Photography Tips for Everyday Moments

In a world filled with extraordinary beauty, sometimes it's the ordinary moments that hold the most magic. In the "Photography Tips for Everyday Moments" series, William Stanek invites you to see the world through a new lens, where the everyday becomes art. Whether you're a seasoned photographer or just beginning your journey, these articles are designed to help you capture the subtle beauty that often goes unnoticed.

National Parks | US Itineraries | American Roadtrips

Photography is a powerful medium for storytelling, but sometimes a single image isn’t enough to tell the full story. That’s where photo sequences come in. By arranging a series of images, you can create a visual narrative that unfolds like a story, drawing the viewer into a journey, a moment, or an experience. Here, we’ll explore the art of storytelling through sequences, guiding you on how to plan, shoot, and edit a collection of photos that together tell a compelling story.

Introduction: The Power of a Sequence

Every great story has a beginning, middle, and end, and the same is true for a strong photographic sequence. My appreciation for visual storytelling was deeply influenced by my military service, particularly during my time in Germany and the Gulf War. The missions I was involved in often required capturing a series of images that, when pieced together, provided crucial information. These sequences didn’t just show isolated moments—they told a story of movement, progression, and outcome.

In the years since, I’ve carried this approach into my photography. Whether I’m documenting a day in the life of a rural village or capturing the unfolding of a family event, I’ve found that a well-crafted sequence of images can be far more powerful than any single shot. It’s about guiding the viewer through a narrative, giving them a deeper, more immersive experience.

Planning Your Sequence: Crafting the Story Before You Shoot

A successful photo sequence starts long before you press the shutter. It begins with a story—a concept or theme that you want to explore. Planning your sequence in advance helps ensure that each image contributes to the overall narrative, creating a cohesive and engaging series.

Defining Your Narrative: Start by deciding what story you want to tell. Is it a day in the life of a local market? The quiet moments of a morning routine? The unfolding of a community event? Whatever the theme, be clear about the beginning, middle, and end of your story. Think about what key moments or details will help convey your message.

Storyboarding: Once you have a narrative in mind, consider creating a rough storyboard. This doesn’t have to be a detailed sketch—just a simple outline of the shots you want to capture. For example, if you’re documenting a morning routine, your storyboard might include shots of the sunrise, a cup of coffee being poured, and the first steps out the door. Storyboarding helps you visualize the sequence and ensures that you don’t miss any critical moments.

Pro Tip: Include a variety of shots in your sequence—wide shots to establish context, medium shots to focus on the action, and close-ups to highlight details. This mix keeps the sequence dynamic and engaging.

Exercise: Choose a simple activity—like making breakfast, taking a walk, or visiting a local market—and create a storyboard for a photo sequence. Outline the shots you want to capture and consider how each image will contribute to the overall narrative. Once you have your plan, go out and shoot the sequence, sticking as closely to your storyboard as possible.

Shooting the Sequence: Capturing the Flow of the Story

With your plan in place, it’s time to capture the sequence. The key to shooting a strong sequence is to stay focused on the narrative while remaining flexible enough to adapt to the unexpected moments that often make a story more compelling.

Establishing Shots: Start with an establishing shot—a wide-angle image that sets the scene and provides context for the story. This shot helps orient the viewer, giving them a sense of place and setting the stage for the narrative to unfold.

Action Shots: The middle of your sequence should focus on the action—the key moments that drive the story forward. These shots might include people interacting, a process unfolding, or a series of events that build upon each other. Keep your camera ready and be prepared to shoot in rapid succession to capture these moments as they happen.

Detail Shots: Don’t forget to capture the small details that add texture and depth to your story. Close-up shots of hands at work, the expression on someone’s face, or the details of the environment can add emotional weight and help convey the atmosphere of the scene.

Pro Tip: Pay attention to the transitions between shots. Think about how one image leads into the next and whether there’s a natural flow to the sequence. This helps create a sense of continuity and makes the narrative more engaging.

Exercise: Using the storyboard you created, shoot your sequence. Focus on capturing a variety of shots—wide, medium, and close-up—and think about how each image will connect with the next. After the shoot, review your images and consider whether the sequence tells the story you intended. If necessary, go back and reshoot any missing or weak parts of the sequence.

