What Is A Photo Essay And How To Put One Together?

Say the phrase “photo essay” and most photographers would nod that they fully understand what it is. But the last few months have shown me otherwise… I recently co-founded a brand new travel magazine called JRNY. We put out a pitch call for photo essays hopeful that we would be inundated with tons of great work (we did get some really great stuff). But one thing that became very clear is that the vast majority of photographers may not actually know what a photo essay actually is and how to put one together. So here are a few simple tips to help you ensure that your photo essays are what an editor would be looking for.

What is the story?

The biggest mistake that I spotted in the photo essays that people submitted was the lack of a story. Photo essays are very different to a portfolio of work. For example, if you were asked to put a portfolio together for a specific location you would include a wide range of subjects and include your best shots. These might include landscapes, portraits, food and even wildlife. But a photo essay needs to be much more focused on a specific narrative. In other words, what is the story you are trying to tell in that particular location? For example, it might be specifically about its crafts or its wildlife. Or it might be about an event that takes place there. The key is that you can explain exactly the main point of the story clearly and succinctly in a short paragraph.

Take the viewer on a journey

The best photo essays take the viewer through your travels or experiences in an order that makes sense. For example, if your photo essay is about a specific product that is sold, start at the beginning of the process and go through the different stages until the final result. This does sometimes mean you have to forego your best shots for ones that contribute to the narrative of the story. One of the best ways to do this is to write down your story in words first and then go through your copy and pick images to showcase the different stages/parts of the story. Think of a photo essay in the same way as a picture editor would if they were matching photos to an article.

Variety is important

Photo essays are not easy to put together. The images have to work as a set but at the same time, they need to be sufficiently different to ensure they are not repetitive. It does make things easier if you actually go out with the intention of photographing a photo essay rather than trying to put one together from your collection. But having said that, it is possible to use your existing collection of photos. You just need to ensure that you are not repeating the same subjects over and over again.

For example, let’s say you are putting together a photo essay on polar bears. Whilst naturally you should have a few photos of the bears, an entire photo essay of just different photos of bears will be pretty boring for the viewer. To add some variety you can include some landscape shots that show their habitat. You can take photos of a paw print in the snow. Or even other animals that share the environment. By adding variety you will be far more likely to engage the viewer.

Caption well

It might seem tedious and an afterthought, but good captions are an essential part of a photo essay and something that you should take your time putting together. As I mentioned above, if you write your story first before putting the photo essay together you’ll be able to use part of your written story as your captions. Either way, provide your photos with context and relevant information that the reader will find useful. For example, if you have a photo of someone riding a horse, writing a caption such as “a man riding a horse in the forest” is a little pointless. The viewer can see that from the photo and so the captions add nothing of value. But instead, if the caption was “Mr X, commences his 3-hour journey to reach the market in X Town to sell his homemade coffee”, that is providing useful and interesting information to the viewer.

Editing the photos with the same treatment

Whilst the subjects of the photos should change and be different enough to keep the viewer engaged, the look and feel of the photos should look similar. In other words, the way you edit your photos or the treatment you give them should make them feel like they are a part of a family. If they are all muted in colour or have a bleached look and one isn’t, that one is going to stand out like a sore thumb. This is of course another reason why putting good photo essays together takes time and practice. Because some photos just won’t look as good in that treatment.

Photo essays are not easy to put together and it takes practice in the first place to be able to do them well. But like anything, the more you practice and work on photo essays the better you will become at being able to capture the right photos in the first place and subsequently putting photo essays together.

Photo credits: Kav Dadfar – All rights reserved. No usage without permission. Dreamstime.