Visual Storytellers: The elements they use to tell a story

To help with the conflict portion of the plot for my story on coffee growers in Mexico, I had to talk about the immigration issue. Why did coffee farmers risk illegally crossing the border before the coffee cooperative was formed? I think this photo with the border patrol is one way to help establish the conflict.

Elements of the Story

Storytelling has five main elements of a story: setting, plot, characters, conflict and theme. Whether you’re studying a short story, a novel, an epic poem, a play or a film, if you don’t find these five elements, you’re not looking hard enough.

This is a group of illegal immigrants being led by a coyote on the Mexican side of the border hiding from the border patrol before they make their break across the border. I ran into them when I was trying to find images to talk about the border. This is one way to show the characters of a story.

Definitions

Setting is the place for the story.

Plot is the action, the quest for satisfaction, what's going down, what's going to happen. It is a series of events. Every story is made up of sequence, or series, of events. The way you order these to create a story is called the plot.

The characters are the people in the story who carry out the action. All the characters in a story have a history, details about their pasts that are important to understanding their personality and their present lives. It is important that the audience knows some of these details in order to understand the story. This is called the exposition. It is the background information on the characters and setting explained at the beginning of the story. Often this is the first part of the plot.

Conflict is that something has gone wrong! Conflict happens when characters are against each other, like teams in a game or two groups fighting on the playground. 

The climax of the story is when the conflict of the plot is resolved.

Of the five main elements of a story, theme is the hardest to get. That's because the main idea or message of a story is usually something abstract. And authors rarely come out and state the main message. Instead they imply the theme through the other elements of the story. Themes usually explore timeless and universal ideas.

This could be a scene setter for the story on the coffee cooperative. This is arabica coffee being grown in Salvador Urbina, Chiapas, Mexico.

Fill in the blanks

Take each of those elements and identify what those are in your story, before you start to shoot. Even in breaking news you need to understand these elements. Many great photojournalist do this so instinctively, because great storytellers are quick to find the storyline.

Create an outline

After telling stories for a while you may no longer need to formally create an outline that you reference, but starting out this is the best way to be sure when you get ready to put the package together you are not missing an element that is crucial to the story.

Luis "Pelayo" Diaz is a coffee grower and one of the founders of Just Coffee. Today his son is studying to be a Dentist and this was made possible through the coffee cooperative.

Here is a list of some of the shots that you will use to help tell your story.

1. Opener: Sets the scene for the story 
2. Decisive moment: The one moment that can by itself tell the story
3. Details: Besides being like visual candy to the story, help often with transitions--especially in multimedia packages
4. Sequences: give a little variety to a situation
5. High overall shot: Gives a good perspective to how the elements all fit together
6. Closer: Besides the classic shot of the cowboy riding off into the sunset there are other visual ways to help bring the story to a close
7. Portraits: These photos are great for introducing the characters of the story

It is easier to start with knowing the different elements and having an outline before you start shooting your story. It is also going to change from what you started—because things change.

All these people are waiting to see one doctor in Ghana. My story was to help tell the story of the need of doctors and hopefully through the telling of the story some doctor would feel the call to go and work at this hospital.

Audience

When I was telling the story on the coffee cooperative I was keeping the audience broad. I could have easily just targeted the Presbyterian Church who gave money to support the missionary who was instrumental in funding the cooperative. I could have also targeted the Catholic Church because they too had a role in starting the cooperative.

I chose to keep it broad enough, but yet I had those audiences in mind. I told the story with those people who are concerned about immigration and looking for a solution. The story was to establish the conflict of illegal immigration with the resolution being the cooperative. 

So many patients that they are on the floor of the patient wing of the hospital. If you look closely some of those beds have two patients on one bed. The photo was used to help show the "conflict" of the story.

I have worked on stories for mission organizations many times through the years. The goal of those stories was to get the audience to: Give; Go; or Pray for missions. 

Even in sports there is a story. Here in one photo you see the conflict. You have offense and defense battling and the climax of the story where the hero slams the basket past the defender.

Can you look at your photos and find storytelling elements? Are you thinking about the story elements when you are shooting?

If you do not understand what makes up a story—how can you tell a story? Hopefully this will point you in the right direction on your next project.

