LocalNavy433 Photography

I want to say thank you for coming to read my blog and if this is your first time here how the hell are you and thank you for stopping by.  In the title of this post is something that we have all heard before in the photographic world “a photo worth a 1000 words”.  Let’s look deeper into that saying so we can see how to tell a story with that saying.  I am going to be talking about how to get that photo to say 1000 words.  I will give you examples on how to get that image to tell your story because your story is something special.  

The first step to gettin a photo to speak to others is simple.  It starts with you and what story you want to tell with your camera.  I love telling my story with my camera because it lets you learn more about me.  I have grown as a person trying to tell my little story in this great big world with my camera.  The first image that I posted that got some good traction was a photo of snow that had rolled down he window of a truck.  At the time I took that photo I could not for the life of me understand why it got so many people to like it.  I mean come on it was a snapshot of the snow rolling down the window. 

As time went on I learned that it provoked a question in the people as to what was going on.  This is the key to telling a story with your images.  You have to get people to engage with your photo.  When I learned that lesson in photography I was able to get better at telling a story.  Let’s take a look at where my mindset was when I was taking that image.  I was thinking what the hell is that I have never seen something like this and I thought it was cool so I took the photo.  I was also thinking it looks like a very cold cinnamon roll lol.  

After I posted the photo people were asking what that was. I then had to do the research and found it happens because the snow freezes and melts then it rolls down the slope creating the roll.  I thought that it was something special but in fact it’s just a part of nature that happens all the time.  The thing is we don’t see it happening because we are too busy to see it.  By me stopping to notice it and taking the shot it became a unique experience for me and I shared that moment in time with others who never seen something like that as well.  

You see that would be one of the keys to getting a compelling image.  You take the time to find something that is going to get people thinking.  It starts with you wondering what is that and how can I tell the story of that unique item.  I have found that seeing something for the first time helps to tell the story of curiosity that’s in all of us.  That story is the feeling of emotion you have in you and getting that killer image will come when telling your story with a photo.  I recently took a photo that meant the world to me. You see I am a school bus driver and a photographer so being able to tell that story with one image was so hard for me.  

I mean I could take a photo of a bus but really does that tell the story of what we go through when the weather is crap and we have screaming kids on the bus at the same time.  I was standing on the side of the road taking a photo of a snow covered tree and the fog started to roll in.  I noticed that there was a school bus coming up the mountain pass that was covered in ice and snow.  I turned and took several images to make sure that I was capturing the moment that tells the hard conditions that we drivers are put in.  I did it I got the shot and the emotions that I had at the moment were in the photo as well.  

That’s how I knew at the time I took the image it was going to be one of my best.  I managed to tell both my stories with one image.  It hit me that’s also the key to getting that image that tells a story with a 1000 words. Being able to see the story in your head and getting the viewer to ask the question of what it would be like to be there at that moment is how you get that image that just pops off the screen.  Now you ask how do I get that feeling and be able to tell that feeling with an image.  You start with how you feel in that moment taking the photo.  

Go back to what it was like when you first seen a wonderful waterfall and the smells in the air, the spray of the water creating the mist that gives you a rainbow as the sunlight kisses the mist.  Get that feeling of peace and calm you get watching the sun setting on the horizon and the colors in the sky that remind you that you are free.   Use your experience of just being there to tell the story.  Remember what it was like standing at the top of a mountain seeing the vista for the first time then arrange the puzzle together to tell your story.  Go back to being a kid and seeing the stars in the night sky for the first time.  Remember the joy you had watching your child being born and seeing their wonderful little face for the first time. 

Go back to what makes you who you are in those moments of time and tell your story.  That is how you are going to get people to see what you see in your images.  I love the story telling that photography has brought me.  I have reconnected with myself with each image I take.  Next week I am going to be talking more about telling a story with your images. Remember to tell your story and you will get a killer image all the time.  Enjoy from Casper y’all