Lessons

Lesson Info

Photos that Tell a Story

So let's get into how to tell a story through the photographs were taking so I'm going to show you this was a little weekend getaway we did a couple years ago up in flagstaff and this is going to show you when I talk about telling a story through photos what I'm wanting to show is the people I'm wanting to share the details and I'm wanting to show the scene so I think those three elements in fused together are really going to give more of an idea of what we did instead of I mean how often do we see or when we go on vacation? Okay, here we all are in front of this and in front of this and it's the same picture is different scenes but it's the same exact picture or we have no people in the photos and it's just the scene you know? So we want to tell the story so this is just us in downtown flagstaff my son and again had cut off cut off it's my thing again a little bit of the scene I just wanted to the kids to remember what it looked like it was snowing this is us and again I'm getting in ...

front of the camera I'm letting go of control I'm remembering that they want to see mom in some pictures and again it may not always in iran maybe dad is the natural documentary er in the family make sure you're in it I remember I'm you know we lost my father when I was very young and when we were preparing for his funeral I remember my mother saying I wish we had more photos of him because he was the natural document or in our life he was the one behind the video camera behind the camera and I just have a handful of photos of him in them, so keep that in mind that your kids are going to want these photos of you later this is just us at lunch and then again didn't need to see his eyes but we're now zipped up and ready for snow a husband being silly one of the scene I didn't need a whole bunch I didn't need a lot I just want to show what it was like it was a cold, snowy day one of my husband I think this was posed I think I tried to make it look natural but it's posed I e you doing that? You know what I like five degrees and more to the left go back okay, very not your honey look natural thank you, andi again no face but the snow on her jacket, the snow in her mittens you get the idea that another scene shot here she as you can see her face another scene shot another person so you're getting that there it's infused it's those three elements infused to really tell the story of a vacation on dhere we did get a self time shot which the world I mean this is totally at an angle guys this is not good at all but it was you could barely see the baby but he's back it's just texas way this was in the hotel and this is a shot again you don't see our faces you can see that I'm playing with the baby but I just wanted that cozy feeling it was a detail shot it was telling the story it was just a nice saw on that trip in this picture this isn't that home no this is a hotel but I love is that there's so much more to a trip or just what happened at the big stuff yeah I agree I mean so much goes on in our hotel room and like a crazy way we can so I wanted to get that and of course you know jumping on the hotel bed and again not a perfect picture raindrops on the window I wanted to show the weather and we were driving and that was the only way to do it but it tell it gives the viewer if I'm not there to tell it gives the viewer the idea of what it was like and then my feet on the dash ok pause efforts that guess do you feel like you were there with their family that I feel like that's what you captured with that? The story is that you you captured so many little details that are the not not so obvious and so what that means to me what that says to me and teaches me is that with a stack of photos that are going to be left, for example, whether they're in a scrapbook are they're just photos and you're you guys are long gone anyone can come across these photos and feel that I think the syrian side and you don't have to be sitting there talking to them in explaining everything absolutely that's I'm that's the magic of time story through the lens for sure, right? Yeah. Thank you. So this one, I guess on this one but I'm guessing there a story to go along with it and what your mother does yeah it's my mom yeah, my mom, my mom has always been very talented with her hands for handicrafts and needles point and crushing and all of these things which comes from her mother, which came from her mother and I've even tried it myself. I do creative things with my hands in other ways it involves plastic paper, really e so but I have I have myself experienced and learned how to do this you know action of I've learned how to crash a I know how to do needle point I've done these things and this was my mom you know, including the bracelet that she was wearing because we were at a family reunion and you had to have that bracelet to get into the cafeteria for lunch or whatever she even on vacation even when she's amongst the family she finds herself interacting best with everybody as she's sitting there moving her hands she doesn't know how to not do it until you doesn't she always has to do something and it's usually with their hands and it's usually making something and it's always a gift for someone else always that was for actually one of my kids but she makes gifts for so many people she's being a stranger she's made him for loved ones and for people that she works with and even even some of people that work with me I mean she's just a giver and that is that that's what this picture illustrates for me is she is a giver and she's constantly giving and that's that's such a great story out of one photograph you know what I'm saying that your kids they're going to look back and say this is my grandma wass and so I'm this is the last picture I'll share with you and again it's the hands thing I'm addicted to hands I'm this is my grandfather's hands and the one that you saw earlier and the story behind this is again, I felt so silly, we were down, we're sitting down to sunday dinner, I felt so silly for taking my camera out and saying, grandpa, I need to get a picture of your wedding ring in your hands and he's like, okay, and