Storytelling through pictures – Simple Photography Tips
- Michael Blyth
- Oct 8
- 8 min read
Updated: Oct 9
Seven simple photography tips on Storytelling through Pictures - photographing for a story of a walk
Think story from the start
Include people if possible, at regular intervals
Vary your camera angles
Watch for interest that will add to the story
Use images that pull the story together
Have a start and finish
Include images of maps and guidebooks to give reference
Some of you know that I was recently in the Tramuntana mountains of Mallorca photographing for a couple of companies that specialise in walking.
One of them; Cicerone https://www.cicerone.co.uk, a supplier of guide books to various places on this little planet of ours, for whom I was taking some images for their social media.
The other, On Foot Holidays - https://www.onfootholidays.co.uk/ a company specialising in supplying walking routes linked to comfortable accomodation, with a specialist team hovering in the background, both in the area, and back in the UK to ensure that any issues are dealt with.
I don't usually share details, but both may be of interest to you, so it seems churlish not to.
A friend suggested that I share some of the images, with the thought that you may one day go on a trip that you want to take images of with a view to telling a visual story of the trip - Storytelling through Pictures.
One thing is your intention. It really helps to know from the start that you're setting out to tell a story, it affects the images you take, and why you take them. For example, with this walk I was starting with the knowledge that it needed interest, both human and nature, and that there would be some features of historic interest.
Let's work through some of the images, and I'll share some thoughts.
Background to this, we were setting off from the small town of Esporles, and heading over the hills to the rather better known and very tourist invaded town of Valldemossa.
As in most things, planning is useful, and in my view all walks should include basic first aid, waterproofs (even deserts get massive rainfall sometimes!),food, and water.
As nice as a thermally insulated water bottle is, it adds weight, so I tend to carry an uninsulated bottle, kept within my sack, so that it takes a while to warm up.
The other is a filtration bottle from Water-To-Go https://amzn.to/3IA9O3i, which I carry empty, but which can be filled from any water source - apparently even particularly revolting ones.
Image One sets the scene, two hikers setting off from the start in the centre of the village.
in this case the positioning of the feet and swinging arms adds power and movement to the picture. The walkers are central to the image, and their heading for a corner in the road adds to a sense of 'onwards' and journey.
Image Two serves two purposes.
It links the signpost to the walk, and the open Cicerone Guide gives a sense of route.
If you were to maginfy the image you'd see that the writing gives the start and destination at the top of the left hand page, and some of the text states "Start at the Plaça d' Espanya' - so the images are starting to tell the story, without the need for further explanation.
Image Three. Again including a person, the pushing of a pole, and action in the feet.
I actually took this image to illustrate for the client that the path deviates from the expected.
But I sort of got it wrong.
Just above the walkers left shoulder is a post, with the Red White marking that indicates a GR (Grand Randonee) walk, and an arrow pointing straight on, rather than following the more obvious route. The positioning of this post in the image is poor - it's not in the obvious place, away and clear of the walker.
Just a small point, but important in this case.
Image Four is an example of taking a phone camera to it's limit. We'd stopped for lunch (Tortilla from the village) on a huge piece of limestone pavement at the edge of a rather high cliff, typical of the karst scenery in the region.. (https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/karst/)
With the Trumuntana mountains stretching away to the south-west, and a solution pool filled with water on the rocks I selected the ultra-wide lens and got down low.
With some subjects this would provide unaccepable distortion, but I think we get away with it here, to produce quite a dramatic image.
Skipping down to Image Five, I'm continuing to include human interest, and have got the way-marker in a much better position.
Critique would be that I should have hopped to the left to separate the two walkers slightly.
Image Six brings in the historical interest I mentioned at the start.
Historically these mountains were an important source of charcoal, at a time when there was no electricity, nor hydrocarbons for fuel.
There are vestiges of lots of relics, and this system for water collection and storage adds to the 'story'. The walkers add to the scene, by giving action and a sense of exploring the relics.
