On the role of photography and photographers in telling fictional visual stories

I always tell my students that self-portraiture is a powerful way of experimenting and learning, as visual artists. Self-portraiture allows photographers to step in front of the lens, for a change, put themselves in their models’ shoes, and thus get a better understanding and appreciation of their models’ role in a photo shoot and creating a photograph.

Self-portraiture also allows photographers to capture facets of their lives, become fictional or non-fictional characters of the visual stories they want to tell.

I mention that because, lately, triggered by recent events and anniversaries, I’ve been thinking of good…ghosts, loved ones who’ve left the physical world. And an image I later called Blue Hour Ghosts came to mind.

I captured this image with my iPhone, when visiting family. We were sitting on a porch, chatting, when I noticed some of the plants and bushes in the backyard silhouetted by the golden-hour light. Then I played with the image in Snapseed, just slightly, to recreate the image I saw in my mind, right before snapping the shot.

My two cents: I believe that photography is a powerful medium that allows us to capture fictional and nonfictional stories, to relive past events as well as envision facets of the future, if you will. Photography feeds our muse and feeds our inspiration, allows us to grow as vidual artists and storytellers.

Please feel free to share your own thoughts on photography in the comments below. I’d love to hear from you.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Happy Photographing!

Alina Oswald