PHOTOGRAPHER’S JOURNEY.com

I love great photojournalism. And I love it even more when I find it being done in off-the-beaten-path places like Springfield, Illinois. Not that there’s anything wrong with Springfield, but it isn’t known as a bastion of photojournalism. Or perhaps it should be.

Kristen Schmid is a freelance journalist there who’s work I really like. She photographs weddings and shoots portraits as many photographers do, but it’s her editorial work that I love. Her images tell stories. And sometimes, like in the picture above, they just make you want to know what someone is thinking.

I’ve written before about the power in telling a story with your pictures. It’s not the only way to make a great photograph - but it’s a very good way. Henri Cartier-Bresson, the co-founder of Magnum Photos, was a master at this, capturing what he called “the decisive moment” in a picture. And I think Schmid has done some of that here quite effectively.

So how do you tell stories visually? Here are a few things to keep in mind:

1. That “decisive moment,” as Cartier-Bresson put it, is critical. And these days with digital cameras and SLRs capable of rapid-fire shutter release, it is easier than ever. Not easy - but easier than ever. Shoot like crazy when something is happening, and sort it out later at the computer. Yeah, I know that’s not the way Cartier-Bresson did it, and I know it feels a little like shot-bracketing. But if you want to capture the moment at the precise point when it makes the most sense to a viewer, then take advantage of the technology in your camera.

2. When shooting a big scene where some sort of activity is unfolding, always keep a close eye on the peripherals. Sometimes - often, I’d say - the best photographs are happening just on the edges of the main activity. A mother, crying at her daughter’s wedding, for example. And these pictures can often work well if you incorporate them into the broader scene. In other words, shoot the main activity wide, but include the peripheral action in the framing.

3. Context is important when telling a story with a photograph. That is not to say you can’t shoot a head-on portrait and make it a story-teller. But providing the viewer some degree of the context in which the shot was made allows him or her to make sense of the photograph. Without context, the image becomes more abstract which is not a bad thing but is something quite different from an act of photojournalism.

The truth of the matter is we are all photojournalists. Every time we take pictures at our daughter’s soccer game or our son’s graduation. We are covering an event with our cameras - capturing a moment in time for history. So even if we lean toward abstract photography, or landscapes, or macro work, or portraiture, learning how to tell a story while covering an event is probably something you will find helpful at some point.

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