What is narrative storytelling?
Storytelling within athletic photography is essential to a good portfolio. Firstly, Many photographers get lost in the love for the action shot, or the close up, but one of the most underrated shots athletic photographers can utilize is the narrative shot. Secondly, telling a story with a photo requires a new angle, or emotional depth to a shot you can't find with the big action shot.
To explain this better, lets take a look at storytelling in action.
The Rise, and the Fall.
Every element of the photo should tell a different narrative. The body language, facial expressions and contrast between subjects should give the audience a look into the heat and emotion of the game. This photo from Grove City Men's Soccer tells us a story within the game. This photo tells us something that action shots of the goal couldn't.
In this photo, we see Grove City Soccer players celebrating with a teammate, jumping with their arms in the air and smiles on their faces. We see the crowd standing up and cheering. Many shots can encapsulate the feeling of joy and triumph after scoring a goal, but what goes to further the narrative of the shot is the defender.
However, the defender tells a different story. While we see the joy of success in the background, we see the pain of defeat in the foreground. The pained look on his face, the exhausted body language of the hands on the knees, and visual color contrast of the blue on the red tells a new story. The shot gives us contrast between the agony of defeat and joys of success.
So what does a narrative shot do?
In this photo below, we can tell a story with a wide shot from up in the stands. This shot captures the bigger picture of the sport. It captures the community that comes together to support the players and perspective of the viewer.
This photograph gives us the story of the spirit of the game. Most importantly, this shot didn't take any special camera or techniques. All a narrative shot takes is a new angle on the game and a new perspective on what being an athlete is really like.
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