Editing for Narrative: Curating Your Sequence

After you’ve captured your sequence, the next step is editing. This doesn’t just mean selecting the best images—it’s about curating the sequence to ensure that it tells a cohesive, engaging story. Editing is where your narrative truly comes to life.

Selecting the Right Images: Start by reviewing all the images from your shoot and selecting the ones that best represent each part of the story. Remember that not every image you shot needs to be included—sometimes less is more. Focus on the images that contribute most to the narrative and leave out any that feel redundant or disrupt the flow.

Sequencing Your Images: Once you’ve selected your images, arrange them in the order that best tells the story. Pay attention to the pacing of the sequence—how the viewer’s eye will move from one image to the next. Consider starting with a strong opening image that grabs attention, then building to a climax, and ending with a resolution.

Enhancing the Narrative with Post-Processing: Post-processing can help enhance the narrative by adjusting the mood, tone, and focus of your images. For example, you might increase the contrast in a dramatic moment or soften the colors in a quieter scene. Just be sure to maintain consistency across the sequence so that the images feel like part of a unified story.

Pro Tip: When curating your sequence, consider adding a title or captions to guide the viewer through the story. A well-chosen title can provide context and set the tone, while captions can offer additional insight or highlight key details.

Exercise: Edit your photo sequence by selecting and arranging the images in a way that best tells the story. Experiment with different orders and see how changing the sequence affects the narrative. Once you’re satisfied with the order, apply any necessary post-processing to enhance the overall story. Consider adding a title or captions to complete the narrative.

Consistency in Tone and Style: Keeping a Cohesive Feel

To ensure that your photo sequence works as a unified narrative, it’s important to maintain consistency in tone and style throughout the series. This doesn’t mean that every image needs to look exactly the same, but there should be a cohesive feel that ties the images together.

Visual Style: Decide on a visual style for your sequence before you start editing. This might involve choosing a particular color palette, contrast level, or overall mood that suits the story you’re telling. For example, a sequence documenting a serene morning might have soft, pastel tones, while a sequence about a lively market might be more vibrant and high-contrast.

Storytelling Consistency: As you edit, consider how each image fits into the overall narrative. Does the tone of the image match the part of the story it’s telling? Is there a consistent mood that runs throughout the sequence? Ensuring consistency in these areas will help make the sequence feel more intentional and cohesive.

Pro Tip: Use cropping to create consistency in your compositions. Even if the images were shot at different times or in different places, cropping them to similar compositions can help unify the sequence visually.

Exercise: Review your edited photo sequence and assess the consistency in tone and style. Make any adjustments needed to ensure that the images work together as a cohesive narrative. Pay attention to color, contrast, mood, and composition to create a unified visual story.

Telling a Story with Multiple Sequences: Expanding the Narrative

Sometimes, a single sequence isn’t enough to tell the full story. In these cases, consider using multiple sequences to explore different aspects of the narrative. Each sequence can focus on a different chapter or theme, allowing you to create a more complex and layered story.

Expanding the Scope: Think about how your story can be divided into different sequences. For example, if you’re documenting a festival, one sequence might focus on the preparation, another on the main event, and a third on the aftermath. Each sequence should work on its own but also contribute to the overall narrative.

Connecting the Sequences: While each sequence can stand alone, there should be a connection between them that ties the story together. This might be a recurring theme, a consistent visual style, or a narrative thread that runs through all the sequences.

Pro Tip: Consider how the sequences will be presented together. Whether in a photo book, an exhibition, or an online gallery, the way you arrange and display the sequences can affect how the story is received by the viewer.

Exercise: Plan and shoot multiple sequences that together tell a broader story. Think about how each sequence contributes to the overall narrative and how they connect to each other. After editing, arrange the sequences in a way that creates a cohesive, layered story.

Conclusion: The Art of Visual Storytelling

Storytelling through sequences is a powerful way to create a narrative that engages the viewer on a deeper level. By carefully planning, shooting, and editing your photo sequences, you can craft stories that unfold with each image, drawing the viewer into a journey or experience.

Remember, the goal of a photo sequence is not just to show a series of moments but to connect them in a way that tells a meaningful story. Whether you’re documenting a day in the life, capturing an event, or exploring a personal theme, sequences allow you to create a richer, more immersive narrative.

Share your photo sequences with us on Instagram using #VisualNarratives. We’re excited to see the stories you tell through your lens.