Step-by-Step Tips on Writing Photo Essays

A photo essay has become quite a popular activity among modern journalists and bloggers.

Photography and photo essay writing are very similar. When one is a keen photographer, he will surely try his professional skills in the field of essay writing. Many people do not understand the idea of a photo essay. It is a collection of images that are placed in the specific order that build a single logical story. In simple words, you create a story without using any words. Many photo essays present captive and thought provoking stories that evoke strong emotions related to amusement, pity, anger, sorrow delight. Doubtless, skillful photographers can impress the audience without any verbal means of communication.

See how to complete an effective photo essay yourself:

Choose the Best Topic

If you want to impress the audience, you ought to pay attention to the proper choice of your topic. It is quite difficult to take photos that will impress an average person. Some topics are relevant while others are out-of-date and boring. Very few people will appreciate your essay that will not contain unique photos. If you are a professional Internet blogger, you should write a photo essay that is based on the topic of your blog. For instance, you can think about a photo essay about a mountain biker if your blog is devoted to the extreme kinds of sports. If your blog covers family themes, you can create an essay about any newborn baby and its first days of life.

Be Sure that Your Essay Contains a Story

Many inexperienced photo essay writers do not realize that their essay should present a story. If you complete an essay that contains a simple collection of images, it is not a story. It should have sense. The main idea of a photo essay is to show a group of images that represent the definite problem in the step-by-step way. The first image makes us acquainted with the subject. Other images tell us a story that develops with every new photo. We learn something new from every new photo.

Plan Your Photo Essay

If you want to prepare a successful essay, you should make a good outline and think about the content of every image. In brief, you should divide your story into the particular sections or images. Every image is a part of your story. What is more, it is a little story with its own background, problems and emotions. When you write about a snowboarder, you can start your photo essay with the portrait of your main character. Bear in mind that the photo should be artistic and precise. The audience should see the internal world of your hero. It is smart to take a photo of your snowboarder who holds his equipment. Such details represent the occupation of the personality in the picture. You can continue your story adding photos devoted to his training, equipment and friends. You should ‘say’ something about the everyday life your character. What is snowboarding to him? When you are going to write a photo essay about success, you can insert a few images of failures of your snowboarder. They will demonstrate his efforts and constant training. He does not give up. Then, it is wise to place the photo of the ‘competition of his life’ that made him famous. Take a photo of his triumph. You can develop the ‘main body’ of any story in the similar way.

Focus on Details

The main value of photography is the possibility of the direct presentation of the subject. It is considerable to concentrate on the details that describe the main character, event or problem. The audience should understand what you want to say without words. For example, you can shoot a person in a school uniform when your main character is a student. A physicist should hold medical equipment. A police officer can wear a uniform and hold a gun. Be creative and focus on the details and clichés.

Learn to Take Photos Well

You will never do a great photo essay if you do not insert effective images into it. You ought to work hard and patiently to catch the right moment and make a good shot. If you want to make a portrait, you will have to make dozens of photos until you are satisfied with the result. Every image or part of your essay should be created deliberately. Some photographers spend months to prepare successful photo essays. In fact, the level of difficulty depends on your topic and ambitiousness. There are topics that do not require too many efforts and time. However, you should work hard if you want to impress the audience.
*** Provided by freelance essay experts from http://smartwritingservice.com.