How can photographs tell a story?
In just a moment, you will click on the button to the right. Be advised that these were mostly candid (not staged) events throughout history that were immortalized through photography.
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A PHOTO ESSAY, aka photo story, is a set or series of photographs that are made to create series of emotions in the viewer. A photo essay will often show pictures in deep emotional stages. Photo essays range from purely photographic works to photographs with captions or small comments to full text essays illustrated with photographs. In the photographs you just viewed (above button), you saw several photographs that have a very compelling story behind them. Even without knowing the context, viewers are able to use visual clues to decide on a time period, culture, origin, event, etc.
What makes many images so famous and timeless is the fact that they were not staged, but rather, they were photographed by someone who was at the right place at the right time. Had there been no one there to photograph it, we may never be able to truly see and sympathize (have an emotional connection) with the events.
Contemporary photographer Brandon Stanton follows a similar concept where he travels in search of those candid moments; those unplanned, perfectly raw and natural events or interesting characters that can tell a compelling and possibly relatable story to audiences.
Contemporary photographer Brandon Stanton follows a similar concept where he travels in search of those candid moments; those unplanned, perfectly raw and natural events or interesting characters that can tell a compelling and possibly relatable story to audiences.
Brandon Stanton
A contemporary American photographer, most famous for his Humans of New York series. His initial goal for the project was to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers in the street and compile an online catalogue of the city's inhabitants. While doing so, he interviewed subjects and aided their thought-provoking responses as captions to their image. Stanton has since expanded his innovative spin on street photography to a global scale.
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The slideshow below contains work by photographer Brandon Stanton.
What do you think he was "going for" or trying to portray in his street photography, just by looking at the images alone?
What do you think he was "going for" or trying to portray in his street photography, just by looking at the images alone?
How about this one?
From the series "Humans of Pakistan"
Street Photography
Studio VS Street
Studio photography is staged and pre-conceived. It often consists of a model, makeup, hair styling, background, lighting props, etc.
Street photography is the opposite. It is candid (informal, not posed). It is a natural documentation of the human condition in public places.
Studio photography is staged and pre-conceived. It often consists of a model, makeup, hair styling, background, lighting props, etc.
Street photography is the opposite. It is candid (informal, not posed). It is a natural documentation of the human condition in public places.
The gallery below consists of street photographs from SQ Photography.
They were taken in Buffalo (area), New York City, London, Greece, Italy, and France.
They were taken in Buffalo (area), New York City, London, Greece, Italy, and France.
Let's take a look at some seriously famous street photographers...
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Malick Sidibe
Sophie Calle
Vivian Maier
Brandon Stanton emphasizes a cultural focus in his series.
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Take some time and navigate through Brandon's website - specifically focus on his Series page.
You must decide the answer to the questions: What is culture? Why does Brandon reveal the culture of people? Below are 2 questionnaires, fill out both and submit. Use full sentences and be as descriptive in your explanations as possible. |
Once you are finished, feel free to continue navigating this page. We will begin our project next week Monday.
Looking Ahead...
- What is YOUR culture?
- What would you want to reveal about your culture?
- How can you communicate your message across cultures?
- What power does imagery have on viewers?
For your final project:
You will photograph 5 people total: they must all relate to your "cultural focus" somehow.
What are examples of a cultural focus? Global Concepts, My Neighborhood, My Family, My Co-workers, My Friends, My Mentors, etc... You must interview each person and ask them thought-provoking questions. Recommended: ask questions pertaining to your cultural focus. You will write down their answers (or record them some other way). When you photograph them, it must exhibit qualities of Street Art photography. Think of that person's personality, or the answers they are giving you. Capture them "in their element" and "acting natural". Think about how you can visually portray the cultural focus. You will submit each photograph via email along with that person's quote accompanying their photograph in the email. The due date for this project is Wednesday Jan. 16th. Then we will discuss how we will move forward and present these. Most importantly, each person you photograph will have to agree to and sign the camera waiver. You must turn that in by the due date, otherwise, your project cannot be accepted. |
How to do it...
