other form of expression (artistic or otherwise), is open for interpretation...both by the viewer (as they look at the image) AND by the photographer (by what they want the viewer to see). Great video, keep it up. :)

[@GuillaumeLachapelle]

To me, Storytelling would probably be one of the elements of a given image or picture. As you said a lot of images don't exactly include the story aspect. However, when they can be identified as a moment in either someone's life or simply a moment in time, I think this is when that aspect come into play. Is it The end-all-be-all? I don't really think so. I think there is value in this element of an image, but ultimately it is just one part of that image.

[@KienNguyen-ks3vo]

The reason I watched your video is I've been searching for the answer to that very question - is photography storytelling. I think it's impossible to tell "a story" with "one photograph".

[@jasonwilliams1556]

I often think the storytelling is the responsibility of the person viewing the image. Yes the photographer will have in mind a narrative, or have seen something in the lead up to capturing a frame, however each person will quite possibly have their own take, their own interpretation of the image. The photographer should give the viewer the opportunity to feel something, to illicit a response or reaction; the viewer quite often will make up their own "story". When I take an image I am thinking about what I have seen that I want to photograph, or what I want to say, but the trick is matching that to how others will see it.

[@carlyleellis6984]

I always appreciate your videos. Storytelling is a term that is overused in photography circles. I like the idea of a story having a beginning middle and end and that is often not so in a photographer's attempt to tell a story with his images. It seems that captions have taken the place of the image to tell the story.

[@SidJ8300]

Thank you so much for touching a crucial element of photographic journey. Nicely explained .. 😊

[@Marc-WOA]

I started out truly wondering about what your conclusions would be and when you started talking about the beginning mids and ends being storytelling I couldn't agree more. I guess I'd like to answer the question with a yes and no. Personally I think it very strongly depends on what type of photography we're talking about. There are indeed many different types and styles of photography and for myself I'd mostly like to differentiate them with having a backstory, being conceptual or being just images of a certain subject. Even though it's hard to go into detail about this because it's such a huge landscape when it comes to all of the different variations of photography I think the main reason a photo will become a story is when: - It shows a true moment in time or situation happening at that very moment. Let's say documentary photography. If it's about a person's life, or even war photography, we are being told something about someone, something or somewhere at a given moment in time. To me that is story telling. Because it's learning about whatever is happening in that photo that shows us those elements. - It tells a story that is made up by either a photographer or the one creating the story and images go along those lines. Whenever images aid a textual timeline they should able to stand among themselves - like you also talked about. When working in a series of photographs along the lines of showing a narrative or even a lifestyle I also believe the photographer says something about someone, something or somewhere in a given moment in time. It's indeed a difficult question because it actually starts at defining what a "story" or "storyteller" actually is. Thinking about it, especially writing about it I believe photography belongs in an own segment of story telling fitting beautifully along the literary/movie storytelling. Visual/Stills storytelling. As to categorize that per photoshoot/photographer is difficult of course. But there are some core elements a photographic story needs and I personally believe that that is what the two points above are. (along with other things I didn't go into depth about here) Great question, lovely to think about. It's because I myself have a hard time figuring out what I do myself is storytelling. I'm in between portraiture, showing someone in a certain context (which is more or less - photography and no story being actually told) and a concept writer and photographer for my personal body of work. In which the basis is a story about a certain group of people and out of that creating a photographic concept and having the images and the story back each other up. A lot of people do indeed throw around the term quite easily now. Which is why I'm happy this is up for debate. Good day! Marc www.marc-haers.nl

[@TolarRay]

If you simplify it, a photo is just a perspective of life. Whether you like it or not, people are gonna argue whether you told a story or not. The goal is to import your view on it into another being. That's the real beauty.

[@romiemiller3093]

My background is in photojournalism and documentary photography. Some of the photos here do tell a story. And, more so if there are more than one image in a series. They can tell a story without words, but the two together are better. Remember the old adage one photo is worth a thousand words.

[@makalu69]

Photography is whatever you want it to be. If you 'just' take pictures to record an image that does not make you a photographer - you are just a person with a camera. If you capture an image specifically to convey a message to the viewer, then perhaps that is some form of art and you might be thinking of yourself as a 'photographer'?

