{"id":260156,"date":"2026-09-28T17:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T15:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/?p=260156"},"modified":"2026-09-23T18:44:12","modified_gmt":"2026-09-23T16:44:12","slug":"does-the-photo-have-to-tell-a-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/photo-doit-elle-raconter-histoire\/","title":{"rendered":"Should a photo tell a story?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-4c30809\" data-block-id=\"4c30809\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">You hear it everywhere: in training, as a portfolio critic, under the photos that go viral on social media. \u00abA good photo tells a story.\u00bb The formula sounds right; it reassures, it provides a simple criterion for judging an image.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-3eaaedb\" data-block-id=\"3eaaedb\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">And yet...<strong> There are photographs that tell nothing \u2014 no character, no tension, no before or after<\/strong> \u2014 and which nevertheless stops us dead in our tracks. A granite wall at Saint-Gu\u00e9nol\u00e9 battered by the waves. A layer of mist on the heights of the Stangala. Nothing happens there. Nothing is resolved. And yet, we remain.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-e0a8197\" data-block-id=\"e0a8197\"><style>.stk-e0a8197 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\"><strong>So, should a photo really tell a story? Or is it a requirement that is imposed on it without asking whether it suits it?<\/strong> \ud83e\uddd0<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<nav class=\"wp-block-stackable-table-of-contents stk-block-table-of-contents stk-block stk-01b4129 stk-block-background\" data-block-id=\"01b4129\"><style>.stk-01b4129 .stk-table-of-contents__table{column-count:1 !important;}html{scroll-behavior:smooth !important;}.stk-01b4129 .stk-table-of-contents__title{font-size:20px !important;color:var(--theme-palette-color-1, #1f093c) !important;font-weight:bold !important;}.stk-01b4129 {background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-5, #e1e8ed) !important;border-top-left-radius:5px !important;border-top-right-radius:5px !important;border-bottom-right-radius:5px !important;border-bottom-left-radius:5px !important;overflow:hidden !important;box-shadow:0px 5px 5px 1px #00000040 !important;border-style:solid !important;border-color:var(--theme-palette-color-2, #a6003c  ) !important;border-top-width:1px !important;border-right-width:1px !important;border-bottom-width:1px !important;border-left-width:1px !important;margin-bottom:50px !important;}.stk-01b4129:before{background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-5, #e1e8ed) !important;}@media screen and (max-width:999px){.stk-01b4129 .stk-table-of-contents__title{font-size:20px !important;}}<\/style><p class=\"stk-table-of-contents__title has-text-color\">Contents <\/p><ul class=\"stk-table-of-contents__table\"><li><a href=\"#1-dou-vient-lexigence-de-raconter-une-histoire\">1. Where does the requirement to \u00abtell a story\u00bb come from?\u00bb<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#2-ce-que-raconter-veut-vraiment-dire-en-photographie\">2. What \u00abtelling\u00bb really means in photography<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#3-toute-image-implique-une-histoire-sans-forcement-la-raconter\">3. Every image involves a story, even if it doesn't necessarily tell it.<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#4-ce-quon-perd-a-vouloir-quune-photo-raconte\">4. What we lose by wanting a photo to tell a story<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#5-ce-quon-gagne-a-la-laisser-simplement-etre\">5. What we gain by simply letting it be<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#6-le-vrai-critere-nest-pas-moral-il-est-fonctionnel\">6. The true criterion is not moral; it is functional<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#7-comment-savoir-si-une-photo-a-besoin-de-raconter-quelque-chose\">7. How to know if a photo needs to tell a story<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#8-une-question-qui-reste-ouverte\">8. A question that remains open<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#faq-la-photographie-et-le-recit\">FAQ: Photography and storytelling<\/a><ul><li><a href=\"#une-photo-doit-elle-raconter-une-histoire\">Should a photo tell a story?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#quest-ce-quune-photo-narrative\">What is a narrative photo?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#comment-donner-du-sens-a-une-photo-sans-la-mettre-en-scene\">How to give meaning to a photo without putting it on display?<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"#pourquoi-certaines-photos-sans-histoire-nous-marquent-elles-autant\">Why do certain photos without any story mean so much to us?<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-1210217 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"1-dou-vient-lexigence-de-raconter-une-histoire\" data-block-id=\"1210217\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">1. Where does the requirement to \u00abtell a story\u00bb come from?\u00bb<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-accd5cc\" data-block-id=\"accd5cc\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">This reflex does not come from nowhere. It comes first from two very distinct worlds: photojournalism, where the image must carry the narrative of an event alone, establishing a context readable in a fraction of a second; and, more recently, the storytelling culture that has invaded photography education and social media, where simple criteria are sought to judge an image. <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-635d914\" data-block-id=\"635d914\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\"><strong>A photo that \u00abtells something\u00bb seems easier to evaluate than a photo that merely exists. <\/strong>\ud83e\udd14<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-e4b70b7\" data-block-id=\"e4b70b7\"><style>.stk-e4b70b7 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The problem is that this requirement has spread to all forms of photography. It is now applied to landscape, abstract art, minimalism\u2026 <strong>genres that often have nothing to say, and that didn\u2019t ask anyone to do so.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-2637d12 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"2-ce-que-raconter-veut-vraiment-dire-en-photographie\" data-block-id=\"2637d12\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">2. What \u00abtelling\u00bb really means in photography<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-78037c6\" data-block-id=\"78037c6\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Telling a story requires a structure: a beginning, a tension, sometimes a resolution. A narrative, in the literary sense of the term \u2014 something that takes place over time, even if that time is suggested in a single image (an exchanged glance, an interrupted gesture, a situation that one guesses).<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-51e3c15\" data-block-id=\"51e3c15\"><style>.stk-51e3c15 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Many of my own subjects are not of that order.&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/photograph-silence-let-the-image-breathe\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The silence of a landscape,<\/a> the soothing effect of a late-day light, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/certain-landscapes-soothe-us\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">the tranquility<\/a> of a coast battered by the wind; these are states, not stories<\/strong>. Nothing starts there, nothing ends there. You can\u2019t make a sentence out of it like \u00abthere was a time\u00bb. And that\u2019s exactly why they work.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-92ddcc9 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"3-toute-image-implique-une-histoire-sans-forcement-la-raconter\" data-block-id=\"92ddcc9\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">3. Every image involves a story, even if it doesn't necessarily tell it.<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-665a830\" data-block-id=\"665a830\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">This is the nuance that deserves to be explored, because it completely changes the starting point.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-324384e\" data-block-id=\"324384e\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">A photograph that tells nothing is not, however, a photograph devoid of history.&nbsp;<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/difference-between-regarder-voir-and-photographie\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">There is always a story behind it; the story of the gaze that chose it,<\/a><\/strong> the precise moment the gesture was triggered, the journey it took to get there. That look belongs only to the person who was there, even if the subject has been photographed a thousand times before.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-47e9786\" data-block-id=\"47e9786\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish two things that are too often confused:<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list stk-block-icon-list stk-block stk-48b1163 stk-block-icon-list--style-liste-std\" data-block-id=\"48b1163\"><svg style=\"display:none\"><defs><g id=\"stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-48b1163\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 190 190\"><polygon points=\"173.8,28.4 60.4,141.8 15.7,97.2 5.1,107.8 60.4,163 184.4,39 173.8,28.4\"\/><\/svg><\/g><\/defs><\/svg><ul class=\"stk-block-icon-list__ul stk-block-icon-list--column\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-099cc0c\" data-block-id=\"099cc0c\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-48b1163\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>Involve a story<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 it\u2019s inevitable, every photo is the result of a moment lived and a choice; ;<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-8af06d7\" data-block-id=\"8af06d7\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-48b1163\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>tell a story<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 it is a formal choice, a narrative construction that we decide (or not) to introduce into the image itself.<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-cb7d845\" data-block-id=\"cb7d845\"><style>.stk-cb7d845 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The first is a prerequisite for any photograph; the second is an option among others.&nbsp;<strong>The fundamental question may therefore not be \u00abshould a photograph tell a story?\u00bb but \u00abwhat is lost by wanting it to tell one, and what is gained by simply letting it be?\u00bb<\/strong>&nbsp;\ud83d\ude2e\u200d\ud83d\udca8<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-80bef37 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"4-ce-quon-perd-a-vouloir-quune-photo-raconte\" data-block-id=\"80bef37\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">4. What we lose by wanting a photo to tell a story<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-7503824\" data-block-id=\"7503824\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The absolute desire to have an image tell something, when it is not its nature, has a cost.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-765c783\" data-block-id=\"765c783\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The first risk is the artificiality. You force a staging; you add a symbolic element that\u2019s a bit overdone \u2014 a lonely silhouette in the right place, an object loaded with meaning \u2014 so that the image \u00absays\u00bb something readable. The story then becomes a veneer slapped on the photo rather than a necessity that came from it.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-cd51c3d\" data-block-id=\"cd51c3d\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The second risk is to turn the image into an illustration. It ceases to be a visual experience and becomes the translation of an idea already formed before the shot is taken. However, a photograph that merely describes a name \u2014 mountain, portrait, street \u2014 often remains silent, even when perfectly clear and well-exposed.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-29f8743\" data-block-id=\"29f8743\"><style>.stk-29f8743 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Let\u2019s take a concrete example. Facing a rocky wall battered by the sea, one might be tempted to slip a tiny figure into it to \u00abtell\u00bb the smallness of man in the face of the elements \u2014 an effective method, but one that belongs to a completely different photographic project. Without it, the photo no longer tells anything of that kind. It nevertheless does not lose anything: it simply changes registers.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-f84cfee stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"5-ce-quon-gagne-a-la-laisser-simplement-etre\" data-block-id=\"f84cfee\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">5. What we gain by simply letting it be<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-d689140\" data-block-id=\"d689140\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Conversely, a photograph that refuses to tell a story gains something specific: it becomes a state rather than a narrative.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-3e38315\" data-block-id=\"3e38315\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">It does not impose a closed meaning. <strong>It leaves the observer the space to complete it, to project their own memory, their own fatigue, or their own moment of calm.&nbsp;<\/strong>That is exactly what happens in the silence and emptiness of an image: nothing is told, and <strong>yet something is transmitted there\u2014a sensation, a presence, a breath.<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-48a2a73\" data-block-id=\"48a2a73\"><style>.stk-48a2a73 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Let\u2019s take the example of the rocky wall, this time without a character or any additional narrative elements. The photo no longer says \u00abhere\u2019s a story\u00bb. It says rather: \u00abstay here for a moment, with me\u00bb. This is not a lack. It\u2019s another way of working.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-6746318\" id=\"6-le-vrai-critere-nest-pas-moral-il-est-fonctionnel\" data-block-id=\"6746318\"><style>.stk-6746318 .stk-block-heading__bottom-line{background-color:var(--theme-palette-color-2, #a6003c  ) !important;}<\/style><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">6. The true criterion is not moral; it is functional<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-e160036\" data-block-id=\"e160036\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Therefore, it is not a matter of decreeing that narrative photography is inferior, or that only contemplative photography has value. A reportage, an engaged portrait, a documentary series need to tell a story \u2014 that is their function, their contract with the reader\/observer.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-eb5da4b\" data-block-id=\"eb5da4b\"><style>.stk-eb5da4b {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">The real criterion is therefore not \u00abshould she tell the story?\u00bb but \u00ab\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.net\/prise-de-vue-traitement-direction-photos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>What exactly is this image trying to convey?<\/strong>\"\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0Some images need a narrative to fully exist. Others lose their authenticity as soon as we try to impose one on them. This is not a hierarchy. <strong>It\u2019s a question of adequacy between intention and form. \ud83e\udd13<\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-b92944f stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"7-comment-savoir-si-une-photo-a-besoin-de-raconter-quelque-chose\" data-block-id=\"b92944f\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">7. How to know if a photo needs to tell a story<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-aaf01de\" data-block-id=\"aaf01de\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\"><strong><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\">Some guidelines, without a complete recipe:<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list stk-block-icon-list stk-block stk-8441eb4 stk-block-icon-list--style-liste-standard\" data-block-id=\"8441eb4\"><style>.stk-8441eb4 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><svg style=\"display:none\"><defs><g id=\"stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-8441eb4\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 190 190\"><polygon points=\"173.8,28.4 60.4,141.8 15.7,97.2 5.1,107.8 60.4,163 184.4,39 173.8,28.4\"\/><\/svg><\/g><\/defs><\/svg><ul class=\"stk-block-icon-list__ul stk-block-icon-list--column\">\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-3161d99\" data-block-id=\"3161d99\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-8441eb4\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>Asking ourselves what we really saw<\/strong>, Not what we had planned to photograph. If the answer is a sensation or a state rather than a situation, the photo probably doesn\u2019t need a narrative.<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-b7970e7\" data-block-id=\"b7970e7\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-8441eb4\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>Resisting the urge to add an element \u00abso that it matters\u00bb<\/strong>&nbsp;\u2014 a character, a symbolic object, a title that is too descriptive. If the image really needs it, it will request it on its own from the moment the shot is taken, not after the fact.<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-b7bf61c\" data-block-id=\"b7bf61c\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-8441eb4\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>Watching the image from a distance, several days later.<\/strong>&nbsp;A photo that tells a story artificially fades quickly. A photo that establishes a continuous state of action, even when viewed in cold light.<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"wp-block-stackable-icon-list-item stk-block-icon-list-item stk-block stk-5ef5ce8\" data-block-id=\"5ef5ce8\"><div class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__content\"><span class=\"stk--svg-wrapper\"><div class=\"stk--inner-svg\"><svg aria-hidden=\"true\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\"><use xlink:href=\"#stk-icon-list__icon-svg-def-8441eb4\"><\/use><\/svg><\/div><\/span><span class=\"stk-block-icon-list-item__text\"><strong>Accepting that a photo may not mean anything specific<\/strong>, and that it is not a defect that needs to be corrected.<\/span><\/div><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-8738c17 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"8-une-question-qui-reste-ouverte\" data-block-id=\"8738c17\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">8. A question that remains open<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-aa1d2a0\" data-block-id=\"aa1d2a0\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">So I don\u2019t think that\u2019<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.com\/-\/landscape-nature-travel-photos\/shop\/chromatic-walks\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong>A photo must tell a story<\/strong><\/a>. I believe she can choose to do it, or choose not to do it \u2014 and that the second option is neither a renunciation nor a concession. It is another, equally demanding, way of showing off.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-3500220\" data-block-id=\"3500220\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">So the next time a photo stops you, ask yourself the question differently: <strong>are you looking for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/why-do-photos-stay-in-memory\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">really a story<\/a> \u2014 or something else? What do you think about that? <\/strong>Leave your opinion and experience in the comments.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-4458b9f\" data-block-id=\"4458b9f\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Thank you for visiting Dragonstreet Photography, see you very soon,<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-8ca4690\" data-block-id=\"8ca4690\"><style>.stk-8ca4690 {margin-bottom:50px !important;}<\/style><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">David<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-heading stk-block-heading stk-block-heading--v2 stk-block stk-b8f7d58 stk-block-heading--style-h1-standard\" id=\"faq-la-photographie-et-le-recit\" data-block-id=\"b8f7d58\"><h2 class=\"stk-block-heading__text\">FAQ: Photography and storytelling<\/h2><div class=\"stk-block-heading__bottom-line\"><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"une-photo-doit-elle-raconter-une-histoire\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Should a photo tell a story?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-8d04465\" data-block-id=\"8d04465\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">No, not necessarily. Some images work through narration, others through evoking a state \u2014 silence, tranquility, presence. The essential thing is that the form corresponds to what the image is really trying to convey.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"quest-ce-quune-photo-narrative\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What is a narrative photo?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-6a1535b\" data-block-id=\"6a1535b\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">It is an image constructed around a tension, an \u201cbefore\u201d and an \u201cafter\u201d suggested, often conveyed by a subject, a gesture, or a situation that leaves one guessing about a progression in time.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"comment-donner-du-sens-a-une-photo-sans-la-mettre-en-scene\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to give meaning to a photo without putting it on display?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-d02539d\" data-block-id=\"d02539d\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">By working with light, space, emptiness, and composition rather than anecdote, a well-established state \u2014 silence, tension, calm \u2014 can convey meaning without going through an explicit narrative.<\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 id=\"pourquoi-certaines-photos-sans-histoire-nous-marquent-elles-autant\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why do certain photos without any story mean so much to us?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-stackable-text stk-block-text stk-block stk-4ad1408\" data-block-id=\"4ad1408\"><p class=\"stk-block-text__text\">Because they leave an open space for the observer, instead of imposing a closed meaning on them. This openness allows everyone to project their own memory or their own current sensation onto it.<\/p><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Une photo doit-elle raconter une histoire pour \u00eatre r\u00e9ussie ? Entre r\u00e9cit forc\u00e9 et image qui se contente d&rsquo;\u00eatre, explorez ce qui donne vraiment du sens \u00e0 une photographie.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":5864,"featured_media":260175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1368],"tags":[1363,1362],"class_list":["post-260156","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-philosophie-photo","tag-expert-en-photo","tag-amateur-eclaire-en-photo"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260156","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5864"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=260156"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260156\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":260190,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/260156\/revisions\/260190"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/260175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=260156"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=260156"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dragonstreetphotography.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=260156"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}