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There are many ways that photography can be a springboard for your writing. In this article I will discuss four ways.
The Act of Photography
When you go out with camera in hand, your view of the world changes a bit. Suddenly, you are more aware of what you are seeing visually, what is capturing your attention and why? Was it the subject, the color, the pattern, the light, the surroundings? Photography requires you to be in the moment and observe.
By taking a moment and asking yourself what drew your attention to make you want to photograph a particular subject, you can be more conscious of how you capture it.
- What angle will you shoot from?
- What will you include in the image?
- What will you exclude from the image?
- Why?
By being thoughtful in the moment, you increase your presence in the moment and experience it more deeply.
Here is an image I took in November a few years back of a very sad looking Jack-o’-lantern. You don’t usually see them in this poor of a shape, so it caught my attention and humor. I can still catch a faint whiff of rotted pumpkin when I look at this image! https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p3426695/e2153b75a
This second image here left me with the emotion of victory that I wanted to capture. I wanted the sky as the backdrop and nothing else in the image and moved around to achieve that. Does this mean the victory was her own? What kind of victory was it? You can see where this might lead you. https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p3426695/e9537b540
Capturing Details
Visual memory. A picture is worth a thousand words. What did the place look like? What color coat was she wearing? Were the horses’ hoofs well-trimmed? What kind of curtains hung in the windows?
Photography can be a useful tool to help you capture and remember details you might otherwise forget. What did the Mexican candy bar look like? What kind of pill case does my sick friend have and what does it look like when it’s all filled up? Having an image of the pill case may help you remember how sick he is, how much he is paying for medications, how overwhelming it can be and all kinds of other emotions.
The image below is the inside of a fishing shack up in Gloucester, MA. By looking at this image I can see all the ephemera that the fisherman had collected in his shack as tools of his trade. I can almost see the effect of salt in the air and the aged, worn nature of everything present.
A simpler image is this one where I wanted to remember how they wrap the rope when they tie a boat on dock. https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p111730806/e4cb8b9d6
Are you beginning to see the power of images to help you tell a stronger or more detailed story?
Point of View
Photography is the perfect way to play with the point of view of your character. Let’s say your character is a cat. What does the cat see? Well, try getting down on the floor at cat eye-level and take a few shots. What does the room look like from the top of the cat tree? What does your bedroom look like peeking out from under the bed? You may not use these bits in pieces in your story per se, but it will inform your writing and your character’s point of view. Same thing for a bird or a horse or… a toddler. If you try the point of view of a fish, though, make sure you have a waterproof camera!
This image is from a cat’s point of view, looking up at the curtain of the porch door where she desperately wanted to be. https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p3426695/e1f030fc6
This image is from a chipmunk’s point of view looking at a flower outside of the barn. https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p3426695/e179cbdcb
This one is looking into an artist’s studio through a frosted window. https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p3426695/e25329749
Writing From a Photograph
If you took the photograph yourself, and you practiced some of the techniques that I outlined above, take a moment and place yourself back in the situation when you took the photograph. The image is just a visual reminder of the moment. How did you feel? What did you smell? Did you hear anything? What did you include in the image? What did you exclude from the image? Why? Were you trying to conceal something? Were you trying to reveal something? How does that add to the story you are writing? Was there an interesting juxtaposition in elements like this live kitty reclining next to the statue of a regal lion?
This exercise can be done with your own photographs, someone else’s photographs, a magazine… There are a lot of possibilities!
Here are a few people photographs that tell an entire story within the image.
https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p253041716/e2607547d
https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p253041716/e1ba48d93
https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p253041716/e3607baf4
https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p253041716/e1677cd19
https://ThereseKayPhotography.zenfolio.com/p274009548/e2afe4df4
Your Challenge:
1) Start using your camera to capture details!
2) Pick an image, either yours or someone else’s, and use it as a writing prompt!
3) Try photographing from a different point of view, just to see how much the photograph changes.
Let me know in the comments how this goes for you and what the experience was like!
(This was originally a guest post on WriteMoreWriteNow.com hosted by Kim Steadman. She has discontinued that blog and now has her site at http://kimsteadman.com/ I encourage you to swing by and see her wonderful work with writers!)
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