Why I changed my title from Photojournalist to Storyteller

Definition of Photojournalist

Photojournalism is a particular form of journalism (the collecting, editing, and presenting of news material for publication or broadcast) that creates images in order to tell a news story. It is now usually understood to refer only to still images, but in some cases the term also refers to video used in broadcast journalism. Photojournalism is distinguished from other close branches of photography (e.g., documentary photography, social documentary photography, street photography or celebrity photography) by complying with a rigid ethical framework which demands that the work is both honest and impartial whilst telling the story in strictly journalistic terms. Photojournalists create pictures that contribute to the news media.

--Wikipedia

Photojournalism: the job or activity of using photographs to report news stories in magazines or newspapers

--Merriam-Webster 

This photo is from the East Carolina Buccaneer (college yearbook) 1984.  That is me on the left. I was the darkroom manager back then. The other photographers are Mark Barber and Mike Smith in the top middle photo, Gary Patterson, head photographer, center bottom and to the right Neil Johnson.

We all shot for the school newspaper and for the yearbook as "photojournalists."

Here I am shooting in 2005 in Burkina Faso and I still considered my work to be as a photojournalist. I was shooting for a Christian organization showing their work. It was to be used in materials for a fund raising program they did every year.

The choice of the words you use to communicate can make all the difference in the world.

"Language shapes our behavior and each word we use is imbued with multitudes of personal meaning. The right words spoken in the right way can bring us love, money and respect, while the wrong words—or even the right words spoken in the wrong way—can lead to a country to war. We must carefully orchestrate our speech if we want to achieve our goals and bring our dreams to fruition."

—Dr. Andrew Newberg, Words Can Change Your Brain

Client Centered Communication vs Self Centered 
Communications

If people find out I went to seminary they immediately want to know what church I pastor or where I pastored. You see there are assumptions made by the words I use with the audience.

Writers have always known that the right word can evoke so much more than just any synonym would do.

According to Compton’s Encyclopedia, the English language contains some 500,000 words. Yet the average person’s working vocabulary consists of 2,000. And the number of words we use most frequently—the words that make up our habitual vocabulary? For most people, it averages 200-300 words.

According to Oxford University, and the PBS series 'The History of English':

William Shakespeare used a total vocabulary of just over 24,000 words. In 2003 16,000 of those words are "obsolete".

Edgar Allen Poe used a total vocabulary of under 18,000 words. In 2003 9,550 of those words are "obsolete".

Is the word photojournalist obsolete? No, but if you are trying to communicate your value to a client using this word can create a hurdle or obstacle.

While you may see yourself as a photojournalist and understand fully what that means and that it doesn't mean you work at a newspaper but rather the approach you take, well that is great and maybe even 100% accurate.

Now take in your audience of who you are trying to convince them you are the person to help them tell their story.

I have started to use the descriptor Storyteller because this explains what I do and clients can see the need for a Storyteller much faster than they can see the need for a photojournalist.

Another term similar to the Storyteller that you might like is Narrative.

Humanitarian Photographer

For me the descriptor "Humanitarian Photographer" is too limiting. This tends to describe one as working with NGOs and nonprofits. While a corporation might look for a "Humanitarian Photographer" if they are trying to brand themselves as compassionate and that they give back it is most likely not what they are going to look for when they need to tell the story of there product and how it is transforming people's lives.

Examples of Photojournalist not working

I am member of Christians in Photojournalism. When people write to join many in the past have asked what newspaper do you work for today. Implying you must work for a newspaper to be a photojournalist or part of our organization.

Now as many of the members have lost their jobs with newspapers their identity as a photojournalist didn't change. They are still doing in their minds photojournalism for mission groups, NGOs and even corporate world, but telling stories that are accurate and truthful.

When I talk to people who do storytelling about Christians in Photojournalism you can tell many have a look on their face of I don't work for a newspaper.

For the past 20 years I have helped with staffing the Southwestern Photojournalism Conference. Some people who attend get very upset if any of the speakers are not working for a news organization. Some of the speakers have shared how they are helping pay their bills by doing photojournalistic weddings.

What we call the "Day In the Life" photo story is how many of these former photojournalists see themselves doing by covering weddings. Many have gone on to help cover water projects or other things like Habitat for Humanity around the world and show this as their "photojournalism."

