Photo Essays vs Photo Stories

Episode 146: Photo Essays vs Photo Stories

Shownotes: ConservationVisuals.com/146

(Digitally transcribed, please forgive any typos)

Jaymi Heimbuch:
[00:00:00] Jaymi Heimbuch: Hey there and welcome to this episode of Impact, the Conservation Photography Podcast. Now, today I wanna jump into a topic that comes up every so often with my conservation photography 1 0 1 students, and that is, What exactly is the difference between a photo story, which is what they are in the course to learn how to make and a photo essay, and how do you make a photo essay that impresses audiences?

[00:00:27] Jaymi Heimbuch: Well, as we all know, photography is this incredibly powerful tool. You know, images have been instrumental in shedding light on social issues, on human rights, on countless global events, and through a well curated selection of images. Photographers have this amazing power to convey these really complex narratives visually.

[00:00:49] Jaymi Heimbuch: They can evoke emotions, they can spark, thought, they can foster understanding in a way that. Words just often can't. Now, sometimes [00:01:00] those collections come in the form of an essay and sometimes in the form of a story. And when you know the difference, the difference between a photo essay and a photo story, you can really maximize the effect of each, because you know how to play to each of their strengths.

[00:01:16] Jaymi Heimbuch: So it's important to really differentiate between a photo essay and a photo story. Now, I know that these terms are often used interchangeably, but I believe they really do have distinct nuances. A photo essay revolves around this big picture concept. It's something that allows photographers this great deal of artistic freedom to express their vision and their philosophies, their creative approach.

[00:01:42] Jaymi Heimbuch: Each image in a photo essay explores various aspects of a theme. Even if those images overlap or are kind of similar, they're still exploring in a unique way, a theme overall. On the other hand, a photo story is a [00:02:00] portfolio of images that together illustrate. A story, a narrative with a beginning, a middle, an end.

[00:02:08] Jaymi Heimbuch: These images often really rely on visual variety to capture the full experience, documenting something that's happening. Each image is usually quite distinct. They may be our artistically crafted, but their primary goal is to add clarity and meaning to an actual story, a narrative. So think of a photo essay as a wide angle lens, capturing the broader view while also.

[00:02:35] Jaymi Heimbuch: So think of a photo essay as like a wide angle lens. It captures a broader view of an idea, a theme, a concept, while also allowing the photographer to express a whole lot of their creative artistic side, show their identity or impressions through the compositions that they make. While a photo story acts like a telephoto lens, Focusing in on [00:03:00] specific details.

[00:03:00] Jaymi Heimbuch: And yes, while a photographer may also be highly creative inside that story, the emphasis is on the subjects, the characters of the story, the narrative of the story, and less necessarily on the photographer's vision. Both of these things are very powerful tools in a photographer's toolkit, and while they may serve different purposes, they are both equally potent in their ability to connect with the viewer. And in fact, when it comes to a conservation issue, a photographer can explore both creating a photo essay about the issue as well as documenting photo stories. That's happening inside the issue, and they can be used in different ways to broaden the reach, broaden the impact that that photographer can have for the conservation issue.

[00:03:51] Jaymi Heimbuch: Now, while a photo story is likely something to be published in a magazine as sort of the visual side of a text, Based story. A photo [00:04:00] essay might do that as well. It might be a series of images exploring a theme alongside a text of a story, but it's also likely to be something that hangs on gallery walls or is an outdoor exhibit of images that people experience as they walk down a pathway.

[00:04:18] Jaymi Heimbuch: Maybe it's an immersive. Projection experience. There's all kinds of different ways that a photo essay can also be displayed to really draw people into the conversation. There is a lot of flexibility for a photo essay, especially for photographers who wanna explore a concept. Deeply and want to have a lot of artistic expression in that.

[00:04:42] Jaymi Heimbuch: And photo essays, like I said, can be just as powerful for conservation efforts as photo stories.

[00:04:49] Jaymi Heimbuch: Take for example, spill. Spill is a body of work by Daniel Ra that captures the aftermath of the Deep water horizon oil spill in [00:05:00] the Gulf of Mexico. Now this was a huge environmental disaster and illustrating the devastating impact of that environmental disaster on wildlife and coastal communities was at the heart of spill.

[00:05:14] Jaymi Heimbuch: But the thing is, the images weren't just simply documenting what was happening. They are images of the. Oil across the water with boats cutting through that look like abstract paintings. They're beautiful, they're intriguing, and because of that, they draw people in, people who are curious about what is it that they're actually looking at.

