Picture This - Photography For Storytellers

Every story exists twice, within and without. The stories within are uniquely ours - our experiences, our visions, dreams, hopes, losses. To share them with others we need to manifest them through words, pictures, sounds, music, art and more. I am here to help by teaching the art of visual storytelling. This ecourse will teach you how to craft and compose alluring images that help tell your story beautifully.

Picture This - Photography For Storytellers is a photography ecourse for anyone who would like to learn how to tell visual stories, teaching the principals of visual storytelling, providing references to movies such as Amelie, Midnight in Paris, and The Great Gatsby (2013). Familiarity with photography is strongly encouraged. This course will teach you techniques to better communicate your ideas, stories, and projects visually through your camera in a fun and entertaining way. Topics covered are explained with easy to follow steps accompanied by simple technical explanations.

Please note that you will need to own or have access to a DSLR or mirrorless camera (any camera where you can change lenses) as some of the topics cannot be followed with a smartphone camera. A compact camera with a zoom is also a possible option.

Here's what's included in your purchase:

• A PDF, EPUB, and Kindle ebook for the reader app of your choice with 13 lessons.
• 16 online videos with a total running time of about 3.5 hours. Each video can be easily downloaded.
• A concise summary of each topic, which can be used as quick references.

Topics covered are:

Principles of Visual Storytelling - It's all about composition:

• Picture This – An Introduction
• Lesson 1 - Contrast & Affinity
• Lesson 2 - Tonal Separation and Color Separation
• Lesson 3 -  Deep Space, Flat Space, Limited Space
• Lesson 4 - Rule of Thirds, Golden Ratio

How focal length affects composition

• Lesson 5 - Close-up, Medium Close-up, Long Shot
• Lesson 6 - Compression and Distortion

Crop factor, ISO tips, and using filters

• Lesson 7 - Crop Factor - Field of View, Depth of Field Considerations
• Lesson 8 - ISO Tips - Controlling Noise or Using It Creatively
• Lesson 9 - Using Glass Filters to Control Lighting

Principles of Visual Storytelling - 4 different shot types

• Lesson 10 - Establishing Shots: Focus on The Big Picture
• Lesson 11 - Emblematic Shots: Communicating Complexity
• Lesson 12 - Detail Shots: The Little Things Matter
• Lesson 13 - Abstract shots: Details Turn to Art
• Thank you and a Short Visual Story From Me

The welcome chapter also contains links to recommended reading and other lessons contain references to helpful tools and external videos.

Picture This was originally taught on Blogging Your Way in November 2017, sold at $119, in a semi-live fashion with a conversational tone. The videos may occasionally reference forum Q&As and homework. Please note that the forum and homework were only available while class was in sessions and were part of the admission fee. However, I am currently considering options to provide Q&A sessions as well as homework submissions.