Capturing the Story

Recently I had the opportunity to listen to award winning photographer, Annie Griffiths, of National Geographic Magazine speak in Washington DC. Not only was her photography exceptionally inspiring, but her message of capturing the story of the moment in a photo rang true. It made me really think about how I could apply this approach to the photos I take during my travels. I love how looking at photos from my trips can bring back a certain moment to mind, and I’m always looking for ways to improve my skills of capturing this.

So how can we capture the story of a moment during our own travels? This was the question I asked myself when I returned home. After looking through some of my travel photos, I pulled out a few that I felt really tell the story of some of my favorite travel moments. After studying them for a while, I came up with a few ideas of how to capture great content for a story photo.

So many times, the first thought we have when visiting a point of interest is to group together and stand in front of whatever it is with a smile. I like these photos as they make really great Holiday cards, and framed pieces for our homes. But it’s wonderful to also be able to add some more of the story to your photo collection. What was happening at the time? Who else were you with? What was going on around you? Here are three principles I came up with to apply storytelling to your travel photography:

1. Take photos with an action happening.

Snap a few photos while your photo subjects are walking, talking to each other, or doing some sort of activity. Many times these photos work best in an outdoor setting, so you don’t end up with blurry photos due to low light situations. These types of shots look great whether, or not the subject(s) in them are looking at you.

My brother-in-law and daughter walking in Tuileries Garden, Paris, France

Our daughter and son playing games at the carnival next to

Tuileries Garden, Paris, France

2. You don’t have to have everyone in your photo looking at the camera.

So many times for formal events, we feel that the pictures we take need to be equally as formal. If we take a few moments to step away from that thought, we can really tell the story of the day. An example of this was when we went to a cousin’s wedding in France. The groom snuck up behind the bride, and put his head under her veil. I quickly snapped a photo without interrupting the moment. The look of excitement and joy is captured in their looks maybe more easily than posed photos because it’s authentic. It didn’t need to be recreated.

3. Capture some local people in your photos.

When my family and I travel, we love to interact with the locals. It helps us get to know the culture of the areas we visit, and creates some unexpected friendships. Capturing some of the people we meet along the way helps us remember more about our experiences as well. We had a wonderful tour guide while visiting England who used to work for the BBC. He guides tours for fun during his retirement, and we had such a fabulous time talking to him about his life experiences. I’m always glad when we can look at photos from our trips, and remember people we met along the way.

Our tour guide pointing out some of the first recorded graffiti from the time of William Shakespeare etched onto Stonehenge.

So to recap my three tips: capture the action, not every photo needs to be posed, and catch the locals in their element. My hope is that you will be inspired to photograph some story moments in your upcoming trips. Happy travels!