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Create a Photo Essay (Grades 912)HOW TO

PREPARE1. Get to know your camera.

Make sure that your camera has fresh batteries and plenty of memory, or space, for digital photos.

Become familiar with the available features of your camera, such as the !ash and zoom.

Practice taking photographs.

2. Practice taking photographs that tell a story.

Take two di"erent photographs from two di"erent angles. Compare them. Do they tell the same story? How might a photograph taken from ground level looking up give a di"erent impression than a photograph of the same object taken from above?

Take a series of photographs of di"erent people in the same pose. Do their pictures tell stories that are similar or di"erent? Why or why not? Does it depend on the story?

Take a photograph of a particular scene. #en draw or paint the same scene. Compare and contrast the two. Do they tell the same story? Did they capture the same mood?

Take the same photograph at di"erent times of the day or year. How did this a"ect the story?

Take photographs of di"erent subjects of the same type. How does sequencing them tell a story that one photograph alone could not tell?

Take two pictures of the same subject. Take one that shows contrast in the photograph and one that does not. How do the two photographs tell two di"erent stories? For example, a photo of a person in the window on a train might tell one story, but if you include in the foreground another person running for the train, that might tell another story. What story do you tell if you show old versus new, happy versus sad, or active versus still?

3. Choose a subject and location. #ink of a story youd like to tell. Break that story

down into three parts.

What photographs could you take that will tell each part of that story? Brainstorm photos that might best tell your story.

Choose your location based on your subject and the story you want to tell.

Do prep work! Visit the place you are going to photograph a day before you want to start taking photographs. Notice details and take notes. Find layers in the landscape. List cultural markers that you see.

CAPTURE4. Choose different compositions

and take photos. Take photographs from di"erent angles and points

of view. If you are below your subject, you can shoot on an upward angle. If you are above your subject, you can shoot on a downward angle. You can also take photos from the le$, right, front, or back of your subject.

Take photographs from di"erent distances. Photograph large scenes, such as a river scene with buildings in the background, from far away. Photograph small objects, such as a non-native !ower, from close up.

Photograph cultural markers that tell a story about the people who live in a place. For example, restaurants and businesses re!ect the histories of those who constructed or occupy them. Architectural styles and signs point to how certain groups of people in!uence our lives.

Capture a moment. Look for an expression, gesture, or quality of light that elevates an image beyond the ordinary.

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Taking photographs is one way to tell a story. Some photographs tell stories about moments in time, places, or events. Other photographs tell stories of a sequence of events. To create a photo essay, a photographer must decide what to photograph and how to photograph it, and then organize those photographs in a series that tells a story.

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2011 Nationa

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Create a Photo Essay (Grades 912)HOW TO

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Put a face on the story. Find a person who can make a good photographic subject and photograph them unposed. Talk to people. Get to know them and your portraits will be more interesting. Be sure to get permission and a signed release (available on GeographyAwarenessWeek.org) from any person you photograph.

Frame the picture. Be aware of how much of the subject appears in the photograph. You dont need to take a picture of the entire object or person. Sometimes taking a picture of a door instead of the entire building, or a face instead of a whole body, will tell a di"erent story.

Include foreground subjects and background subjects. Objects that are closer to the camera are in the foreground. #ose that are farther from the camera are in the background. Show the importance of a subject. If you place it in the foreground, it is more important. If you place it in the background, it is less important.

Show context by photographing more than one object. Placing a !ower in the foreground with a factory in the background can tell a more powerful story than just the factory alone.

Include contrasts. Showing two objects or people that are di"erent from each other can help to create interest and movement in the photo.

SHARE5. Tell the story through a photo essay.

Move your photographs from the camera to the computer.

Print or organize electronically the photos you want to include in your photo essay. You may want to include several types of subjects, such as landscapes, cultural markers, and portraits. Or, you may choose to show one type of subject, such as all portraits, to tell a di"erent story.

Group photographs together and put them in an order that makes sense. #ink about photographs you have taken on a vacation. One photograph might share one part of the story of your trip, but several photographs taken on the same day can share more of the story.

Write simple captions for your photos.

Share your photo essay with friends and family!

RECOMMENDED RESOURCESWeb site: National Geographic Digital Photography Tips http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/digital-photography-article.html

Web site: National Geographic Landscape Photography Tips http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/landscape-photography-article.html

Web site: National Geographic People & Portraits Photography Tips http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-tips/portrait-quick-tips.html

Video: National Geographic Photo Storytelling http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/photography/photo-tips/storytelling-photo-tips.html

Web site: National Geographic Photo Camp http://photography.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photocamp