Writing about Narrative Photographs

Jeff Wall, "A View from the Apartment" , 2004- 2005

As you think about Narrative and how we might "read" narrative elements into a photograph it is useful to look at photographs that are intended to portray a story. Jeff Wall is a good example of a photographer who uses many types of visual cues to construct a sense of narrative, often with a single image. The  short essay (on elearn) by Wagstaff is beautifully written and proposes how we can critically look at an image and write about it.  Read it carefully - both for the content and for the writing style/approach.

Post a reflection on your blog about this essay. How might it be helpful in thinking about your work?


Also, keep posting at least weekly images of your ideas - even if you are not entirely sure what is happening yet, or what the story is. The process of developing a conceptual folio is organic and not necessarily linear, as it is not just about illustrating a story photographically but also about creating photographs that together might generate a whole new narrative for the viewer.