Slideshows and Photo Essays Part I
Over on the Observations page I’ve attempted something different from usual, which is to look in great detail at a well-known photo essay from Life magazine, which is the publication that developed this way of visual storytelling to its full. The purpose is practical, intended as background reading for anyone doing those parts of the photography course that involve shooting a sequence or series of pictures around a single theme. In particular, this long look at W. Eugene Smith’s Country Doctor examines the importance of layout to a photo essay, which I hope will be interesting especially to anyone doing Photography 2: Progressing with Digital Photography.
That, however, is a print layout, and while this form has been worked on and refined by designers for decades, there is a newer way of delivering picture stories — the online slideshow. The word slideshow is, of course, inherited from the days of slide trays in a projector in a darkened room, with associations of clunky, amateurish talks, but the modern version actually bears little resemblance. Or at least, should bear little resemblance. Interestingly, though, with slideshow photo essays being so new, their design has not yet had time to mature. As a start, here is what’s involved.
This is the first of two parts, and this month I’m not going into any of the technical details of which software to use. I’ll deal more with that in Part II, but for now I want to concentrate on the creative planning of a slideshow. By the way, there are of course many ways of presenting images and text on a screen, but this is about the most basic, familiar method — a slideshow. In a slideshow, the image window dominates everything and has top priority in size and position, which is why some of the points below may sound a bit dogmatic. There’s nothing wrong with breaking out of this mould and doing an imaginative, different layout and animation — but it is then not a slideshow.
The hard truth of audience figures
A lot of what follows is to do with presenting images in as attractive and effective way as possible. Attractive means pleasing graphic design to professional art-directing standards. Effective means getting the story seen and understood. A photo essay in any form is nothing without an audience, so the absolute minimum target is that the slideshow grabs and holds the viewer right until the end. Anything less and it fails. Unlike some other forms of photography, in which you can claim an image is good in and of itself, regardless of whether it is appreciated (fine art photography comes to mind), photo essays are picture stories for telling, and stand or fall by their reception. Web analytics may be brutal, but they should not be ignored.
Print layout vs slideshow
As the photo essay developed in print, and specifically in magazines, it’s useful to compare a slideshow with a print story, such as Country Doctor, to understand what the different dynamics are. The principal difference is that print offers more choice to emphasise and direct the story because it is both spatial and linear. The basic unit of a magazine story is the double-page spread, which is large enough visually to carry several pictures and text if necessary, and within each spread the layout is spatial. The sequence of spreads, however, is linear. A slideshow is only linear: you have a fixed window size that you decide at the beginning, plus whatever other panels you decide on (normally just captions), so you cannot favour certain images by running them larger, and you cannot juxtapose two or more images in the same visual space (though you can in sequence). Pictures have to work with each other in sequence, one following the other. Pacing a story, giving it rhythm and emphasising key shots means thinking more like a film or video editor and relying on sequence, timing and helpers such as captions and audio.
Variety vs continuity
All of this is the standard advice for a typical picture story and a narrative sequence. If it seems a little dogmatic, this is only because a photo essay needs it audience, and so has to play to the audience. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of room for experiment and imagination. One way, for example, is to take the opposite approach to visual variety and aim for continuity, making a single point by similarity and repetition. You risk a shorter viewer attention span, and may need to keep the slideshow relatively short, but if the similarity that binds the images together is interesting and thoughtful, it can be very strong. For example, go to the site of photographer Nadav Kander at http://www.nadavkander.com/# and go to Work then Yangtse, The Long River. The polluted light and formal, often minimal composition make their own point.
Passive or Active
Although the software that you can use to produce a slideshow typically allows you to create one that either plays independently (a movie) or can be clicked through at the viewer’s own pace, these two styles are fundamentally different creatively and editorially. Inherently, movies are entertainment-biased, while click-throughs are information-biased. There are also commonsense technical differences, which I’ll go into next month.
Movie This plays automatically and so is basically passive. The viewer just sits and watches with the expectation of being entertained rather than have to make any choices or do anything. The danger is that their attention may wander or even that they walk off and do something else. The advantages are first, that (in theory at least) you can control how much time they spend on each image, up to a point, and second, that you can use continuous audio, either music or voice or both. You can also insert video, and even make this subtle, such as a video clip in which very little moves and so is taken at first for a still image.
Click-through The viewer clicks right or left to advance or reverse the show. The risk here is that the casual viewer simply may not bother to start, but the advantage is that you do engage the viewer’s attention. The design and positioning of the player and arrow controls is important. An additional thumbnail strip allows the viewer an alternative way of choosing images; this destroys sequence, of course, but has the advantage of giving the viewer a mini-preview of what is available. Music, however, is not an option for a click-through.
Structure
The core structure of any photo essay, however presented, remains the established Opener > Body > Closer, with one or two key shots as highlights (see Country Doctor on the Observations page for another way of looking at this). A slideshow is no different, although the inability to vary the size of images in the same way as in a print layout makes key shots less definite. They really have to stand out on their own merits.
