What do you think?
Rate this book
Storytellers: A Photographer's Guide to Developing Themes and Creating Stories with Pictures
It's amazing how many images the world's photographers produce! Professional or not, images surround us in our everyday lives. What makes successful photographers stand out? What drives us to revisit the same images over and over?
All images tell a story. Whether they're produced as works of art, on assignment for National Geographic, or as part of a family vacation, images say more than just a shutter speed, ISO, or aperture setting. We make images for a reason.
"
Storytellers," by photographer/teacher Jerod Foster, focuses on visual storytelling and how a deep knowledge of your process and your personal vision can create stronger images. Storytelling often requires the use of certain lenses, apertures, or light modifiers, but the story is what holds everything together. To become a better storyteller you will explore:
Composition, light, depth of field, and motion and how to properly use your camera technically to dig deeper.Visual themes and how they provide stories with interest and depthTypes of shots and shooting styles and what they convey in your imagesResearch and ways to conceptualize your story before shootingStrategies for developing your own effective storytelling workflow during and after the shoot.This beautifully written and illustrated guide will help you connect the how-tos of digital photography with the who, what, when, where and why of storytelling to bring your vision and your images to life!
All images tell a story. Whether they're produced as works of art, on assignment for National Geographic, or as part of a family vacation, images say more than just a shutter speed, ISO, or aperture setting. We make images for a reason.
"
Storytellers," by photographer/teacher Jerod Foster, focuses on visual storytelling and how a deep knowledge of your process and your personal vision can create stronger images. Storytelling often requires the use of certain lenses, apertures, or light modifiers, but the story is what holds everything together. To become a better storyteller you will explore:
Composition, light, depth of field, and motion and how to properly use your camera technically to dig deeper.Visual themes and how they provide stories with interest and depthTypes of shots and shooting styles and what they convey in your imagesResearch and ways to conceptualize your story before shootingStrategies for developing your own effective storytelling workflow during and after the shoot.This beautifully written and illustrated guide will help you connect the how-tos of digital photography with the who, what, when, where and why of storytelling to bring your vision and your images to life!
- GenresPhotographyNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published November 23, 2011
17 people are currently reading
75 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 26, 2024
Extensive, comprehensive layout of processes, ideas and examples on creating photo essays that tell stories. Best book I've read on the subject. Very helpful. I liked a lot the interviews with established photographers. And the many examples provided. At times the author becomes too wordy so some better editing of the book could fix that and make the book easier to read. But it does not reduce the value of the book. Highly recommended.
August 30, 2017
Storytellers is a book different from most photography books out there. Which is why it piqued my interest while I was exploring the library bookshelves. While a good number of books in the photography section are devoted to techniques and how-to's, J. Foster covers an area a little bit different: finding the story behind the photograph. This is what I believe we take for granted, in situations where it's more about a pretty picture and less about the narrative.
J. Foster guides us through building our own photographic narrative and shares his own personal experience. It covers subject engagement, storyboarding, and importantly, storytelling. I'm at a point in my career where I'm happy with my technical knowledge (I experiment with my photography a lot) and am looking for something deeper. This is what Storytellers is about. It assumes you've grasped the basics and now, is looking for something beyond megapixels and ISOs.
Storytelling covers some bases of filmmaking, with long, medium and close shots - as well as weaving images into a set that tells a story. A few technical aspects also bleed into this book when he talks about the subject background, lighting, editing process etc. I could not help but notice that J. Foster's approach is very similar to Life Magazine's, which dictates a solid narrative structure, something Magnum Stories's photographers are in opposition with. That's a different topic, but a book worth looking at once you're done with this one.
J. Foster guides us through building our own photographic narrative and shares his own personal experience. It covers subject engagement, storyboarding, and importantly, storytelling. I'm at a point in my career where I'm happy with my technical knowledge (I experiment with my photography a lot) and am looking for something deeper. This is what Storytellers is about. It assumes you've grasped the basics and now, is looking for something beyond megapixels and ISOs.
Storytelling covers some bases of filmmaking, with long, medium and close shots - as well as weaving images into a set that tells a story. A few technical aspects also bleed into this book when he talks about the subject background, lighting, editing process etc. I could not help but notice that J. Foster's approach is very similar to Life Magazine's, which dictates a solid narrative structure, something Magnum Stories's photographers are in opposition with. That's a different topic, but a book worth looking at once you're done with this one.
November 24, 2013
This is a fantastic photography book. He describes the process and things to think of when building a story into the pictures you take while providing tips on improving your photography in general by talking through his own pictures. I also love the Q&A with other photographers at the end of each chapter.
May 17, 2014
Great book! Many books will focus on the technical details of taking pictures, but this book focuses on the actual subject matter that you are photographing and the best way that you can capture what you're seeing and feeling. Anyone from the mother that takes snapshots with her phone to the professional can learn from this book.
September 15, 2015
This book was possibly the best book on how to tell a story photographically that I've ever read. It answers questions that every photographer wants/needs answered and helps guide you on a clear path to find and tell your story. Great book!
February 23, 2014
Just began....!
May 21, 2015
The most boring book on visual arts in the world
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews