November 6, 2023 • 29 mins
This episode of the Travel and Adventure Photography School delves into the unique aspects of storytelling in adventure photography.
Robert discusses the importance of capturing images that narrate a story and the pivotal role of emotion in creating engaging and memorable photographs and introduces viewers to five vital elements to enhance their photography- emotion, composition, timing, subject, and setting. This episode is a comprehensive guide on how to incorporate compelling narratives into adventure photography and make your work stand out.
Throughout the podcast episode, the host shares numerous tips, instances from his experiences, and practical advice that can help both budding and experienced photographers. By understanding and incorporating these elements, photographers can create compelling narratives through their adventure photos.
Join us bi-weekly as we explore the world through the lens, uncovering hidden gems, and sharing insider tips to elevate your photography game. From capturing breathtaking landscapes to immersive cultural portraits, each episode is packed with practical hacks, creative ideas, and inspiring stories to fuel your wanderlust and unleash your creative potential.
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Find all the show notes and connect with Robert:
Website: robertmasseyphotography.ca
Instagram: @robertmasseyphotography
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Episode Transcript
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Robert (00:00):
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Travel and Adventure
Photography School Podcast.
I'm your host Robert Massey.
And today we've got a fabuloustopic for you inspired by the
Banff Centre's mountain film andbook festival, which is going on
right now in the town of Banff.
We are diving deep into thewonderful world of storytelling
(00:20):
in adventure photography.
Over the past 10 days or so,I've had the opportunity to
watch a plethora of spectacularfilms, all about being out in
the great outdoors, doingamazing adventures and pieces.
They've told incredible storiesand I've had the chance to speak
to a few adventure photographersand adventure cinematographers,
and the work that they do in theway that they tell stories has
(00:41):
really inspired me to createthis episode today.
So.
We are going to talk all abouthow you can have storytelling in
your adventure photography.
Now, before we unravel thesecrets to go into it, let's
dive a little deeper intostorytelling.
And why it is actually a reallyimportant part of photography,
especially as we start seeingmore and more people capturing
(01:04):
images, every single day oftheir adventures.
Storytelling is one of thosethings that is going to set
apart, the work that you create.
It's one of the things that noteveryone can see and not
everyone puts the time effortand thought into when they are
capturing images, especially inbrilliant locations.
Sometimes it's good enough justto take a beautiful photo of a
(01:24):
landscape, but when you canincorporate elements of
storytelling into yourphotography, that's really.
When your photos are going totake another jump and another
step, and they're going to setthemselves apart from just
another snapshot that somebodytakes.
Storytelling and photographybridges the gap between
yourself, the photographer andyour viewer.
It transcends language barriersand it creates a shared
(01:46):
narrative, inviting others tojoin you on your expeditions.
Feel the adrenaline rush as youconquer a towering peak or go on
a beautiful hike.
More than that though,storytelling adds depth and
context to your photographs andtransforms them from just
another pretty photo thatsomebody can put on Instagram
into powerful dynamicexpressions.
It allows you to capture whatthe scene looks like and the
(02:07):
emotions and relationshipsunfolding within that moment.
And you can do this in alltypes.
Photography, but adventurephotography in particular offers
a really unique opportunity toweave really compelling stories.
If adventure photographers areconstantly putting ourselves
into situations where it'sourselves and our own strength
(02:27):
and our own mental strengthsagainst.
Mother nature.
It's incorporating ourselvesinto nature.
It's driving the human body toendurance levels and strength
levels and everything elsethrough things that other people
could never even imaginethemselves doing.
And there's just a plethora ofstories that you can tell
they're of overcoming adversityand showing the grit and
determination.
(02:47):
It takes to be somebody wholoves the outdoors.
And the way it allows people totruly discover themselves.
And those are the kinds ofthings you can really tell when
you start incorporating elementsof storytelling into your
photography.
Now remember storytelling, isn'tjust a technique for you to put
into your photographs.
It becomes the full heart andsoul of your visuals.
(03:11):
It's what transforms thatphotograph into a captivating
tale that lingers in the mindsof your viewers long after
they've seen it.
We're going to talk about fiveelements.
That you can include and thatyou can think about, and that
you need to start incorporatinginto your images.
When you want storytelling tostart taking a bigger role, a
more front and center role inthe images that you create.
(03:32):
Now, sometimes these can bethought about, well in advance
and sometimes they have to bethought about in the moment as
you were there, as you werecreating based on the scene and
the light and everything elsethat's happening around you.
And the great thing aboutincorporating pieces of
storytelling into yourphotography is.
It's not gonna be all thatdifferent from pieces that
you're already thinking aboutwhen you are creating your
images anyway.
(03:53):
It's not learning something new.
It's just shifting yourperspective on how you use these
pieces.
All right.
So let's get into that firstelement.
And it's in my mind.
The most critical element toincluding storytelling into your
photography.
And that's emotion.
It lies at the core of acompelling storytelling in
adventure photography.
(04:14):
Just imagine a photograph wherethe sheer exhaustion of reaching
a summit is palpable.
There's that sparkle in theclimbers eyes, the wind tossling
their hair and the triumphantsmile that breaks across their
face.
Those raw unfiltered emotions.
Make a photograph come alive.
I got the chance to listen to awonderful adventure photographer
yesterday.
Who was shooting for a trailrunning brand.
(04:36):
And he was saying that they didall the typical trail running
photos.
Here's a beautiful mountainrange.
Here's a beautiful blue sky.
And.
Here's some trail runners inthat location and that's fine.
And those photos are beautiful.
His work is amazing.
But he was saying that for him,what was missing was emotion.
There was no pull line.
There was no through-line forhim to really feel connected to
(04:59):
those trail runners.
And yes, you need to show thoseshoes in specific locations.
You need to show them off doingthe beautiful things that trail
runners want to do.
But you also need to connect.
Emotionally with those imagesand you really want to connect
emotionally to.
What people are going throughwhen they're out trail running.
So what he did.
Was he went to his models andhis athletes and said, Hey.
(05:20):
I want you to run 15 minutesdown this hill.
And then I want you to run.
Back up this hill as fast as youpossibly can, right back at me.
And when you get to the top, Iwant you to be.
Exhausted and drained and justdone.
And those are the images thatthe trail running brand chose
for their ad campaign.
They didn't use the typical,beautiful landscape shots.
They use the ones that showedwhat a trail runner goes
(05:43):
through.
They use the ones that showedthe emotion behind why you're
doing it in the exhaustion.
And the joy because.
When you hit the top of a summitwhen you've been running for
like half an hour straight uphill, and you finally get to
that point where you're like, ohmy God, look at this.
Look what I've done.
Yeah, you're exhausted.
But you also have a twinkle anda smile in your eye.
(06:04):
And that is.
Incredible to be able to capturewhen you're photographing
people.
So.
Think about how you can tie inemotion.
Because when your audienceconnects with the genuine
emotions that you've captured inyour photo, they're transported
into the heart of thatadventure.
And really emotion is what isgoing to bind.
Your images together, whetherit's one photo with a deep,
(06:25):
impactful amount of.
Emotion in it.
Or the whole photo series whereyou're supposed to.
Feel the highs and the lows andthe triumphs and the sheer
exhaustion across an expedition.
It doesn't really matter.
Those emotions can conveyresilience and strength and
inspire viewers with.
That indomitable spirit of humanendeavor.
You also kind of invite youraudience to become active
(06:48):
participants in that story thatyou're telling.
And I really find this to betrue at places like the Banff
film Fest, where.
Yes, you're watching people dothese spectacular things.
But beyond that you're seeing.
That because they've done it.
You're starting to see what youcan do too.
And you're starting to envisionthe things that you can do as
well.
And that to me is what's sofascinating and so interesting
(07:11):
about including emotion in aphotograph.
Because when you capture thesegenuine emotions, You really
are.
Getting people to immersethemselves in the experience.
And inspiring them to dosomething like this for
themselves, or even go in andcapture images like this for
themselves.
So the next time that you'reout.
Think about how you can showyour own emotions in an image,
(07:32):
whether that's in a selfportrait.
A selfie.
Or any sort of other form, ifyou're with friends, capture
their feelings of emotion and itdoesn't have to just be.
You know, the broken down bitsof outdoor adventure.
There's also a ton of joy andjubilation and amazing other
pieces.
I think back to this photo ofJimmy Chinn and Alex Honnold at
the top of.
El cap after.
(07:53):
Alex Honnold has finished hisfree climb.
And.
Alex Honnold looks exhausted,but thrilled.
And Jimmy Chinn is hugging himfrom around the side and you can
see that he was bouncing up anddown and hugging his friend
because his friend was alive andhe'd finished this amazing feat.
And he was just so.
Thrilled.
To see his friend again, to seethat we was up there and that
(08:14):
photo just sits.
In a little part of my heart andI will always think about it
when I think about things in theoutdoors and that moment of pure
sheer joy that was up there.
I think.
Of all the amazing photos thatcame out of that expedition and
out of that.
Spectacular thing that AlexHonnold did.
