LPV Magazine

Oh, you mentioned journaling here. Okay. So, you get it then.

I couldn’t agree with you more. Photographers are storytellers and learning to become better writers makes us better photographers. I, fortunately, have been writing since I could hold a pen. The passion for photography came much later. For me, personally, writing is just as much the meat and bones of what I do as the photography is. I know that not everyone is a writer. But, I do think that learning to become a better writer will help make your images more powerful. (Just like for us writers, images make our words more powerful). <3

 pensa che scrivi in francese, lingua che comunque ha un grande bacino:)

Really well said.  I think writing is to the thought process what drawing is to the artistic process.  Basic, but an invaluable foundation.  In school I was always resistant to over thinking anything but I realize that writing actually de-clutters my artist mind.  (Which is crazy cluttered!)  And that makes room for more ideas.  I keep a blog now and write a lot about pop culture and current events.  I’m influenced heavily by both and enjoy my own commentary, even if no one else does.

Excellent advice. I wholeheartedly agree with this. Partly because I’ve noticed the same about enjoying image related blogs more when they have writing. But also because I’ve been to lots of talks and discussions about social media. And the general consensus is that using it to promote things by simply listing them is not interesting. It’s really pretty much spam.

and what about writing on their on mother language? I was thinking about that the other day, and then i read this, and thought again: what about mother language? i mean, i speak Spanish i read Spanish. Mostly i  have to used English to communicate with other people, or Italian. I am totally agreed with this point. But i dont know if you though, what about if it becomes in a narrative think and have just 5 photographs and more tan 500 words?. Maybe yes maybe not. We don’t know. 
I though this and i’ve created a post called ” un encuentro de a dos” that happens to be in Spanish, what about other people who doesn’t read Spanish? Exist google translator, you would’ve said. And i just go down again. Did one post, unfortunately tumblr has eat  3 post that should be the continuous part, just gave up. 
To finish, you are right, from my point of view, but then some others questions came.

…people can ´t read images anymore. I belive the question in everybodys mind when they see a photograph should be: “how did the photographer take this picture?”. Looking at the way or just imagining the way it could have been done (the practice) gives me more than reading a whole story. Of course we´re missing a lot of information´s but to proceed with more and more text, will help the most people to stay illitirate in terms of pictures and images. Reading is a form of communication, the same we can say about photography and images. To explain one with the help of another is conflicting. People who can´t read and write can still understand an image and people who can read and write need an writen explanation next to every image to fully understand it.
I think we should push both ways (in that example) of communication, because both have different perceptions and philospophys and to minimalize the flow of communication, feels like limitating ourselfs. Isn´t it the beauty about a photograph to have this free space to imagine what ever you want.

Photographers are present in here and now…They´re more political than most poiticans are.

 great statement.

Excellent article ~ I feel better about what I do after reading it

I’m not a professional photographer by any means. These days my photography centers mostly on the food I love to cook and post on my gourmet blog/webzine. But I know a large part of what attracts people to what I do is what I write (and I’m not a professional writer either!), despite perhaps having had their curiosity piqued by the image. But often I think it’s the combination of image and title or caption that does it

Have a delicious day

~ marie, the EpicureanPiranha

http://www.EpicureanPiranha.com

Awesome read, you are correct on every point here, including this… “assist professional assholes, date crazy photographers” which I have done both haha, its amazing how accurate it is.

I agree !

I spend a lot of time over at Jez Coulson’s blog precisely because of the writing that accompanies his work. It’s not always about the image –not that what he has to share isn’t as interesting as the imagery or the other way around– but the getting to know him as a person without getting into the entire BS about how an image was taken, the camera, etc. It’s like sitting with someone chatting away while he or she shares a photo album or images from the latest trip to some place you may have been to or may never see in a lifetime.

Now that I think about this further I recall another blog (Sagelikephotography.com) that I followed not only for the imagery. The author put just as much thought into the words as into the imagery. I was hooked from the start; I include this blog among the most inspirational I’ve followed and painfully miss. Photos involve people, even humans are being photographed as it’s a person who is making the choice of what to shoot and share with the world. I like to know what motivated the taking of the image and how the person felt about that moment. Photos function in the way the story-teller of old captivating the tribe around the campfire; I don’t agree with those opining images are better off without words and that the quality of the image its ability to avoid any sort of narrative. I am drawn to Gary Winogrand’s assessment of pictures: moments interesting to him, framed in white, nothing more.