Because slideshows are completely linear (apart from the page surround), there is no choice but to order every element in a sequence, one after another. In particular, this means thinking about the start and the end, which go further than the Opener and Closer images. Any slideshow needs in some way to be introduced, and while that can be done with a title and some text (or voice) on the surrounding page, there’s a strong argument for integrating this into the slideshow itself. Obviously this is just a recommendation. Borrowing from cinema, a title sequence is an opportunity to make an attention-getting start.
| Element | What it’s job is
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| Title sequence | Announce, then hold attention for a few seconds
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| Intro | Text or voice to explain the issue and set the scene
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| Credits | Give the photo essay authorship, making it that bit more special. Can go here or at the end
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| Opener | Strong image to set the tone and quality of the photography
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| Body | Develop the story to its conclusion
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| Key shot | Get maximum attention from the viewer; can go anywhere as appropriate, may be the opener or closer but not necessarily
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| Closer | Strong image to avoid the show seeming to tail off; ideally a summation or makes a final point relevant to the conclusion
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| Conclusion | Not always necessary, but use text or audio to state the reason for the story and to leave the viewer thoughtful |
Text
Wilson Hicks, the Life magazine editor who probably did more to create the photo essay than anyone else, wrote that ‘the basic unit of photojournalism is one picture with words’. Many photographers resist this, believing that their images ought to be strong enough to stand alone, without explanation. On a gallery wall or as a single published image this may be true, but in a photo essay very rarely. The issue is that the essay — in this case the slideshow — is telling a story, and photographs need help. They can do some things magically and better than any text, but if the viewer doesn’t know where they are and what the setting is, they start confused. In storytelling, confusion can be a device that works for a while, and sets up the story for a more striking development, but there always comes a point when things need to be explained. Words do this, in text or spoken.
Of course there are exceptions. You may actually want the photo essay to be ambiguous and intriguing. Or the the strength of the pictures may rest in graphic qualities such as chiaroscuro or colour that are best left to themselves — providing that the audience knows at the start what the theme is.
Audio
By adding a completely different sensory experience, audio can transform a slideshow into something approaching a small movie. Done well, it really raises the overall production values, but audience opinion is divided. For some people it is a definite bonus, for others an intrusion, and this difference is unavoidable. How and where people view the slideshow has a bearing on this – if in public, for instance, you probably wouldn’t want the audio to be on by default unless you already had earphones fitted. There’s an argument for making audio off by default, with an obvious ‘on’ button. Audio needs to be timed, and so belongs to a movie form of slideshow rather than a click-through. It all adds to production time.
Motion
All slideshows involve movement, if only in the transition from one image to the next, and it’s worth at least considering all the options. Like audio, motion adds another layer of experience to the show, which can be attention-getting. On the other hand, motion can also disturb the essential character of a still photograph. Often worth using, but with caution.
…. and here, as a short example that does not pretend to be typical, is a slideshow with the basic elements listed above under Structure. It’s presented here as a movie (see Movie above), but could also be played, with very little change apart from removing the music track, as a click-through. I’ll use it again next month when we look at the practical details of putting a slideshow together — and also at how sometimes to use slideshow techniques when little things go wrong….
(Double-left-click on the above video to start the slideshow.)
Checklist
1. Appearance Unlike a print or gallery layout, slideshows on a screen offer little spatial choice. The size of the viewer’s screen is out of your control, but it’s best to assume a tablet rather than a larger computer screen.
Size Because the current trend in screens is towards smaller (tablets), it’s normal to make maximum use of the space and have the slideshow window as large as possible.
Format This depends mainly on the material, so 3:3 and 4:3 are the most common. However, if you have HD video to include, that might suggest 16:9 if you can see a way to crop the still images to suit. Changing the image shape within a slideshow is very distracting, and best kept to a minimum either by selecting only same-shape pictures or by careful cropping.
Orientation Mixing vertically-shot and horizontally-shot images (ie portrait and landscape) is distracting because the eye is forced to jump during the show, but it may be unavoidable because of the material. It also wastes screen space unless you reduce the height of the verticals to the same. If you can select one or the other, so much the better. If not, consider minimising the difference during playback as follows:
- Reducing the overall size of the verticals a little, so that they are perceptually more equal.
- Crop either verticals or horizontals, or both, to a fatter shape
- Run a pair of verticals as a single slide
- Accept that the verticals will have less impact and run them the same height as the horizontals
Layout As screen space is almost always at a premium, keep the layout simple, and think hard about including anything other than the following essential units: the image window, caption block and play control(s). As much as possible, keep everything in the same place throughout the show to avoid making the viewer’s eye jump — this includes caption length and justification of text. A thumbnail strip is another possible: an alternative to click-through arrows.
Background The images will always be stronger if the surroundings are clean. As a photographer you want to favour your images and give them the best show; a neutral background colour always does this best. Images have more punch out of a dark background (black or very dark grey), but the accompanying reversed-out text is less easy to read than black text on pale. See Text below for choices in colour and tone for captions and intro.
