College-age interns navigate a low-ropes course during a team building activity. (Photo copyright John Palmer Gregg)

A lot of people are afraid of showing any motion in their images. They think the blur is distracting, or shows bad camera control, however showing motion in an image is a great way to make it seem more alive, more “real,” and add a sense of urgency and confusion. This previous image show how keeping a subject sharper while the rest of the image is blurred through motion. This shot, taken at 1/60 of a second, was taken while the subject was falling forward keeping the camera the same distance from her, which allowed the rest of the frame to blur.

Another simple method of this is to pan the camera while following a subject.

College-age interns navigate a low-ropes course during a team building activity. (Photo copyright John Palmer Gregg)

When you try this make sure that you are using a slower shutter speed, at least 1/60 or slower, the slower that you can still hold the subject sharp the better. This was shot at 1/30. By moving the camera along the same path as the young man, you get the sensation of moving along with him.

Notice in the following image how the movement heightens the sense of drama and disorientation in the image.

College-age interns navigate a low-ropes course during a team building activity. (Photo copyright John Palmer Gregg)

This allows the viewer to get more of a “feel” of what it would be like to be in their position. It adds to the ability of the viewer to identify with the subject, which is a very important factor in effective documentary type images. Shot at 1/20.

This last image has much of the same feel to it as the previous one.

College-age interns navigate a low-ropes course during a team building activity. (Photo copyright John Palmer Gregg)

Shot at 1/30.

So, don’t be afraid of a little “blur” in your images. They can add dramatic effect, give a sense of movement, connect the subject with the image viewer, and are a whole lot of fun to capture.

Leica M8 - Image from Leica Camera AG http://us.leica-camera.com/

One of the most common questions any photographer gets asked is “What’s in your bag?” Well, let me go through what I take with me on my international trips.

Main bag: Think Tank ShapeShifter.  This is great to travel with, never had a problem getting on any planes.

Leica M8 + three batteries. This is my main camera. Small, discreet wonderful images.
Three lenses:
Voigtlander 15mm + viewfinder
Leica 35mm
Leica 50mm

Canon 5d MkII two batteries. Backup still camera + main video camera.
one lens: Canon EF 24-70 f2.8

juicedLink CX231 + 4 9V batteries. Small XLR preamp perfect for video DSLRs

Roland Edirol R-09 + handfull of AA batteries. Neat little audio Field recorder, does a great job recording sound.

Three 8gb SD cards for Leica M8

Two 2GB SD cards for Edirol

2 8gb CF cards for Canon

Audio Technica AT 8035 – Shotgun Condenser mic + 10′ XLR cable

ElectroVoice RE50N/D-B. Handheld Dynamic mic

JVC Everio GZ-HD7U. Backup, and former main, video camera. Records HD video to hard drive.

Digital Foci Picture Porter Elite. It’s a hard drive I can wear on my hip that will backup any audio, video or photos while I’m away from a laptop.

USB multi-card reader

Lens and sensor cleaners.

Chargers for everything.

Numerous short cables.

Laptop + external Hard Drive. I always try to have three copies of everything I’ve shot or recorded until I can get back to the safety of my office.

Everything but the shotgun mic I’m able to carry in that one bag. There are probably a ton of little odds and ends that get stuck in there too, business cards, notebooks etc. It is packed tight and weighs a ton, but I can carry it all with me instead of trusting it underneath the plane.

-ethos : The characteristic spirit or prevalent tone of a people or group.
-logos : This is basic logical reasoning: data, facts, words.
-pathos : This is commonly understood as a straight appeal to emotion.
-kairos : The application of kairos in photography can be best understood as finding the “decisive moment.”

What you are trying to do through these arguments is to allow your audience to relate to or identify with the subjects in the image. You want the audience to imagine themselves in these situations and even as the people depicted. It isn’t enough to merely show need, the audience should feel the need, understand the need and feel that they are not powerless in alleviating those needs.
Let’s look at an example of each.

ethos – Here we see a very typical African church worship service. This shows how much the people get into the worship how their churches are built. We learn about them through their environment and the way they choose to seek spirituality. We can imagine worshiping with them. We can feel their intensity as they sing.

Ugandans worship during a church service. (Photo copyright mission photographer John Palmer Gregg)

logos – Often logos is easily done through detail shots to isolate the subject, to force attention on one piece of data. Here it is food, and the quality of it and the lack of it.

A man shows his gathered rice in Uganda. (Photo copyright mission photographer John Palmer Gregg)

pathos – The straight appeal to emotion is easily the most overused principle of these. It is easy, it is direct , it is immediate and very effective. There are few things that can draw out an emotional response as children in less than ideal situations.
Because of the immediate direct impact, these type of images are so prevalent in the humanitarian aid and missions world. Because of this, they have become less powerful over the years as people have built up a mental wall to block their effects. The glut of these images has additionally had the effect of making people feel that the problems are so huge that they cannot do anything that would make any difference. Be careful when presenting these type of images, they can be both powerful and detrimental in motivating your audience.

An African child holds his father's hand. (Photo by missions photographer John Palmer Gregg)

kairos -No one has ever done this better than Henri Cartier-Bresson. Finding that exact moment when the action is peaked, or the moment of anticipation right before. This brings the viewer into the situation in an almost tangible way. It holds their attention and they are likely to spend more time examining the image.

A family plays in the snow in Pendleton, Kentucky. (Photo copyright mission photographer John Palmer Gregg)

These are by no means an exhaustive tool set to use in creating your argument, but they have been tried and tested for thousands of years, all the way back to Aristotle’s Topics . For more examples see the galleries ethos, logos, pathos and kairos.

]]> http://johnpalmergregg.com/phototips/using-rhetorical-arguments/feed/ 0 http://johnpalmergregg.com/photography/visual-storytelling-how-to-be-effective/ http://johnpalmergregg.com/photography/visual-storytelling-how-to-be-effective/#comments Sun, 04 Apr 2010 12:12:35 +0000 palmer http://johnpalmergregg.com/?p=222 Have you have ever wanted to learn how to be more effective in using images to effective real change in your audience?

It’s much more than just taking a pretty picture. It includes rhetorical arguments, intent and much more that are actually equal, if not more, important than aesthetics.
If you want to know more, then you might get something out of this mini lecture I put together in flash that talks about that very thing.

“Sometimes focusing on what’s heroic, beautiful and dignified, regardless of the context, can help magnify these intangibles in three ways, in the protagonist of the story, in the audience and also in the storyteller, that’s the power of storytelling. Focus on what’s dignified, courageous and beautiful and it grows.” – Ryan Lobo

If you have the chance I would encourage you to listen to what he has to say about HOW to tell the stories that need to be told. He also has some amazing images.