That one at the top is one ofthe ones that sits with me.
(08:34):
Because of that emotion that'sin it.
So.
That is your magic ingredient inadventure photography.
That is what's going totransform.
Something from a prettyphotograph.
Into an unforgettable tale.
So next on our list iscomposition.
Now we all know what compositionmeans in terms of a
(08:56):
aesthetically pleasingphotograph, you have the rule of
thirds, framing, leading lines,the golden ratio, all those
sorts of fabulous things.
And you need those in.
Any sort of really goodphotograph, you need some sort
of really compellingcompetition.
But in storytelling terms,composition goes beyond just
(09:17):
those typical terms.
We're thinking of, we want tohave strategic placement of
elements.
That can lead your eye to yoursubject, to the most important
pieces.
You want to be able to have yoursubject be noticeable in.
A very chaotic environment thatcan be the mountains or a
forest, or a lot of places whereadventure takes place.
It can actually be reallydifficult to have your subject
(09:38):
pop out.
So you need to be really certainabout your composition to help
tell that story.
Let's think about taking a photoof somebody who's rock climbing.
A lot of the rock climbingphotos you'll see from people
are actually shot from belowshows the climbers, butt, and
they're going up the wall andhere's this big wall.
And if it's a pretty sunset oranother peaks around or
something, it can look reallycool.
(09:59):
But that doesn't really get intothe story of telling that image.
Really impactful climbingphotography typically comes from
above.
Or from the side, or even fromanother mountain top, depending
how you want to tell the story.
So let's say instead of beingbelow the climber, you get above
them.
And what this gives you a chanceto do is to show the scale of
(10:20):
the wall that they're on becauseall of a sudden, you're not
looking up at it.
You're looking back down at theground and how far that climber
has come up.
And you can really show thedistance that they are up in the
air.
You can also show the intensityon their face and you can show
like the veins and their musclesand everything popping and
pulling as they're working theirway up that wall.
And you can show even when theytry to clip into something or if
(10:40):
they have to jam a piece of gearinto the wall themselves, that's
going to hold on.
And you can get their eyes andyou can get them looking towards
that next bit of your objective,or you can get their hand
jumping towards the camera.
There's all sorts of othercompositional pieces you can
add.
Just by going from being belowthat climber.
To being above them.
That's because a well composedphotograph has the power to
captivate and really linger withyour viewer.
(11:03):
So take into account thosetypical compositional elements
that we all really want to seethe foreground elements in the
background elements and thepretty peaks and, and all those
kinds of things.
And then.
What's going to really make adifference is.
Picturing where your subject isgoing to be in that composition.
So one of the really powerfulpiece of advice I was told by an
adventure photographer, she wasa mountain biking photographer.
(11:25):
Was that she would envision.
A beautiful landscape shot.
And then she would put a cyclistinto that landscape shot and her
shots are.
Epic.
Ran into a briefly.
Honestly don't remember hername, but it was a beautiful
piece of advice.
And.
That comes back to me every timeI'm out.
Looking for a place to put asubject into an image.
(11:47):
So when you're building out thatcomposition, Don't just think,
oh, look how beautiful that is.
And forget about the mainsubject in that photograph in
that main subject.
Should be your climber should beyour hiker.
It should be.
Your person is in there.
Maybe it's the main peak.
You also have pizzas.
The landscape is the main peak,but don't get distracted by all
the other elements in thatscene.
Really show off that subject inthe best light that you possibly
(12:09):
can.
Which is a pretty good pun,because one of the best ways you
can compose a scene is usinglight to show off your subject.
Compositionally when you'relooking for where to place your
subject in a scene, includingthem.
In a light beam, including themat the end of a bit of light,
including them in the brightspot, in an image is going to be
the most impactful.
We are naturally drawn towardsthe bright spots of images.
(12:32):
And so if you have a light beampopping over a mountain and it
lands directly on your subject,that is a beautiful place to
place them.
Or if you're in a forest andyou're walking down a path and
there's a spot where there's aSunbeam.
Place them into that Sunbeam.
It's going to be where peopleare going to look for them.
It's going to be where it'sgoing to allow you to have them
pop out the best.
Obviously.
(12:53):
You might need to light theirfaces.
You might need to have somereflectors.
There's some other work thatmight have to go in depending on
the quality that light that'scoming in there at that point.
But that's going to really help.
Elevate your composition onceagain.
One of the ways you can changeyour composition is with color.
So we've talked a lot aboutcolor being really important on
this podcast.
I think we did this a coupleepisodes ago, so I'm not going
to really get into it, butespecially in the adventure
(13:14):
world, color plays a crucialrole in your storytelling.