[@b1g_m00n]

I don't know, I think your view of story is maybe too limited to the classic literary structure of a beggining, a middle and an end. To me, a story is a cut out of the tissue of reality, translated into whatever means of communication and repeated with an intention of spreading it around. A good book or movie is one that lurks into your head and stays with you once the credits roll. It unfolds in your mind, occupying the spaces that were there before, reshaping itself uniquely to each person. The same may happen when you experience music, a good painting, or even a dance act, if you are sensitively open. And photographs seek to do the same. Evoke thoughts and feelings, sensations, thoughts. For instance, that great picture of a couple sleeping on a train, by Cartier-Bresson. First of all, it evokes the notion of a relationship in our heads. Then, you're open to wondering if the relationship is a good, loving one or if it's a somewhat dysfunctional one. Are they true to one another? For how long have they known each other? For how long will they be together? Where is the train coming from? Where is it going to? Why are they on that train? What will they see next? How will that make them feel? And there you are. Presented with a glimpse of the outside world, the external and shared reality, and having it unfold inside you, translated into your own perception of reality, unfolding inside you. And that's maybe cheating, considering such a heavily loaded picture by such a master. But even pictures that don't feature people in them have that ability to grow into stories in your head. Ansel Adams' landscapes make me wonder at how astonishnigly gorgeous nature can be. Make me feel in contact with nature, connected with the knowledge that I, too, am nature. It allows me to discover a story of me. So do commercial photography. It seeks to make you want to buy whatever it is it's advertising. It pulls at your brain chords, trying to write in it a drive that wasn't there before. Trying to make you believe this simple stroy: "I want this". Or even "I need this". I'd say that's as real as any other story. And that's what that simple sidelit against a white backdrop can do. That's why photography is, to me, one of the most exciting forms of storytelling. It's almost 100% collaborative between the shooter and the beholder. We know of some forms through which we can manipulate the viewer's perception a bit, but so much of it is pure intuition. A connection between the humanity in you and the humanity in your audience, established through a story made of light and time.

[@ROIAdvertisingAndPublicity]

A photograph speaks a 1000 words which means it tells us a story of some place or person or event or happening. I think photo journalism can be a good example about this.

when I think storytelling in photography I usually think projects that has a central theme, like telling the story of a particular city thought-out the years or the works of Sebastião Salgado, as an example, they all tell a particular story, being the story of uncharted Earth or industrialization

[@mikedodd4546]

I think you can suggest a story in a single frame but it leaves you, the viewer, to make up the other parts of the story in your mind. Its your interpretation and I love that. Portraits can do that I think. But rarely. Traditional photo journalism single frames often seem to point a finger AT a story and say "look, this is whats happening" and often become iconic. Take Trang Bang's photo of 9yo napalm victim Kim Phuc during the Vietnam War as an example. Or many others. I think a body of photographic work focusing on a project can definitely tell a story from beginning to a possible end. The Americans right? However I think in the present environment creating a story through a series of considered and curated photographs over a period of time has become devalued. More the reason we as photographers should do it.

[@heklisv]

Photography is subjective, that's why it's so attractive to so many people. There is no way to agree with one specific answer, but there is no way to agree with the answer of someone else. Perhaps the answer lies within ourselves, our innate instincts about how to look at the world around us, this also affects our own opinion.

[@simon_patterson]

That was the longest single sentence I've ever witnessed - almost 7 minutes! Re story telling, I think the best photos usually tell a story, although the inclusion of a story is not essential for a picture to still be worthwhile looking at.

[@daviddunkleygyimah2899]

Is photography storytelling? Well that's in the eye of the beholder. A photo of, say, a red square (e.g. artist Kelly's red square) may have little value for some, whilst others will interpret it differently - its association (memory) yields a story. An answer, if it can ever be reached, depends on a strictly framed, albeit difficult definition of storytelling. It's a wonderfully simple question but a deeply philosophical one, which gives the victor the spoils predicated on their power of rhetoric, and, say, our reception to exemplars. Eugene Smith believed by altering the frame and chiaroscuro, the same photo could inhabit different realities. From the first moments of photography's prowess when artist Paul Delaroche declared 'from today painting is dead', we've asked this question. Like I said, it's a simple question, but perhaps further framing and narrowing the question down to a time, geography, person might help, but then you lose the essence of the grand question and wider public discourse.

[@PaulGriffiths]

Great vid once again Ted. Huge thoughts and comments no doubt will follow on this subject. Story telling I hear this a lot also. To me the landscape, portrait, product/commercial photographers are essentially 'recorders'. The Street/photojournalist (in my opinion) are the documentarist; the Photo story tellers! The greats HCB, Brassai, Salgado, Kertesz, and Koudelka with their observations and documenting life as it was and as they saw it, created the art of story telling with their very important work. And long may that particlar genre continue.

