Photojournalism: Narrative Photography

Narrative photography proposes that an image or a series of images can make unfold a story; or make many stories unfold. It is visual storytelling through photographs.

Narrative Photography

The question is whether photographs are capable of telling a story? Photography captures single discrete moments; therefore there is no narrative

(that which has beginning, middle, and end. Narrative is irreducibly durative). Photography is only a face. How can one look at it and think, feel, or intuit what is beyond it? The camera's rendering of reality hides more than it discloses. Everything that we see hides another thing, Rene Magritte. Only that which narrates can make us understand; photography does not narrate, therefore photography cannot make us understand anything. In photography, the photographer invites us to get meaning out of the picture; in truth the viewers are getting only their meaning to the extant of what they have seen, heard, and read. Photograph cannot tell a story, so invitations to understand the story is to deduce, speculate, and fantasise. We only arrive at an illusion of knowledge.

It may be true, that there is no narrative story in a photograph. There is no beginning, middle, and end. But that is not the end. All fiction (story) is a well constructed fight against the absurd. They polish life for us, in the pretence of making it sensible to us. On the contrary, photography does not polish life for us. Photography facilitates narrative; it facilitates raw narratives. Photography is a window to the absurd. These are real images of life. It shows you life. An artist puts meaning into a piece of art, so that it fights against the absurd. A writer puts meaning into a piece of writing, so that it fights against the absurd. Photography does not put meaning into it, it just shows an image from life. It makes the viewer see the unpolished state of affairs (a story). The debate is on.

Study the PDF below (for academic use only)

Narrative Photography PDF

Considering the method of capturing the image narrative photography could be seen as:

Editorial Photography: Here pictures are never ‘set up’ or staged. These are mainly for news magazines, newspapers, and wire services. The photographer is a fly on the wall, only capture scenes unfolding in front of you. Editing these images would mean cropping, adjusting brightness and contrast, white balance, saturation, and sharpness.

Creative Photography: Creative here means ‘created’ or staged narrative photography. Examples are portraiture, studio work, corporate photography, etc. Here one has complete control of the situation. Can manipulate the light, the setting, and the subject to create an image that one wants. Here postproduction has no limits.

Photographic Tools for Narrative Photography

The use of following creative controls decide the narrativity of photographs. Narrativity refers to the processes by which a story is both presented by the storyteller, and interpreted by the viewer.

• Composition

• Light

• Colour

• Contrast

• Depth of Field

• Proportion

• Emphasis

• Subtext

Narrativity and Gestalt theory

The Narrativity of a photograph depends on how viewers perceive a photograph. Gestalt theory, devised by a group of German psychologists in the 1920, proposed that human mind groups together parts of an image instead of treating it as a series of unconnected elements. As Gestalt psychologist Kurt Koffka claims, “the whole is other than the sum of the parts”. For example if you were given the components of a motor vehicle, they would have no value unless they were combined to create a car in which you can travel.

A photograph is a configuration of lines, shapes, colour, composition, and context. Human brains automatically see structures, patterns, and connections.

Many Principles of Gestalt are at play in narrative photography:

Figure and ground
Similarity
Continuation
Closure
Proximity
Common fate
Simplicity
Emergence

Comments

Visual Analysis: SEMIOTICS

Visual analysis is a systematic and scientific approach to examining visual materials that goes far beyond casual observation. In our visually saturated world, images have become a inescapable universal language that shapes our perceptions, attitudes, and experiences. From the artworks adorning gallery walls to the advertisements lining city streets, visuals communicate narratives, evoke emotions, and reflect sociocultural ideologies. However, the process of seeing and interpreting visuals is not as spontaneous or natural as we often assume. As John Berger notably stated, "seeing is an active decision," suggesting that the process of interpreting visuals is neither spontaneous nor natural, but rather requires conscious effort and critical thinking. The way we perceive and interpret visual content is heavily influenced by habits, conventions, and our individual perspectives. Serious visual analyses requires conscious effort and critical analysis to unravel the laye...

The Brown Sisters: A Four-Decade Portrait of Time and Sisterhood

Nicholas Nixon's "The Brown Sisters" stands as one of photography's most compelling longitudinal portrait studies, documenting four decades of sisterhood through annual black-and-white photographs taken from 1975 to 2014. Using an 8×10 inch view camera, Nixon captured his wife Bebe and her three sisters—Heather, Mimi, and Laurie Brown—in the same order each year, creating a remarkable visual meditation on time, aging, and familial bonds. For the full set of images see the PDF below (for academic use only) Forty Portraits in Forty Years PDF What began as a spontaneous family photograph in 1975 evolved into a profound artistic documentation of human transformation. The project's strength lies in its methodological consistency: the sisters maintain their positions, with the sequence remaining unchanged throughout the series. This rigid framework paradoxically highlights the subtle changes that occur year by year, creating a powerful commentary on the passage of time...

