Photography is not just an art but a means of expression and communication. In a world where there are literally hundreds of countries and thousands of languages, photography has risen to become the universal language that everyone regardless of race, gender, culture or language understands and speaks fluently.
A Rising Trend
Nowadays, photo essays are increasingly gaining in prominence and usage in the communication industry. This is unconnected with the capacity of pictures to stir up the imagination and convey emotions along with the message being transmitted; a feat which written words struggle greatly to achieve. However, as simple as it may seem, a photo essay is quite a tricky endeavor to undertake especially if you do not understand the rudiments of it. Here are some of the tips to writing an unforgettable photo essay
Outline gives shape
The first factor to be considered prior to composing a photo essay is the outline. Do not be in a rush to splatter your pictures all over the page. Your photo essay must necessarily begin with an introduction, and then two or three paragraphs could be devoted to cover such elements as
• Opening
• Thesis statement
• Body
• Conclusion.
The essence of this is to ensure order and coherence.
Structure is key
The structure of the essay is of utmost importance. A photo essay has to tell a story; hence the pictures must be carefully selected and arranged in a manner that each picture corresponds to the other both in meaning and significance. This is essential because if there is any dissonance between any of the pictures selected, the meaning and the theme of the essay would be corrupted. You must ensure that selected pictures are informative as well as artistic enough to suit the message you are passing across to the prospective reader.
The right Caption captivates the mind
In photo essays captions are very important; infact without captions you aren’t making any meaning. Do not just assume the picture is self descriptive, you must ensure you add a description to every picture selected and the description must not be too ambiguous such that only a sophisticated reader would be able to comprehend. If you want to create the best essay though, you should consult a professional essay helper here. That will improve writing quality. A single picture is predisposed to different interpretation by the reader; your caption therefore serves as a guide to align the thoughts of the reader towards the direction your essay is going towards.
Monotony kills desire
Experiment with a variety of photo techniques and styles to spice up your essay. If you began with wide angle shots, close up shots or you can switch to landscape or portrait style technique intermittently in the essay. Sticking to a single photo style subtracts from the vividness of your presentation and adds a bit of blandness and flatness to your final output.
Avoid mistakes
Finally, after all said and done, take a moment to proofread your work. There is an unwritten law in photo essay writing; which is that your pictures must be able to convey meaning outside of the writings around it. This is because as the name implies, what the average viewer/reader is after are the pictures and not necessarily your written words. You could be forgiven for a mistake in written words but a wrong picture is inexcusable and unforgivable.
Conclusion
Writing an unforgettable photo essay involves a lot of imagination and planning. Take your time and let the ideas flow!