Vibrant, bold colors, reallyconvey energy and excitement.
And they really help.
Have your subject pop offagainst what is typically a very
cool expanse, especially inmountain landscapes and forests
and other places like that,where reds and yellows and
oranges are really going to helphighlight where your subject is
(13:35):
in that scene.
And.
Kind of bring a sense of energyand vibrancy to that scene as
well.
They're also highly contracted,so you can see them pop out
against the shadows.
So.
It looks really, really goodwhen you pop people off in the
right colors.
Having somebody in a dark greenmight look really good in
person.
But honestly, in a forest,you're going to lose them.
(13:56):
It's not going to work reallywell.
So really when you're workingwith people, if they're models
or if they're just your friendsor anything like that, or if
you're just going out foryourself and you're gonna be
taking a lot of self portraits,Getting a bright colored coat
can making massive difference.
I went intentionally bought ayellow coat because it makes me
stand out in the photographswhen I include myself in them.
And I can throw it onto a modeland be like, here, we're going
(14:16):
to help you pop a little and ifthey fit it and it looks good on
them, that can really help bringyour composition together
because it's another element.
That you can add into the scene.
So.
Start with your typical.
Rules of composition.
Rule of thirds framing, all thatkind of good stuff.
Don't forget about simplifyingan image as well.
(14:37):
And this can be really difficultto do in the outdoors.
But the more complicated animages, the more likely you are
that you're going to lose yoursubject somewhere.
So if there are layers uponlayers upon layers upon layers,
upon layers of mountainousregions, and there's a valley
and a lake and all these otherpieces that in-person like, oh
my goodness, this is amazing andbeautiful.
(14:59):
And your climber, your hiker,your Mountaineer, whoever it is
is.
It's you know, maybe acentimeter big on that frame.
That's not helpful.
You can't see your subject inthat you can't see the story
that is going on in that moment.
So instead you want to eliminatesome of those pieces and really
simplify that composition, andyou can still show off some of
them.
But it's also important that yousee that human struggle that's
(15:22):
in there, that you see thatsubject that's telling that
story.
So composition.
It's a very critical piece ofthe storytelling.
And honestly, in my eyes, I feellike a lot of adventure
photographers that I talk to,especially myself.
We can do a lot more to simplifyour images, to help tell
stronger stories.
I find it really difficult towant to cut out even a small bit
(15:43):
of one of these turquoise lakesout here, or to maybe not
include that one more.
Mountain peak just off to theside, but by simplifying down
and by cropping in a littletighter or by zooming in a
little tighter, when you shoot.
Or just changing up thebackground.
That's behind somebody a littlebit.
That can dramatically enhanceyour story.
Alrighty the third element we'regoing to talk about today.
(16:05):
Timing.
Adventure photography is sooften about just seizing the
right moment.
Now timing in adventurephotography is about capturing
that definitive moment that kindof defines the essence of an
adventure.
It can freeze raw emotions.
That triumph at the summit thatwe've talked about or focus as
you're in the middle of a reallybeautiful climb or just moments
(16:25):
of laughter that Jimmy chin andAlex Honnold image, we've talked
about.
And it's these kind of fleeting.
Authentic moments that canreally bring together your
story.
And it could be a split secondof action too.
Mountain biker in the perfectmoment of midair.
The horseback rider flying pastyou, anything like that, that
can invite a viewer into yourimage, but it's not just about
(16:47):
having a high shutter speed whenyou're thinking about timing,
because that's all the examplesthat we've talked about there,
and that is critical.
You need that right moment tocapture something, but.
Your timing also needs to befocused on.
Telling the right part of thatstory at the right time.
And this is where a little bitof pre-planning can be huge to
be able to tell this storyproperly.
(17:07):
And so it's critical for you tobe prepared.
So looking at advanced to wherethe sun is going to be looking
at advance to.
What you're going to want toshoot and the storyboard that
you want to tell and buildingthat storyboard out in advance
that you're ready for thesekinds of moments to happen.
So when you're planning out thatshoot.
Think about those essentialmoments that you're going to
have to hit and you might haveto time it perfectly.
(17:30):
Let's say that you're capturinga race and you are one of just a
few photographers on that sceneand you have.
Four or five shots he need toget, which means that you have
to know exactly your times to beable to get from location, to
location, to location with allyour gear.
With the ability to captureeverything by the time you get
there.
And.
Not spending too much time andnot getting too lost and just
(17:52):
shooting the one thing that'sright in front of you.
So you need to work out yourtimes properly to be able to get
to each one of these locationsor.