The disconnect in both of these examples is those who could participate do not see themselves as photojournalists. The title to them means news organization photographer--not storyteller in the broader sense.

Don't become Obsolete

I believe that if I continue to use the term photojournalist to describe myself I would soon become obsolete because the word is not used the same with my audience as I use it.

To avoid becoming obsolete everyone, not just photojournalists, need to be less self centered and my client centered. What words in your clients vocabulary best describes you.

The power of made-up words cannot be underestimated either. My friends Dave Black and Zack Arias are great examples of creating new words. Dave talks about "silhouette reveal" verses "fill-flash." Zack often just makes up words for pieces of equipment in his demonstrations. Then he will say if you call up B&H and ask for a Big Bertha you might not get what he was using.

Remember you are trying to connect with your audience in order to get hired. Figure out their nomenclature that will help them understand your gifts and talents quickly.

Tips for the PR Professional when a photojournalist is sent to cover you

For more than thirty years I have been a photojournalist.  I started working for newspapers as a staff photographer and now work as a freelancer for the media.

Many times the public relations office is not ready when I show up. Most PR professionals love to show how much free space they got for their company in a magazine. They show this to the company leaders and then show them how much it would have cost to buy that space. This helps with their job security.

The smartest PR people know the value and are prepared. They treat this moment as if they hired an advertising agency to produce an advertisement for them.

Here I am traveling really light. Photo by Chelle Leary

Take advantage of this free publicity and invest in it. You will be glad you did.

While a photojournalists is trained to be truthful and unbiased, it is difficult not to respond to negative or positive behavior towards them. If you want the best story on you, then I have some tips for you.

This is what sometimes I show up on a job with in addition to a photo assistant. Getting this gear from my van to the photo shoot can be difficult. Help out the photographer by a good parking space, knowledge of where the elevators are located and handicap ramps to avoid stairs.

Tips

1. Have your subject ready. Often your photojournalist has multiple assignments during a day. You not being ready and delaying them will have them rush your coverage. If computers and technology are part of the subject, be sure to have them running before the photographer arrives. Too many times I have arrived nothing is setup and ready to go. I have spent 4 hours waiting for a researcher to set everything up.
2. Know where the subject is located. Too often I will show up at a corporation and be led around a building or property while they are trying to find the room we are to meet the subject. Do this before the photographer arrives. It shows you value their time.
3. Scout for options. Go a few days early and work with the subject. What is the best setting to help tell the story? Are there items that you may need to collect before the photo shoot? Be careful not to remove everything. Photographers are sent to you to capture the subject in their environment.
4. Take a few photos yourself. Evaluate the photos you take for what is in the background and can we clean that up for example. Check to see if you have enough room to move around while taking photos. Too often the subject is in such a small room that photographer cannot move to get a good angle. See if you can take photos without a flash. This may alert you to some lights that are burned out and need new bulbs.
5. Plan for parking. Often magazine photographers will bring lighting gear. Don't expect just a photographer to show up with just a camera and on camera flash. If they are showing up with a cart of gear, know where the elevators are in the building and where the handicap entrance is located. This will help them avoid carrying material up and down stairs. If you need a key to access the elevator, get the key before the photo shoot is to start.
6. Pay attention to clothing. Solid colors are better than patterns. Avoid white due to the difficulty of reproduction process for printing press. The one time you may want white is where the white lab coat helps add information to the photo. Avoid red if there is more than one subject. Red is such a dominate color that it makes the eye go to it first. This is why it is used for emergency lights and signs. Fine patterns like haring bone can create moiré patterns. (Here is a link to an earlier blog I did on clothing for portraits.)
7. Have business cards or printed names and titles of the subjects to help with accurate spelling.
8. Plan adequate time for the photojournalist. Let the photographer know how much time the subject has for them. Maximize their time if it is very small amount by saying the subject only has 30 minutes and since it is a limited time, why don't we just let you start and anything I can help you with just ask.  This is better than you talking and taking away valuable time of them shooting. You can always help them with information after the shoot or if you know you have limited time be sure they know they can come a few minutes early and you can help them prepare.

These are just a few of the things that I have noticed over the years that would really help me get the shot needed for the media outlet. 

Think of yourself as a host or hostess in your home entertaining guests. Make the photojournalist feel welcomed and treated as your guest, because they are your guest.