MM101.1 Photography Narrative Project

Narrative Photography

Narrative Photography presents visual story that can be either realistic or abstract. In photography, narrative involves capturing images and moments throughout an event or action, allowing the story to unfold. An effective visual story evokes emotion in its audience. It may cause them to laugh, feel angry or sad. An important role in creating a photographic narrative plays context as it builds and connects the event through the inclusion and exclusion of elements.

    Narratives can be sequenced in a linear (a beginning, middle and end) or non-linear way (flashbacks, montage). However organized it is crucial to create a structure and visual coherence to allow the intended narrative to emerge.  

Narrative shots

The lead photo – should be eye catching and provoke the curiosity of its audience

Establishing shots- describe the scene of your event

Detail photos (close-up) – focus on specific elements, for example a face

Portrait – this kind of shot makes the story more personal and gives a face to your characters

Action shots – shows the movements within photography

Medium shot – serves to give more information about the characters and/or event

Clincher Photo – should evoke emotions in its audience  

                    Photographers

Duane Michal’s

He is well known for his photo-sequences that he frequently annotated with comments. He was self-thought and his art was influenced by artists such as William Blake, Walt Whitman and Thomas Eakins. His work communicates narrative by using single images, often in a frame by frame format.

1. “Things Are Queer” (1973). Nine prints with hand applied text.

The first photograph of his series shows a bathroom. The next picture shows a pair of hairy legs. As the series continues, the camera moves back, revealing the toilet, sink, and bathtub that are too small for a person standing there. The camera moves back again and we become aware of a thumb on a page. It turns out that what we have really been seeing a man who is looking at a photograph in a book of a man standing in a small bathroom. After we find that the man reading the book is in a dark corridor and then that this man hung in a picture frame above sink. The final image in the series shows the whole bathroom with toilet, sink, bathtub and framed picture. This is my favorite series of pictures because Michal’s surprises the viewer with unpredictable journey, where time, space and narrative are embroiled. I think the meaning of this sequence is that things themselves are not odd. Odd is something what we label from our point of view as subnormal but that does not mean in reality it is really odd.

2. Duane Michal’s - The Dream of Flowers, 1986

A sequence of four photographs “The Dream of Flowers” shows the head of a sleeping man, who is lying on a glass table that reflects his head. As the series continues, the head progressively is covered with more and more flowers. At the end the whole head is covered in flowers, which probably symbolize funeral garland. There is a letter under each photograph. Together, they create word AIDS. I think his beautiful photographs stimulate reflection on the interactions of life, death and beauty. I love the melancholic feeling of the photographs and the reflection which gives an interesting and mysterious look to the image.

3. Duane Michals, Chance Meeting, 1970

A sequence of six photographs "Chance Meeting" shows in following picture two men passing in a narrow urban alleyway. The sequence embodies the fear and excitement of finding or meeting a potential new partner. I like that even when he shows us things we've already seen before, he display new light on their significance and the consequences of not risking.

Elliot Erwitt

Elliott Erwitt is an advertising and documentary photographer. He became well known for his black and white candid shots of ironic and absurd situations within everyday settings . He was born in Paris in 1928, then emigrated to the US. As a teenager, he developed an interest in photography and worked in a commercial darkroom before experimenting with photography at Los Angeles City College. In 1953 Erwitt joined Magnum Photos and worked as a freelance photographer for Collier's, Look, Holiday and others. Erwitt has had exhibitions in many museums and galleries around the world including New York's Museum of Modern Art, the Smithsonian Institution, Zurich's Kunsthaus and Cologne's Photokina.  

1.       Trouville, France (32 sequence)

Photographs shows people trying to close an umbrella on a windy day. It's just a funny story of an umbrella that did not want to be closed. None of these picture wouldn't be that interesting on their own but as a sequence, they create a hilarious story. 

John Bernhard

John Bernhard was born in May 17, 1957. He is a Swiss American photographer best known for his surrealist nude images. He is not only showing women's bodies but also includes elements of the earth and working with myths of metamorphosis. His work was showed in the 120 year survey of the nude exhibition “Body Work” at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. Now Bernhard continue taking photographs and bringing them together to enhance their meaning with visual interplay by doing “Diptychs” and sequencing series “Drift”.

1.       These photographs illustrate on the left hand side a tree and on the right hand side trace of a sailing ship on a sea. The photos are totally unrelated by topic or content but the form and lines link them. 

2.       On the left hand side we see a man riding a bike through a field. On the right hand side we see highway full of cars. I think these photographs shows a transformation of our environment and means of transport.

Adde Adesokan

He is a self thought street photographer born in German. He started his adventure with photography in 2010. His first big project was "Triptychs of Strangers". It is a continuing photographic series where the goal is to meet stranger, then get to know them, take three personality matching people and make them one. All encounter took place in different cities and countries such as Paris, HongKong and London. I like this project because it seems fun to meet complete strangers and have a opportunity to build up a personality for them.

Ben Heine

He is a visual artist born in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. He is best know for his series "Pencil Vs Camera"and "Digital Circlism" The project I would like to focus on is "Pencil Vs Camera" because the photographs that I have planned to take are based around this idea. This project consist of a series of images that inject hand-made drawings within real life settings to create surreal and highly narrative effect. It mixes reality with imagination and it has been invented by Ben Heine in 2010.

This photography presents an inventive hand-made drawing placed in front of a realistic background. The drawing is black and white on white paper. You can also see that his hand is clearly visible. I think he display his hand because he tries to represent the close connection between him, the artwork and it's audience.