Regardless of the story you’re telling through photographs, whether it be in a wedding album or for a magazine travel feature, the basic concept and components are the same. Understanding the makeup of a classic photo essay, which creates a narrative with a set of images, will result in a more compelling completed package.
One of the greatest photo essayists in the history of the medium was W. Eugene Smith. His LIFE magazine features “Spanish Village,” “Country Doctor,” and “Minamata” are not only invaluable history lessons but tutorials on creating a visual story.
Photo essays typically open with an establishing shot followed by images ranging from “environmental” and “eyes are the window to the soul” portraits to reportage-style imagery and detail shots. They then wrap up with an appropriate closing shot. The types of photographs vary with the story, while the basic pacing of the presentation stays intact. Travel and documentary photo essays are more in line with the making of a movie in that they are seldom presented in the order they were shot. Wedding stories have a more linear timeline flow.
In a travel or documentary photo essay, you may use images from photographic genres including portrait, wildlife, landscape, and architectural. In fact, there’s probably not another type of photography that requires the wearing of more photographic “hats.” This isn’t a bad thing; it opens us up to opportunities that photographers working in other genres might never experience. We just have to make sure we’re competent in all those photographic arenas.
For those with that photographic elasticity who are interested in incorporating travel photography into their business, keep in mind the travel editor’s mantra: A location is not a story. In other words, do
not contact a publication and say, “I want to do a story on France.” Too vague. “How about Paris?” Go deeper. “The jazz clubs of Paris?” Now we’re getting somewhere.
Let’s travel to the other side of the world and apply this approach to Japan. I have done a number of travel and documentary features in and on the country including “Hiking the Nakasendo,” an ancient road connecting Kyoto and what is now Tokyo; “Climbing Mt. Fuji”; “Wabi-Sabi and the Japanese Aesthetic”; “The Miracle Games,” about putting on the Olympics during the COVID-19 pandemic; “3.11,” about the March 11, 2011 tsunami and recovery efforts; and “The Way of the Japanese Bath” on the country’s bathing culture.
All these stories found their way into newspapers, magazines, exhibitions, stock agencies, and, in the case of “The Way of the Japanese Bath,” three award-winning editions of a book.
Photographers interested in publishing travel photo essays should consider honing their writing skills. When you can offer text along with images, you can query public relations firms eager to get publicity for travel destinations they represent. Small publications with tighter budgets than many of the major travel publications also rely on client- or writer-supplied photographs.
Let’s look at some of the key shots in a photo essay.
Beppu, Japan. Establishing shot for “The Way of the Japanese Bath.”
Otsuchi, Japan. Establishing shot for “3.11.”
ESTABLISHING SHOTS
For the establishing shot cover for “The Way of the Japanese Bath,” my book designer, Scott Rivera, and I started with a wide image of a person soaking in a large outdoor bath to give the viewer an idea of what’s within the book. A more detailed image, such as a floating sake tray, might be too specific. The goal of a book cover is to lure a person into the book’s pages. It’s vital that every one of those pages features an image worthy of its place within the book. We can apply this same philosophy to wedding and senior albums. Therefore, you must be not only a talented photographer but also be—or have—a disciplined editor.
Meiko, Kyoto, Japan. Environmental portrait for “Wabi-Sabi and the Japanese Aesthetic.”
THE ENVIRONMENTAL PORTRAIT
An environmental portrait is a photo of a person in an environment that relates to them. It is a mainstay of magazine photography and can end up as an opener (making it an establishing shot as well). Examples range from a sommelier in a wine cellar to a first responder in a disaster scene. It’s still a portrait, so the subject’s eyes are often looking into the camera or just off camera. Environmental portraits are often three-quarter shots, cropping just above the knees (known as a “cowboy”in the movie business, because you’re cropping just below the guns). With the subject in this position, you also reveal some of the surrounding environment. More depth of field is used here than in the “eyes are the window to the soul” shots where the longer lens, shallow depth of field and bokeh look often work best.
Floating Sake Tray, Sujiyu, Japan. Detail shot for “The Way of the Japanese Bath.”
DETAIL SHOTS
In photography, beauty can be found in the details. Taking advantage of the bokeh of a fast lens can have particularly dramatic results. When applied to food shots it can elicit a Pavlovian response, while other applications can be just as inviting by guiding where we want the viewer to look. A set of space-saving diopter filters rather than a macro lens is always an option. For a nice change of pace in a photo essay, get up close and personal with smaller subject matter.
Kunisaki, Japan. Closing shot for “The Way of the Japanese Bath.”
THE CLOSING SHOT
To end the story, look for an image that wraps up the final chapter. In “The Way of the Japanese Bath,” I used a photograph of a person drinking tea, silhouetted behind a shoji screen, and a photograph of someone outside her ryokan room after a day of bathing. For an event like the Olympics, the closing ceremony is an obvious choice, though there are other creative options. Give your project the grand finale it deserves by being just as determined to find the right closing shot as the establishing shot.
Mark Edward Harris is an award-winning photographer based in Los Angeles.
Tags: travel photography