Open photoshop
File > New 11 inches width, 8.5 inches height, 300 resolution. Title it yourname1 (or 2, 3, 4, 5). Open the image. Draw box with selection tool. Edit > Copy In new document, edit > paste. Resize to fit half of document. On the other side, draw a text box that is the same size as the image, but next to it. Insert the "quote" and first name of the individual. At the bottom of your photograph, draw a small text box to write a caption that says "Photograph taken by ....." your first and last name. Choose any font, make sure it is readable. Change the color of the background to compliment the colors of your photograph. Save as a JPEG. Repeat this for all 5 of your images. Email to Miss Qureshi with the subject line "Final project". |
Project Timeline and Due Dates
All photos and interviews must be completed by Friday January 11.
Monday January 14, we will discuss as a group how we will display and share our work.
Begin editing.
Wednesday January 16, all 5 images + quotes are due with camera waivers.
Thursday January 17, view peer work and reflect
Friday January 18, end course.
Monday January 14, we will discuss as a group how we will display and share our work.
Begin editing.
Wednesday January 16, all 5 images + quotes are due with camera waivers.
Thursday January 17, view peer work and reflect
Friday January 18, end course.
Follow these steps to complete your project
based on the criteria we all agreed on in class:
- Open Adobe Photoshop
- File > Open > Open one of your images. Decide if it is in a portrait or landscape format.
- File > New > input the correct dimensions
- For your photo, edit it until you are satisfied. Crop it if needed. Go to Image > Adjustments > and use the tools there.
- Use the marquee tool and draw a box over your entire photo. Edit > Copy
- Open your Photoshop doc you created. Edit > Paste
- Use the move tool and the SHIFT key to resize. Press ENTER once you're finished.
- Align your photo with the left side edge of your document. Do not leave a border around the edges. You want the image to be as large as possible.
- Use the Text tool and draw a box inside of the white space next to your photograph.
Select Times New Roman font, and Black. - Make sure you put "quotation marks" around your subject's quote. Decide whether you need to include the question you asked them in there or not.
Font size depends on how much text you have. Fill the space wisely. Also, check very thoroughly for any spelling errors. - File > Save As > Title: YourName_1 (for the 2nd pic, save it as YourName_2, then YourName_3, and so on) > JPEG > Save to your jump drive
How to Submit
Upload all 5 of your completed JPEGs to an email, send to [email protected]
In the subject line, you will need to write the title of your series. You can use "Humans of _______" or something else. Give it a simple title that will help audiences easily understand the cultural focus you selected. Feel free to be literal or allegorical in your title.
In the email, write a brief introduction to your series. For example, "Humans of Green Street" - In this photo series, I photographed and documented the various personalities of residents who live on my street."
I will email you the link to the page on our site that we will use to share our work.
Based on what you all chose as a class, we will be sharing the link on our social media pages, in emails, etc.
On Friday in class, we will look at what viewers had to say and how they responded to your work.
In the subject line, you will need to write the title of your series. You can use "Humans of _______" or something else. Give it a simple title that will help audiences easily understand the cultural focus you selected. Feel free to be literal or allegorical in your title.
In the email, write a brief introduction to your series. For example, "Humans of Green Street" - In this photo series, I photographed and documented the various personalities of residents who live on my street."
I will email you the link to the page on our site that we will use to share our work.
Based on what you all chose as a class, we will be sharing the link on our social media pages, in emails, etc.
On Friday in class, we will look at what viewers had to say and how they responded to your work.
When you finish submitting your project, please take the time to fill out this course evaluation. You will not include your name in here.
Looking Forward
On Friday, 24 hours will have passed since sharing our viewer blog with public audiences. We will read and reflect on the responses we received from viewers. We will discuss our thoughts (as a class & individually) on the following:
- How did we as a group interpret the meaning of "culture"?
- What have these participants chosen to reveal about their culture?
- How engaging did you find this type of work to be for yourself, participants, and viewers?
- What power does imagery have on viewers?
- How can this style of art be used to communicate across cultures?
- Consider what you have learned: Think of one struggle that you have experienced as a young student growing up in Buffalo...how can you use your photography skills to bring awareness to the community? How can you use photography to communicate this injustice and take action?