Photography is all about control.
You control where you’ll take the photos, which subject to photograph, and even the light available.
But there are an infinite number of subjects and angles you can photograph.
For this reason, having a theme gives you direction.
How?
- You know what you want – with one clear focus it is easy to eliminate distractions.
- It saves time – you have a plan and ideas so you won’t spend hours trying to get the perfect photo out of thin air.
- Choosing photos is easier – It removes the gap between planning and execution.
Your photos are more likely to look how you envisioned.
- You can create a story – storytelling allows you to use a series of photos or one photo to tell a story that evokes emotion and engages your audience.
The story does not have to be complex or impressive.
You can show the walk you went in the park, a day spent with your family, or a party you planned.
In practice:
Random theme – wine.
Subject – wine in various forms (wineglass, bottle, drinking wine).
Storytelling – (2 made-up stories on which I’ll base the photographs, 2 different directions, evoke different emotions).
Story 1 – A woman has a stressful day and arrives home from work.
She wishes to relax and spend quiet time alone.
Emotions to evoke – peace, relaxation, sense of self-care.
Story 2 – A woman invites her friends over and wishes to have fun and celebrate.
Emotions to evoke – happiness, sorority, union.
You can now use visual search engines like Pinterest, and Tumblr to search for images of women and wine.
Collect various photos as inspiration and analyse: the angles, lightning used, poses used, props and colour scheme.
After analysis, you can create your shotlist.
Pick a time and day to photograph.