[00:05:36] Jaymi Heimbuch: And then that allows space for this event to be more than just something on the news, but also something to sit with, something to really contemplate, something to allow you to have that emotion sink in. And sometimes it's. An even more powerful emotional experience, a more powerful, uh, aha moment for someone because they think that they're initially looking at a piece of art and then they realize the [00:06:00] reality of what they're looking at.

[00:06:01] Jaymi Heimbuch: So his images become a statement that spark action. There's also a great example in the photo essay, melting Away by Camille Seaman. This is a photo essay that documents the polar regions of earth and the melting of arctic ice, and it's these. Beautiful, calm landscapes of icebergs, like almost like portraits of individual icebergs as their own beings, and that really draws us in.

[00:06:31] Jaymi Heimbuch: It creates a place for us to emotionally connect with ice almost as its own. Entity its own character, and then connect to the urgency for action to combat climate change. Now, there are many, many, many examples of conservation photographers who lean into the art of a photo essay to both express an idea and to make an impact.

[00:06:54] Jaymi Heimbuch: Now if this has piqued your curiosity about photo essays, and I really hope that it [00:07:00] has, then I've got some great news. I've published an in-depth article on conservation visuals.com that really delves into the art and craft of creating compelling photo essays. Now, this article is not just informative, but I really wanted to pack it with inspiring content that is un.

[00:07:18] Jaymi Heimbuch: Doubtedly gonna fuel your creative journey. Now, in this guide, you learn even more about the differences between photo essays and photo stories. So if you're still a little bit uncertain about the difference, you'll really understand it by the time you read this guide. It'll also help you understand which approach might best suit your creative intent as you start to approach a conservation issue that you're interested in.

[00:07:42] Jaymi Heimbuch: In diving into And because you know I love process and step by step how to, the guide also provides a very simple but effective nine step process to create your own photo essays. It walks you through the nine steps from choosing a topic and planning your [00:08:00] shots all the way to selecting your best images and arranging them to create a flow for your final images.

[00:08:06] Jaymi Heimbuch: I walk you through each step with practical tips, insights along the way. Everything that you need to really get going on, making photo essays. And one of the key aspects that we cover in this guide is how creating photo essays can actually enhance your photography skills. Because I believe by working on a photo essay, you're really compelled to think beyond individual shots and to consider how all of your images are really working together to convey that, that theme that you're really exploring.

[00:08:35] Jaymi Heimbuch: It pushes you to plan, to observe, to dig into. The creative mindset that you have, all of which are invaluable skills in photography and if you're thinking, you know, I love the idea of doing a photo essay, but I'm not really sure what I would do a photo essay about. Well, of course I have included 25 ideas for creative photo essays that you can start working [00:09:00] on. 25 ideas that can just spark your own creative flow on ideas that you might wanna actually pursue.

[00:09:06] Jaymi Heimbuch: And I also included five examples of photo essays I really, really like. Each of these photo essays is unique in a theme and unique in a photographic execution.

[00:09:18] Jaymi Heimbuch: So that you can actually see some examples of how photo essays pan out and the creative directions that you might be able to go once you've landed on that idea that you wanna pursue. And finally, of course, once you've created your masterpiece, your final photo essay, well, knowing how to share it effectively is really important.

[00:09:37] Jaymi Heimbuch: So the guide also offers tips on how to present your photo essay, whether it's in digital format, as a slideshow on your website, or maybe even in a physical print format. So head over to conservation visuals.com/. Essay and just immerse yourself in the fascinating world of photo essays, again, that's [00:10:00] conservation visuals.com/essay, and I'll also link to it below in the show notes. So wherever you're listening right now, you can scroll down to see a link to the show notes and head over to this guide. I really think that once you go through it and you see all the potential for photo essays and how much creative freedom there is in there, it's gonna inspire you to not only dive into photo essays, but then to go.

[00:10:25] Jaymi Heimbuch: Even a step farther and think about, okay, well if I'm doing this idea as a photo essay, how might I tell a story inside this idea as a photo story? So I know it's really gonna help you expand essentially what tools you have in your photographer toolbox because you've got photo essays and you've got photo stories.

[00:10:44] Jaymi Heimbuch: You're really clear on the difference between the two, and therefore you can be really clear on how to lean into them to be the most creative and the most impactful that you can be as a photographer. Now remember, photography is not just about capturing moments. It's [00:11:00] about sharing ideas and sharing perspectives.

[00:11:03] Jaymi Heimbuch: It's about touching hearts and inspiring people. And photo essays offer this unique way to do just that. So head to conservation visuals.com/essay. Pick one of those 25 different ideas and our big list of ideas for you. Then grab your camera, let your creativity flow. Start weaving a photo essay that really resonates. It's gonna be so much fun. Alright, that's it for today, and until next time, stay curious, stay inspired, keep clicking, and I will talk to you again next week.