Image Seven, shows a detail of the system, adding not only photographic detail, but story detail as well.
As we continued onwards, the route took us close to the edge of a huge cliff. As ever, safety is of prime importance here, so don't take major risks in trying to get an impressive image. All roped up etc. is one thing, a casual lean, may be a lean toooooooo faaaaar!
The tree adds huge character to this image, as does the rock in the foreground.
As in so many cases, the balance is up to you, more foreground rock, less tree, or vice versa?
Image Nine is taken to provide a pause in the story, to include the walker looking at the scene rather just being a part of it.
A critique would be that the dead branches look a bit odd behind the walker.
Image Ten, is taken at a point where the style of the path changes, and the old-fashioned paint marks add a sense of the past to the story.
Using the ultra-wide lens held down low causes the path to stretch into the middle of the picture leading the eye forwards, and the bulk of the bedrock shows a sense of dominance.
Image Eleven is quite interesting as it shows the cliff from Image Eight, but away in the distance, adding a great sense of journey. The visual structure of this image is very much a matter of experimentation.
Using a moderately wide angle lens allows the route to be included, but another option is to tilt the camera for more drama in the sky.
Another option is to select a stamdard or telephoto lens and slightly ndiffent viewpoint to highlight the cliff over which we'd walked.
Image twelve, is an example of using details to add interest to the story. These fruits are from the strawberry tree Arbutus unedo, not yet ripe, but when they are, edible They occur in places with the holm oak Quercus ilex, and the aleppo pine Pinus halepensis.
Image Thirteen is all part of the story in pictures, showing yet another change in the style of the pathway, this time it passes between big limestone boulders.
The composition of the image is designed to lead the eye from the foreground through the cleft in the rocks.
I've dropped my camera position slightly to highlight the cleft and the pathway.
Image Fourteen - Taking in the view from a rocky outcrop on the trail.
Image Fourteen, including walkers again. This time they have stopped to admire the view.
The low camera angle brings in the rockiness of the scene and the placing of the figures tends towards the guidelines of the rule of thirds.
The lack of view heightens the mystery, not knowing what has grabbed their attention.
The natural placing of one foot on the rock puts more balance and character into the picture.
As summer draws to a close, and rain falls on this mountain range, various plants start to grow, and some, as here put forth flowers.
These are autumn crocus, and the inclusion of them in the story adds interest and colour.
This is a small Simple Photography Tip in addition to the main theme.
Image Fifteen is a straightforward shot with the flower centrally placed, with extra interest from the pine needles and the lichen covered rock.
With Image Sixteen I've turned the camera upside down which has allowed me to get in low and close.
By careful angling of the camera I have managed to include some of the environment around, but importantly mostly out of focus.
Image Seventeen, a pretty straightforward shot of the village marking the end of the walk.
There were other options, such as closer.
I wanted to make the shot reflect coming out of the trees and overlooking the village nestled amongst the hills, rather then focusing on the buildings - that to me is another photo-story.
Valldemossa has some beautiful buildings, including the Royal Charterhouse of Valldemossa, built at the beginning of the 14th century.
Image Eighteen is a screenshot taken of the map I was using on my iphone to record the walk.
It's from the Komoot App, which is the one I use most, but could be one of several others.
The importance in this to the photo-story is that it binds the whole thing together, showing start, finish, and the in-between.
Image Nineteen. The end of a great day, at the Bar S'Olivera in the village. The inclusion of my beer, the menu, and the Cicerone Guide make a good strong final image, and a good memory.
The whole process of high level walking has proved very good in so many ways for improving mental health.
In case you're looking for links, here are the websites etc. of the two companies for whom I was providing images and assessement, and the water bottle I carry for filtering dodgy water in an emergency..
Cicerone: https://www.cicerone.co.uk
On Foot Holidays. https://www.onfootholidays.co.uk
Water-to-go bottle https://amzn.to/3IA9O3i (I will get commission if you buy this from Amazon)
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