he really didn't question as long as I thought he would, probably because he knew me knows very well. And so I just asked him, I said, just just tell me the story about the ring. And so the story is that when my father, my grandfather, got married, he promised my grandmother that he would never take his wedding ring off, and we all know that that's a really hard feat. I mean, I have mine off all the time, either it's bugging me or when you're when you're pregnant in your hands, swell up, or you're going into surgery or something there's room there's reasons that your ring comes off. And so a cz kids, though we knew that this was his thing, he never took his ring off and with age, his his fingers, you know, became swollen and larger, and his ring actually tio not cut off circulation, he actually cut it in half, but it stayed on his finger. He never took it off and for surgeries, he told the doctors, you will not be taking me into surgery if my ring is not on my finger, so even that I mean, it was it was his story. It was this amazing I'm way that he honored and respected my grandmother in their in their marriage. And so I knew I just I needed this photo for my life, for my children to see that these are the type of men that they have in their life, and I'm so fortunate that I was able to take the time to do that because we no longer have him with us. But it's just again. One photo that tells so much more of the story and it's not even of him, but it's his hand it's those hard working hands that after all these years continued to really embrace that promise for my grandmother. So and that picture means a lot to you, but it also released a tremendous amount. Tio, your family, not even your immediate family, but I mean, everyone everyone extended who knows? Your grandfather, your grandparent's, that means something to absolutely that's amazing thing is so much in kill, so, um, ok, I'm feeling extremely inspired way you guys feeling. So many I just there's so much more to document in life than the smile and say cheese pictures I hope that I'm not start goal and sharing some of these personal photographs from from both of our lives and so grateful that care has been able tio share more specifically how to get certain shots what kind of questions you guys have in terms of documenting the everyday or comments and ideas details, details people and seen those are the three and kind of keep in my mind and I'm sure back here you guys just went to italy so I'm sure that I've seen I've seen some shots I'm sure you got the scene but I've seen some shots of just their feet with col stone underneath them and it's those types of things that tell the story e I hadn't kara and I share a brain but we didn't necessarily talked about this before but I'm very conscious of the scene similar things is I want to get these elements and I'm closing in front of family I almost forgot that I while I was there even though a super relaxing is david and I we were selling celebrating his fortieth birthday we went there just the two of us I did do a little bit of documentation along the way to share with people at a later time which is coming up soon how I took certain pictures what I took pictures of why I took those pictures and we are putting it together in the form of a video to share on my website soon so speaking of knowing like what kind of pictures to take on a trip or during a special occasion that's coming soon as well so yeah ok other ideas or questions that you guys might have about the topic of everyday photography anything from you guys before we head out to our internet friends one of my favorite pictures that's actually one that tammy tip for me she and I were at my mom's bedside for my mom was dying and tammy said can I take a picture of you your hand in your mom's and you know I didn't really want my mom photographed at that time yeah that's not there how I wanted to remember her but she took a picture of my hand holding my mom's hand and then later she framed it for me and it's on a shelf in my scrapbook room and I look at it every day is just precious and tender to me that is a treasure when a guest as a friend you know it's not just the pictures that we take for ourselves but to be able to share that gift you know how talented you know professional photographer but you have the ability every one of you in here and so many people watching just to take a normal everyday camera and and just snaps on those pictures without being invasive and annoying, you know, but really capturing moments for people. And you may not view this as a talent that you have, but it is. And I'm telling you now, it's, your talent and it's the gift and it's meant to be shared. So a special thing that you did for her that's very cool. Anything else that you guys want to share? The famous big band or the eiffel tower by a postcard? Because a professional can do that better than you can go up to the eiffel tower. Yes. And maybe take a really close up of the iron work or something. But don't bother yourself with taking the cliche tourist shot because it's really boring when you take it, you know, a postcard so much better and memorabilia and it doesn't tell the story of you in there and it's like, well, there's the eiffel tower. But I want to see you at the eiffel tower. Yeah. That's. A very good point. Yeah, definitely project life. If you get that postcard of the eiffel tower, right. A message and send it. And when you get home, you can put it right in your project. It's got the picture on one side and you flip it over and on the other side it has the stamp in the postmark with the date and the message. And who is this way did that in italy and I still haven't received it. Wait. Going to show, you know, to our kids, you know, obviously. And I knew I knew it was something I would slip into my project life album. Great mind. Like ok, how about our friends out there and internet land? Well, this section is really obviously touched our audience. We really appreciate all your comments. Thank you so much. I should recognize exactly what denise's saying. I travel a great deal and I take thousands of pictures that I'm not in any way. So, you know, it looks like I wasn't