Agreed, but they need to be careful. In most cases, photographers haven’t trained to be writers (I’m certainly no exception), so it’s easy for things to get out of control in a hurry. I’m a believer in the “baby bear’s porridge” mantra regarding writing on photo blogs – there’s an appropriate amount. I also think it should be common knowledge that writing too much is worse than not writing enough. I’m not going to be disappointed if a photographer only posts photos, but I will skip directly to the photos if I come across seemingly endless paragraphs.

Can’t agree more ! And if your Dutch is ok, check this out : http://blog.potaarde.be/

There are so many types of photographer with different objectives that it’s really hard to make blanket statements. The LPV audience is made up primarily of passionate, studious amateurs who don’t really have aspirations to become pros or have gallery shows. I was speaking primarily to them but I think it’s also relevant to editorial photographers who are using the web to market their work. There’s on substitute to creating original, engaging content, and for me, writing needs to be apart of that mix.

I tend to find the ‘shoot more’ advice to be basic and over-stated. I mean, if you don’t have the drive to go out and make photographs in the first place then none of this is really relevant.

I’m talking about quality, not quantity, when I say photographers should shoot more. I’m talking about evolving, exploring, spending time coming up with new ideas, journaling, doing whatever it takes to gain some inspiration and improve your personal style and vision.

Writing can often be a means to that, and that is great. But so often I talk to photographers who are scrambling to do so many different things, and the actual art and craft of thinking about and making photographs doesn’t get the attention it should.

Photography is a form of art, as is writing. A picture speaks a thousand words and all that jazz, I agree that images without words can sometimes be bizarre online, but I also believe that the image shouldn’t need an explaination – or that when reading a blog, that I’m proof reading the next novel.

There’s not really a formula here either, and why should there be? Every blog will have it’s own distinct tone if done right. That’s the point.

I think of all the friends I’ve through photography that have become Facebook friends. I learn more from them than just about photography.

Everything we do, read, look at, absorb should inform our photography to some degree.

while we can have our reactions to what Bryan writes, the negative reactions seem to be based on the idea that writing and photography are at odds, and that writing somehow robs from the photographic effort. there is no such notion that is true. while it may be the case for some method-focused photographers (e.g., those that love rules, for instance), writing, like photography, is mainly a creative effort, and writing about what we are doing photographically can lead to ways in which our photography is enhanced — we get to better understand what we are trying to do with photography.

in engineering there is the same problem. engineers, generally, hate to write and do so poorly, and they also fail miserably at understanding the application of their gizmo, or explaining it to someone else — the much maligned “stereo instructions” label given to poorly written manuals.

there are good writers that do decent photography, and it is great that they write more than they photograph, and even work as editors or write how-to books for the masses. to use this as a starting point for photographers to photograph more if they are communicative through their images is a shortcoming into the (well, I guess) greater picture.

if we are to go by many blogs and flickr-like sites — and that site itself — photographers already shoot more than enough. the aphorism form Ansel Adams about the “sharp image of a fuzzy concept” is rampant on the internets. sometimes more is just more, and that seems to be the case with the call to “shoot more,” rather than, say, participate in forums or write properly.

while writing well is hard, there is nothing to say that writing does not help flush out concept that can help one’s approach to photography.

if the photographer is one that just does things “by the book” and clings to method, then they could be better helped by shooting more to make those method be better repeated. I do not think those photographers are writing anything anyway, as they may not be the expressive types, and just love to have technically correct photos.

Now this sounds better. If you write with a “photographic approach” this whole thing can make sense. But I don’t know if it is ok to write about really everything on a photography blog. If a photographer writes a post about his travels then it looks perfectly fine with me. But if he writes about something totally unrelated just for the sake of writing I wouldn’t probably like it.

I completely agree with you again on the fact that we are being influenced a bit too much by conventions. I think that this is because unfortunately many blogs now are created with the intent of getting a lot of traffic and as a way to generate income. Not many people publish something because they are passionate about it (at least, not as their first goal). If more people were to publish content because it’s something that they really want to do probably we would be somehow more creative.

This is a very interesting point of view Bryan. However I must say that I agree just in part with what you wrote. Let me explain.

I totally agree about the fact that we, as photographers, should add some context to the pictures we post. As you say, it’s something that makes the user look at the image a bit more, and that is something that is good for us. Also, I think that it may help looking at the photo from different perspectives and hence improve the value of the photo itself.