[@SamuelMonteArrieta]

I was thinking about the same thing yesterday, this whole storytelling marketing thing(sometimes) when is applied to awesome pictures of landscapes for example that might not have anything to do with storytelling just is ridiculous. Even though the images are fantastic. Some people add some text and context to it and then suddenly it's storytelling.

[@jeremoe1]

I think it depends on the photo and what the photographer is trying to say with that image. It could easily trigger the imagination so that the viewer can conjure his/her thoughts of what the image is attempting to convey. So, to sum it up, not all photos tell a story, yet some do, or at least may tell a story. Good topic.

[@lukasprochazkaprod]

Ted you always sum up tought about the topic so well, I never acually tought the photojurnalism as a illustaration and not story telling. But I do think single photograph can tell a story, but maybe not the whole one but just part of it, maybe just the middle because we already know the begging (from media or experience) or meybe we already know the ending but photography can tell another version of ending or perspective on story.

[@dogasecco]

Great video, as always! Essays usually have the power of telling a solid story. You also can have a story on a single frame, however, it may lack of a context and that's the point.

[@jeanberube7168]

Sometimes we are too bound by the "first degree" meaning of words... We are entrapped into a generally accepted interpretation of repeated common sense sentences. I would say that pictures always tell something, but not necessarily a story. A bit like a novel (good or bad), as you release a picture, the meaning of it does not totally belong to you anymore. You may have the intention to say something, but your piece will tell others something else. In a sense, a picture always conveys an intention and bears an interaction. That is probably what we should say instead of talking about "telling a story". To a certain extent, even a beautiful landscape tells us something close to a "story" (when you look carefully, it narrates where the mountains come from, where they now stand with one another and where their trees are meant to die if we don't care enough about our planet).

[@ericvervisch7882]

I don't know if photography is storytelling. I know I'm a storyteller when I see a picture. Even with the landscapes of the portrait. We could develop interactions with all objects ( from a piece of art to a cup of coffee, from music to noise ) An artist maybe shows a new way, a new word, a surprise,... am I ready to see it ? Thanks for your videos. Very inspirational. End of August I have to decide if I'll go to a photography school in Warsaw( Poland) with and funded by Marian Schmidt.

[@angelica3744]

Never heard of Dave Heath, but I googled his work after you mentioned him in this video and his work is brilliant! BTW, I agree that photography does not necessarily have to be storytelling.

[@samlbert3380]

what is a story ? can a single frame be a whole story ? do we have to tell the entire story or just help the imagination ? is storytelling inseparable of consistancy in work ? is this something that has been existing since the begining of photography without being pointed at ?

[@mlrodri]

I atreve that not all the photography is storytelling. However, the term "storytelling" refer to the interpretation of the person who observe a picture. I mean, the differences between a storytelling photography and one is not (or is least) is the creativity or the strong that allow to that particular photo be interpreted as a (or several) story. )

[@stevemessam3625]

I think you have to distinguish 'storytelling' from 'narrative'. Photography by its very nature is about time. It's a slice of time. Sometimes that slice is very very short, but sometimes it's centuries. Because of that time element there has to be a narrative. There is a 'story' if you like for the duration of that slice of time implied by the photograph. In the example of the forensic work, each picture is a narrative as well as an element in a wider narrative about what happened. Stories happen when you expand the narrative - extend it, fill in the gaps, embellish or twist. The time element has its own independent power too. All photographs are documents in time too. As documents, they accrue added depth to their narrative over time - a historical layer if you like. The significance and weight of this changes with time too. How much of Vivian Mayer's work attains more strength due to the passage of time and as document of a bygone era? Nice thinking piece though. Thank you Ted.

[@richardlopez46]

Interesting.... 'Creatives' is another term that is way over used when applied to the arts in my opinion. There are a lot of people in differing fields that have to be "Creative," like Carpenters, Architects, Business owners of just about every type and the list goes on. But I do agree that not every photograph has to tell a story.

[@romiemiller7876]

Photography isn't always story telling, but photography can be story telling. I have some single images that tell a story on their own. I'll send you one. And, my background is in photojournalism and news photography. * I forgot. I'll send the photo soon.