Mass Media: Platforms and Content

Mass Media today is interplay between technological infrastructure and creative expressions. Mass media, defined as channels of communication designed to reach large audiences, has undergone profound transformation in recent decades. What began as predominantly print-based communication has expanded into a multifaceted ecosystem encompassing visual, audio, and interactive modes of engagement. This essay explores the dialectical relationship between media platforms and content, arguing that the two elements exist in dynamic tension—with platforms shaping content possibilities while content innovations drive platform evolution. As Marshall McLuhan famously observed, "the medium is the message," suggesting that the vehicle of communication fundamentally alters how we perceive and process information. This principle remains relevant as we navigate an increasingly fragmented media landscape characterised by both institutional and user-generated content. The Architecture of Mass M...

A Critical Visual Analysis of Jan Banning's ‘Bureaucratics’

Jan Banning's photographic series Bureaucratics offers a remarkable anthropological study of civil servants across eight countries, revealing how power, hierarchy, and cultural identity manifest in governmental spaces. Through meticulously composed photographs taken from a citizen's perspective, Banning unveils the theatre of bureaucracy the most immediate visual impact comes from Banning's consistent methodology: each photograph is taken from the same height and distance, positioning the viewer in the role of a citizen approaching the bureaucrat's desk. The bureaucrats are photographed in their natural habitat – their offices – which become stages where power dynamics and cultural values are performed daily. Make visual analysis of Bureaucratics by Jan Banning given below. Bureaucratics by Jan Banning PDF (for academic use only) In examining the spatial arrangements, a clear pattern emerges: the desk serves as both barrier and symbol of authority. In many image...

'The Problem We All Live With'—A Little Girl's Giant Steps

Sometimes the most powerful revolutions begin with the smallest steps. In 1960, a six-year-old girl named Ruby Bridges took such steps—walking through a screaming mob to attend her first day of school. Her courage was so profound that it moved a nation and inspired one of America's greatest artists to capture her story in a painting that would hang in the White House decades later. Ruby Bridges was born on September 8, 1954—the same year the Supreme Court declared school segregation unconstitutional. Yet six years later, when a federal judge ordered New Orleans schools to integrate, Ruby found herself walking alone into history. She was one of only six Black children who passed the tests to attend the previously all-white William Frantz Elementary School. While other families chose different paths, Ruby's mother made a decision that would echo through generations: "This is important—not just for Ruby, but for all the children who will come after her." On November 14,...

In Pursuit Of Creativity and Becoming One’s Best Version

A study by Way Walker conducted across painters, poets, musicians, and filmmakers—spanning many outstanding artistic creations and pursuits, domains, genres, and movements—reveal five key discoveries. 1. Don't Go Wide but Go Deep Don't try hard to create something that everyone will like, though that sounds reasonable. The greatest creators did not go wide; they went deeper. They created art for one person, one group, or a younger or future emotional avatar of themselves. It is made for one feeling, one version of self that needed the message the most. The goal of art need not be to make something universal or make something big. Van Gogh did not paint for the world; he painted for his brother. Maya Angelou wrote poetry to address her wounded self. This is the paradox: the more personal it is, the more universal it becomes. You start trying to impress everyone, you end up impressing no one. Go out and touch one person deeply, and you will end up moving thousands. Once you know...

Visual Culture

Visual culture is a multifaceted field that examines the pervasive role of visuals in shaping human understanding, beliefs, and behaviours. It posits that visuals are not merely reflections of reality but rather "constructed realities" that actively influence our perception of the world. At its heart, visual culture positions visuals as the reference and data for knowledge, beliefs, thinking, creations, behaviour, etc.; which in turn further shapes current beliefs, thinking, creations, behaviour, etc. Visuals are images/collection of images that are made to be seen. Framed (made) and put out. This highlights that visuals are not spontaneous occurrences but deliberate constructions, detached from the place and time in which it first made its appearance, says, John Berger. Examples like the contrasting Newsweek and TIME magazine covers of O.J. Simpson illustrate how different framings of the same event can convey distinct messages and narratives, underscoring the idea that w...

photo.graph.art.design

Search This Blog