Aspect Of Storytelling

Pictures, reflect a moment of time that is forever frozen. It can represent who we are and what we do or represent what the viewer thinks we are and do. Therefore, pictures function only to what a viewer sees in their eyes. If a picture could literally speak for itself, it would end up behaving more like a text than just a picture. It would be able to tell stories that are not able to be seen by just taking a quick glance at it. There are many different ways that a pictures story can be told. With exploration, a picture will reveal truths and untruths. I have chosen to scrutinize a recent picture of myself that I clearly remember being taken. Some of the aspects I analyzed are lighting, framing, clothing and expression. Being able to explore …show more content…
The first aspect that can be analyzed is the framing of the picture. Looking at the picture it is clear that the camera was pointing down and the photographer was above me. This raises the question, “How did I get down to the waterfall?” The viewer may think I am standing off a pathway somewhere or may think I actually hiked into a remote area. The element of lighting and color is also important to analyze.The image photographed is bright implying that it was taken in the middle of the day. All of the surrounding natural life is luscious and green. These conditions make it seem as if it is very warm out and it is the middle of summer. Choice of clothing also helps interpret the image. I am wearing shorts in the picture, but I am also wearing a long sleeve shirt and jacket. This brings into question, “What is the actual temperature and what season is it?” Adding this analysis might make a viewer think about the weather elements or just see me as a seasoned outdoorsman who prepares by wearing layered clothing. Finally, it is important to revisit my expression in the picture. I am standing in a very athletic posture and it looks like I stopped just long enough to take this picture. You can also see that I have a large smile on my face and that I have a great deal of energy. With deeper inspection, the picture becomes more vivid and a viewer may begin to think that I a am a hiker in a less …show more content…
The picture I described had information that could not be conveyed by just looking at the picture. It had no recognizable landmarks to let the viewer know where I actually was. All a viewer knows is that I was in nature somewhere standing next to a waterfall. I actually was hiking a temperate rainforest near Seattle, Washington. The other piece of information that is vague for the viewer is the weather. Even though it was a clear and sunny day at the moment, typical to Seattle’s weather, a storm was nearby. The temperature was colder than it looked because I was deep in the forest where the temperature dropped by at least 10 degrees. The final piece of information the viewer may not know is how many other people were around me and who I was with. In the picture, it looks like I am the only one hiking there. I was actually hiking with my whole family with other hikers nearby looking on. Not only was there information that could not be seen by just looking at the picture, but some of the information seen was actually misinforming the viewer. Even though the photo looked like it was taken way above me and really far away, I was actually pretty close and not that far down from my family. The biggest misconception was that I seemed happy and energetic in the photograph.To take a good picture it took multiple attempts, so I ended up standing in the