4.Selection and sequence The most basic idea of sequencing images is to tell the story clearly and directly, and this is a good starting point. Decide the theme and the argument, then choose the pictures that follow this. With a story that genuinely needs a step by step sequence, such as a timed event or a ‘making-of’ story, it’s predictable (yet not necessarily boring) and usually works well. Start at the beginning of the tale and follow through to the end. Follow the narrative. However, it is not the only approach, because ordering images is an art, and a slightly separate one from photography. Following the time sequence may, on the face of it, seem to be logical, but it may well not be the most dramatic or affecting way of telling the story.
The experience of looking at a picture sequence has something extra, beyond seeing the individual images. Just as in print, where juxtaposing two images taken with different intentions can create an entirely new meaning (what Wilson Hicks called the ‘third effect’), the way in which one image follows another can create something new: perhaps a surprising impression or sensation.
One of the big questions, as with any photo essay, is how long it should run. In other words, how many images are right for the story. This is where being both photographer and editor is dangerous, because a slideshow needs to be edited down from the whole take, and the photographer side of your personality is likely to resist cutting back. Tightening a sequence by cutting out pictures may be painful, but in more cases than not, it works.
Not every slideshow needs all three, but these are the standard units:-
Intro This sets the scene. What is the photo essay about? Normally there is no reason for leaving the viewer guessing – that irritates more often than it intrigues. On the other hand, a lengthy text can be tiresome.
Captions There are times when pictures can work without, but, as this is storytelling, each image usually needs a caption. Because a slideshow is viewed in sequence, and there has to be time to both look at the image and read the caption, the caption should be short but sufficient. It also needs to be legible without overpowering the image.
Conclusion Not compulsory by any means, but sometimes a conclusion can round out a photo essay and summarise, as in a written piece.
Natural sound Straightforward, and can add atmosphere
Foley Sound effects produced separately. Can take the place of natural recorded sound.
Voice over Easy to produce, and eliminates the need for text captions
Music As in cinema, can be very powerful in pacing a slideshow and emphasising parts of a sequence (the equivalent of raising the status of an image by running it large in a print layout). Also establishes mood and can be entertaining in its own right. However, like audio in general, it divides opinion — if a viewer doesn’t like the piece of music, he or she won’t like the photo essay. Probably the major issue with music is copyright. Unless you produce your own, you need to clear permission.
Transitions The default is ‘keep it simple’, as in a cut or a short dissolve, but occasionally there may be a reason for something more exotic, like a page flip. Only very occasionally, however, as unusual transitions are very insistent and can disrupt. The speed of a transition sets the pace for a sequence: fast equals urgent, slow equals relaxed.
Pan-and-zoom This effect, if used subtly, can inject a gentle sense of movement into a still image that arguably helps to hold attention. It comes from the rostrum camera shooting of prints for television developed by Ken Burns in the United States and Ken Morse in Britain, and nowadays is commonly called the Ken Burns effect.
Video As more still cameras are made with HD TV capability, shooting video in the same situations as still has become very easy. A video sequence embedded in a slideshow of stills can be effective. The more you add, however, the less the slideshow is a photo essay.
Papering over the cracks
Photo essays take time, involve bringing together many disparate elements, and above all are a collection of several-to-many pictures that have to work together, nit a single make-or-break images. As a result, it’s very common to find that you are left with gaps: shots you could have taken, should have taken, missed, fumbled. The bigger the project, the less likely it is to be perfect. And one of the less glamorous jobs of the back end of the project — designing the slideshow — is to make up for this. It’s bad procedure to build it into the planning and to expect to be able to cover yourself later, after shooting, but it sometimes happens, so it’s as well to know what you can do.
Re-shoot Not a favourite option for any photographer, but if the situation is local and accessible, it may be the easiest solution
Substitute shooting Adding images from a new setting that may help the story along. Studio still-lifes in particular may be useful
Distract Adjust the sequence and/or the captions to take attention away from anything missing
Make the text work harder In the last analysis, text can often take up the slack, though it reduces the visual power of the photo essay.
The little salt story is a case in point. Excuses first: I had shot it as part of a book, which meant that I had pictured it as a sequence of a maximum three pictures, and as the book was not using any images small, there were to be no ‘point’ pictures (photographs in a multi-picture story that are not great and may even be ordinary, but are there simply to make a point and can run small). I should have anticipated that it could make an independent story, but I didn’t, and moreover, doing it full justice as a story in its own right would have meant spending longer there than I had time for, given all the other locations I wanted to visit on a very big book-length story. Three obvious shots were missing, as I realised when I decided much later to make a small slideshow out of it. One was the water being brought up from the well by the river, but as nowadays this is pumped, it probably wouldn’t have made much of a shot, and isn’t critical. A second was of the salt being scraped up at the end of the day. This is quite a serious omission, but I did not take it simply because we didn’t have the time to wait until later afternoon. I found a near substitute in cropping a shot of salt being carried from the pans on horseback — and used the captions to cover the gap, as you can see in the slideshow. The third was blindingly obvious and a sheer mistake: I shot no close-up of the salt crystals in situ. They could certainly have looked good and graphic – and been a welcome change of scale. The answer to this was to shoot salt crystals of the right colour later, and work hard with the lighting and scale to make them look dramatic.
