Tips for Photostories?

http://www.denofangels.com/forums/s...e-to-see-in-photostories&highlight=photostory

I just searched for "Photostory" and got a bunch of results, but this was the most immediate answer to your question. Many deal with specific questions-like how to deal with the general public if you're doing it outside, where to post them, how to add realism, and all sorts of other things.

 

That thread is useful for what to do and what not to do, but it lacks the mechanics to get there. I can't offer much, because I don't post my own stories much (I have one on my HD that's over a year old). I've found that it helps to construct a story that you'd enjoy looking at yourself. If you enjoy the subject and the story yourself, it's more likely your interest will carry over to the viewer.

Sometimes ideas for stories will suggest themselves. Then it's a matter of sketching out the dialog and photographs. If it's helpful, use what animators do, make a storyboard for a guide. Sketch the action (even if it's stick figures) on one side of a piece of paper and write the dialog on the other side. A lot of what goes into a good photostory is mental, deciding what you want to say and then working out how to say it. And definitely, an action or expression can speak louder than words. . . less sometimes more, both in the dialog and number of pictures.

 

Well, keeping in mind that my photostories aren't awesome by any means...

I do mine script style. Like with a photo showing bits of the action, and then script-style dialogue underneath. So it'd be like..

[picture of A and G about to kiss]
A: "I adore you to pieces."
G: "You're being mushy."
A: "You know you love it."

And so on.

I don't know if that helps, but maybe it's a start? .^^ Of course, you should look at all the different styles of photostories in the galleries, and find something that's comfortable and works for you.

 

At its most basic, a photostory is just like any other story - which means that first and foremost, there ought to be a story. The photos are just the medium to tell the story; they aren't an end unto themselves. That being said, it seems to be generally felt that in a photostory the story should primarily be told visually, in the photos, rather than in captions or dialogue.

Exactly how you spin one is up to how your own creative processes are made up. You may prefer to just grab a camera and some dolls and make one up on the go. Or, you may prefer to write a script outline beforehand on paper, then flesh it out into a complete shot-by-shot script, then process that into a storyboard with posing, camera angles, lenses, DoF, lighting, and so on planned in detail for every image, before you even look at the camera. Or, you may prefer to do something in between.
It's all up to how you yourself find it easiest to come up with good stories.

How you choose to tell the story, if you structure it like a photographic comic book, or like a picture book, or like a slide show movie, or like something completely new and different, is up to your own creative impulse.

Does this answer your question to some degree?