EXPOSURE
Andrew urrell
M
Telling Your Story Without Words
Why do some images grab your attention making you stop,
while others barely register a glance? What is it that makes
you consider the image?
The content of your image allows you to tell a story with
your Photograph. The story could be as simple as the
beautiful Sunrise you just witnessed or it could be the
wonder of where the road is taking you.
A photograph of a Sunrise with silhouetted mountains may
invoke a sense of Beauty. The same scene with the winding
road leading into the mountains may give a sense of wonder.
Where does that road go? The same scene a third time with
a loan figure walking with their head down may make you
think of loneliness. It all comes down to the way you capture
the scene and how you have presented it.
What can you do to make people stop and consider your
images?
First have a clear idea of what you want to capture when you
set out to shoot. When I shoot a landscape I keep my head
down. The sky will be there but it’s the foreground interest I
am looking for. This is the anchor to my image; it’s what you
focus on to start your story. Patterns in the sand, different
coloured rocks, small pools and puddles of water, or an
abandoned toy spade at the beach, anything that catches my
eye.
Once I have found my foreground interest I look up and try
and see the image I want with both the foreground interest
and the background. I select the image orientation first,
Portrait or Landscape, then I think about where I want the
Horizon in the image.
I will compose the shot with my foreground interest at one
of the 4 focus points in the image, usually the lower two.
This is the rule of thirds, the overall image is split into 3
areas both vertically and horizontally. Where these 3 vertical
and horizontal lines meet are the focus points in your
image. Your subject placed at one of these points will please
the eye and make people stop to start to “read” your story.
A photograph of a stormy sky at the beach with little else is
just a stormy sky but include a toy spade and the story could
be the idea of a crying child who lost his toy, or a feeling of
danger from a rush job of leaving the beach, or thoughts of
abandonment due to the lone spade. It’s up to the viewer to
interpret the image, but if you have done well their story can
parallel your initial thought.
What story do you want to tell the next time you go out to
take a Photograph?
Andrew Murrell is a 46 year
old Photographer on the Central
Coast who also loves astronomy
and Karaoke. His interest started
in Photography when he was
14 and now shoots Weddings
Events and Landscapes. Andrew
Shoots every day to capture
sunrise for your special days.
If you would like to contact Andrew please email him
at [email protected]
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