I’m not sure if I like the idea of writing about our interests, our lives and so on. I mean, if I have a photography blog, most probably people subscribed to it because they want to see photography posts. I can imagine that users don’t care about things that are unrelated to the topic of the blog. Therefore, it feels to me that it would be a waste of time since probably many of them wouldn’t even read what I wrote (or maybe not everything). Unless, of course, you take writing also as something personal, that can help you express your creativity, and in this case I agree with you again. But maybe, in this case, it would be better to separate the personal writing content from the photography posts.

In any case, your article is nice because it makes you think, which is something that unfortunately doesn’t happen very often in blog posts.

Hi,
I really enjoyed reading this article and I share the same thoughts. I also think it’s a pity that there are so many blogs that are limited to reposting existing content, without no original content.
For this reasons I invite photographs to write long and in depth articles about their work and vision, articles that I publish weekly on my own site. If you want to visit it the address is:
http://cameraobscura.busdraghi.net/
cheers
Fabiano

The point is that if you’re participating in social media, and especially if you have a blog, then you should put in the effort to write. Too many photographers simply post a few photos from their shoots on the blog without providing much context. That has been the norm for too long.

They don’t need to be “well thought out essays.” This is the internet. It’s a different form of writing. It’s more casual and conversational.

At the end of the day, it boils down to your objective. Some won’t spend too much time on the internet. That’s understandable. But if you do, then you need to sharpen your writing skills.

I stand by argument and from the private response I’ve received, many others do as well.

As a way to get past writers block or fear, I recommend an online writing class for us photographer. The Gotham Writers Workshop has excellent online writing classes, one of which I’m starting this week. Hoping it will help with the writing on my blog, since most of what I post is images with no text.

“I’m afraid of reducing it somehow with a text or even a title and it being seen in only one particular way.”

We do this all the time already. We show the image as a stand alone, on a blog, on Flickr, on Facebook. That changes the context and creates a different interpretation so I find it strange that people believe adding words would some how be significantly different. And as I’ve mentioned, the words don’t have to relate to specific photographs. The bottom line argument is that I think we’ll all benefit if people take some time to write instead of just throwing up photographs on a blog or on other platforms. I think as we look back we’ll find more value in those type of posts and feel that we were more productive than just posting random photographs all over the place.

Photographers don’t need to be polished writers. People understand they’re photographers first and will give them a break. Even compelling photographs aren’t good enough these days. I can find dozens upon dozens of them every day.

Like I’ve said in other comments, if you have time to read this post and comment, then you have time to write a few words on your blog about your photographs or your experience or your ideas.

Photographers who are good writers and have interesting ideas that can’t be fully communicated through their images should write more.

While “it’s incredibly easy to post photographs” it does take a ton of effort to create compelling photographs. I would rather photographer’s concentrate on creating compelling images.

Thanks Victor. I think you’re right on the money with your analysis.

I probably rant more than I write. It’s rarely about photography, and the photos I post aren’t always related either. But yeah, I live an exciting life.

Anyway, for what it’s worth: http://bluetwothree.blogspot.com

I suffer from the same problem. In the end I get so frustrated I just write nothing.

Very interesting and well written

Personally, I am not really sure how I feel about the whole word vs image discussion. I have been reading a lot of photography theory which claims that images are without contents if they do not have words attached to them. To me, words (and titles) can be very reductive too. Some things are translatable, other things are not.

I think it would be bad if writing depended on photography, or the other way around… But I do appreciate that if you want people to follow your story, or to be interested in how you see the world, then you need to make it somehow relevant to them. Writing can help people understand what you are trying to do, especially if what you are doing looks like it might be careless and not very considered.

& Certainly the beauty of social media is that you can get involved and connect with other people. That may be the only thing that is important in the end. Most of us are very curious about other people

Hmm… In theory I agree, but I happen to be a perfectionist and when I try to write myself, which I do from time to time, I get inevitably into this obsesive loops, that suck up my free time and what not. This extremely modest comment was, for example, written and re-written about ten or twelve times. And I struggled about twenty minutes with it. Imagine when I have to develop an actual idea…

If I had to name a preëminent photographer who carries out your commandment really well that would be Alec Soth. His blog was fantastic. I envy his talent as a writer -as an exposer of interesting ideas, with clarity and elegance- even more than his actual photography.

This topic touches on some similar thoughts that I’ve been having recently. However, I personally find that writing and photography are two separate skill sets. Being competent in one does not translate into being competent in another. And for someone with limited free time, a choice to write can be a decision that gets in the way of taking pictures. I’m still looking for ways to reconcile that.

thanks for the kick in the ass…