there but that she that works for me but a really nice message in bluebell I'd like to. I would like to share this blue bell is saying thank you for showing the pictures of sad moments in life. We take pictures of our own balloon release for two children. We have lost on our children who are with us. No, they will always have two angels watching them from above. Some of my family think this is strange but now I don't feel that I'm the only person who does this thank you very much for sharing that was very powerful and lots of other people share some other great things you know sum's you know mohr uplifting stories while while the nearest saying my three year old started grabbing our iphone and started taking pictures so I scrapped these pictures because it's his perspective on life others are saying my sister in law is way too rigid when she takes pictures she insists on that cheesy moment so she wants her sister in order to see this course way actually do have a question though katie ct wants to know first of all there loving your photos with the subject where one of the subject is more focused than the background but we're talking to people that have their iphones they're simple bones how do you do that or something like that with an iphone camera? So what you're going to do is you're just going to put your point of focus on what you want to be sharp so for instance she might be mentioning the photo in the hotel room with my feet that were in focus and then yeah, I think that's one right and so on your iphone again a simple tool but just move your point of focus just tap where you want in the picture to be sharp and it will give you that depth of field it literally is tapping the screen and I want to get a picture of this glass and I want the glass in the edge of the in the straw to be in focus, and I'm holding my iphone, I've literally look through, you touch that spot, and it just I mean, it's still a second, it just doesn't really fast. So now I have a picture of that it's sharp and everyone still in the picture and they're blurry. It's the technology is so easy and why am I not shooting professionally with an iphone? I don't know like myself a lot more hard, a lot cheaper than all that equipment, right? Yeah, technology. Yeah, I think the amazing yeah, it is it is, and we just did an iphone on graffiti course recently, I think so if you want to know more about that, I mean, both carried on sharing all that they're wonderful stories about the photographs, and I think this whole section's, clearly they sort of gone off topic of you like that they're they're really sharing their own personal stories on this is what this course has all been about its documenting your personal memories in your personal stories and people be so generous and sharing them with with us somebody just saying their grandmother grandfather made his grandmother's a wedding ring out of a quarter during the depression era, and they've got photographs of that and that's memorialized love the little things like that. So it's cool, quick question. Stacey nicole wants to know about photo editing. What do you use to edit the iphone photos? And I use an app via ceo or viscose. Some people call it that's. What I use. I know there's. You could have a go at the moment. I mean, I've found camera plus a while back. You know, kevin reviewed some of them yesterday that hurt so many aps there are really good at getting photos. And so you want to play around with different kinds and I have tried several. I'm sure you have. And I just kind of stuck with victims. So for now, anyway, until the next best one comes along, I guess, but yeah, that's my go to and your go to. Does anybody else want to share their go to photo editing out? Does anyone else have, like, a favorite? Are you guys have some are exploring todo. Okay, there's, a lot of exploring to come in there's a lot more to come as well. We are going to catch a break in a second, but before we do, I really want to say a big, heartfelt thank you from all of our creative live audience and everybody in the studio for our wonderful guest this morning. She's been fantastic. Thank you so much, caroline. I think what we're gonna be doing when we come back, we're gonna have fun. We're gonna come back for you kind of get back on this topic of a project life and really kind of bringing things into that. And we've just been very inspired about the type of pictures that we take. I also won a take that the next step further, and talk about the type of writing that we dio and again, we're not asking you to be a professional photographer, and we're not asking you to be a professional writer, but there are many tips that I'm excited to share and discuss that will help you kind of infuse more creativity in that, but we're also going to step outside the box and get a little bit more in depth with how people can enhance their pages more if they want to. So that's coming up soon. We're looking forward to that and I'm going to read a comment from a layer by layer actually asked a question in the room, she said what what if you don't have children people often ask takes me to say do you have any children? I tell the truth I said no, I haven't felt but I also have a dog and I have other things in my life so this always things you can document on the lay says she has a lot of cats take the pictures of the cats that's your line? Yeah, there was saying becky has done a really great job driving home the point that your memories are too important to let me sit on your computer or in the top of your closet make it easy for yourself to documentary memories because it's important and it shouldn't be that difficult and it isn't that difficult you're absolutely right there a layer m lesley is saying I love the idea of batch processing can't believe I didn't think to do this before also all the archiving after kevin segment yesterday I went online and started looking reviews of backup services, so you're going to keep your memory safe and then lisa marie eight says thank you to carry hold from yesterday for the amazing pdf the screen shots, the downloads on the course materials page of how to do digital project like this is a huge gift