[@mikaelsiirila]

The issue for me is the use of "storytelling" as a criteria for good photography. If storytelling is what you want to do, photography is probably not the media you should start with. Try writing.

[@martinezescribano]

My humble (and long) take on this: I follow one of the guys that talk a lot about storytelling in photography, CJ Chilvers and, I don't know about others, but his view is not that photography IS storytelling, though he perhaps thinks it is the most interesting kind of photography (e.g. he argues that National Geographic published photographies are awared with prizes for that reason). And, while I am not 100% aligned with him, and many of my favorite photographers (such as Sugimoto) are not storytellers, the most valuable pictures I have taken are the ones that tell a story that is important to me or my family. In other words, for most (common) people the pictures that should be better kept sometimes are the so often undervalued snapshots, that may be better appreciated by our grandchildren than our limited attempts to become fine art photographers. That said, I do not find any conflict between this idea, and Forbes' approach to the subject, although it may be disturbing that if we focus too much on one aspect, we may loose sight of the other

[@Rambleswithmycameraonyoutube]

Thank you for he heads up on CJ Chilvers I never heard of him and will check him out. I like your thoughts on how you see your 'important' photos and you may like my latest video in my series where I talk about the story behind my photos. Sending Love from Ireland Sean

[@markquiram9012]

The term story-telling is more the intent of the photographer. A single image or a series can both tell a story. Some are better at telling a story than others and that can confuse the issue as well as misinterpreting the story as in the famous JFK photo at the window where his head is down. Many people interprepeted that as the burden of the office. The reality is more mundane. He was reading the morning paper by windowlight.

[@boskostoybox]

Photography can be storytelling. But it can also be discussion and debate.

[@alimahdi6379]

thank you. I always struggled with that. But when an effort is made in 6 photos then clearly it is storytelling.

[@mikedodd4546]

Sorry the photo of Kim Phuc was taken in Trang Bang by Nick Ut. My apologies.

[@dontbeaculpus]

On a roll Mr. Forbes!!

[@TheDerisavi]

A photograph cant be a story most of the time but in my opinion it can be a trigger to create different stories in the mind of viewers.

[@certs743]

I think it is sometimes dependent on the application. I know that there is definitely an awareness that photography can tell a story which is why it is often used for propaganda.

[@LandonWard]

As wedding photographers, my wife and I try to tell the story of someone's relationship in the context of several photos over the course of their wedding day. We don't consider ourselves "storytellers", but instead more photojournalists with an artistic flair. But there are some elements of telling story when it comes to building a blog post that shows the span of the day. You have entrances , transitions, moments, and exits. I think what Ted is getting at is that "storytelling" is an overused trope, and should only be used if it's actually true.

[@IAMJAM]

you're coming out with some great content man! Keep it up seriously.

[@weedrunkglasgowman]

Yes, photography is a narrative. ( I always find myself curious as to the rationale(?) of the people who give these videos a thumbs down. Wish they would tell us all more what they find so distasteful)

[@progtom7585]

how did i miss this video! - anyhow... similar to what Chase Jarvis states in his "dirtiest secret in photography" video where he states that those who make the best photography merge photography with some other elements - e.g. Humans of new york merging photos with words (and storytelling is stronger for having both elements combined)... thanks for the content... Tom

[@smillasui]

Is the act of photography storytelling? Photography is definitely visual communication which conveys something between photographer and viewer, and in a way that visual information can be interpreted as a story. But more so I consider the plot displayed in photos to be a lens for the viewer to see or understand the theme of the story. (Love your content. Need more photography focused and less gear focused Phgrohr KZbinrs)

[@dunnymonster]

I would say that a photograph whatever it's original intention will always tell multiple stories depending on who views it. Of course the photographer will have their story and one might suggest that that will always be the correct story. Often times this story will be revealed to a viewer much like when we view a piece of fine art where the artists vision is clearly explained. Sometimes the viewer is not privy to this vision and must sum up the visual aspects of the art piece and work out the story for themselves. In doing so the viewer creates a new story, one that might in fact be totally wrong from the artists perspective but has merit despite this. We do see abstract art presented deliberately in this fashion where the artist has no specific story to tell preferring the viewer to create that for themselves.

[@halli79]

depends on how the work is laid out. a family album can be storytelling and documentation of a certain period of time and place. this is a question whit no right or wrong answer. more what it means to the viewer.

[@Kleinbiology]

Food for thought Ted. Thank you!