You need to have your timingright so that you know that when
you're leaving and you want tocapture the sun, just cresting
over top of a mountain, or justabout to sink behind it.
That's a matter of.
Not even minutes, like maybe aminute, some days where that sun
(18:13):
is perfectly positioned on theedge of that mountain to cause
that sun flare.
You miss that you're done.
You miss that shot.
So your timing has to be.
Perfect.
You have to know exactly howlong it's going to take you to
get up that mountain or to skithere, to do whatever it is that
you're going to do to get thatshot.
But your timing has to be deadon.
So you need to get that down toa T and it's not just about
(18:34):
timing in your photographs.
Obviously we need that.
You need the right shutterspeed.
You need to click the shutter atthe right time or have the right
high drive mode on or whateverit's going to be.
Because that moment of, youknow, the mountain biker flying
through the air off a jump iscritical.
But your ability to get there ontime is critical as well.
And then beyond that.
Timing.
Isn't actually just about thelength of the shutter speed.
(18:56):
It's about telling the rightpart of that story.
So there are.
Amazing moments on pretty muchevery expedition, but not every
amazing moment helps tell thestory.
This is one of the things Ireally realized watching a bunch
of these films at the film Festthis week.
Was that.
Epic landscapes don'tnecessarily make the, be all
(19:17):
end.
All of a story.
It's that human connection andit's that achievement of an
objective.
And so if you miss your timingon that critical shot, where
this person has worked for yearsto get to this location, you
hiked for 16 days just to skidown one specific mountain.
And there was lots of otherbeautiful scenery shots and lots
(19:37):
of other beautiful moments, andall these other pieces that were
worked in there.
And.
You get to this critical momentand you miss your shot.
You're not there.
Your timing is off.
Anything goes wrong with yourtiming in this critical moment.
You've kind of missed the coreelement of your story.
And timing's not just about theshutter speed in this case, you
need to decide.
How your time is going to impactthe way you want to tell that
(20:01):
story because we can choose.
And the safe way to go about inmost situations is just a
freeze.
The action.
Don't risk.
Anything else.
Just freeze that person in midair, freeze them as they slide
down the mountain, whatever itis that they're doing.
But work with that high shutterspeed and then play with
everything else that you need toin there.
But you can also choose to maybeencapsulate that moment by
(20:22):
having a little bit of shutterspeed blur, having a little bit
of blur in your subject as theytake off running.
Or a little bit more movement inthe snow so that you can see the
depth of the powder that they'rein.
There are all sorts of differentways that your timing can be
used.
To enhance that storytellingmethod now.
Don't just choose to do this.
(20:42):
If you are working with anathlete who is expecting you to
tell a story for them.
Talk to them first, show themexamples of what you're planning
on doing.
Show them how your shutter speedis going to affect these various
pieces.
And you'll work to capture aphoto that feels like this,
especially if it's a one-shot.
If it's not, if you can get themto do it again, and they can do
it a few times over, you couldplay with top styles and timing
and all those sorts of pieces.
(21:04):
But if you have one shot atthis.
Really work that out with themin advance because your timing
in that sense is so perfect andso critical to the story.
All right.
And the fourth element we'regoing to talk about today is
your subject.
This can be your athlete.
This can be your model.
This can be a mountain range,whatever your subject is.
Honestly, your subject needs totell a compelling story.
(21:27):
And that is up to you as thephotographer.
There is also a bit on the modeland the athlete to have a
compelling story to tell, but ithas also really up to you as the
photographer to find thatcompelling story, to tell with
your subject.
They are the central character,the anchor that guides your
viewer through their narrative.
Whether that's your hikeragainst a rugged mountain
backdrop, the Explorer forgingthrough dense jungle.
(21:47):
Lone surfer, riding a wave,anything like that.
Your defined subject is.
Probably the most critical thingin telling a good story.
Because even in a single image,your viewers should connect.
With that subject.
They should feel drawn intothem.
They should feel an emotionalconnection to that subject.
(22:09):
And really your subject iswhatever you make that subject
to be.
It could be a beetle.
It could be your dog.
It could be a blade of grass forthat matter.
You just have to find a way tomake that subject your central
character.
And that's where all of yourother elements of this come into
being, that's where your timing.
Your composition.
(22:29):
Your emotional connection.
All of those come into beingwith your subject they'll are
centered around your subject.
So for me.
Especially when working withhuman subjects, I really like to
talk to them.
And if it's their story to tell,obviously you need to find out
how they want to tell thatstory.
What they're looking to say, howthey're looking to present
themselves.
(22:49):
But if it's your story thatyou're building into, if it's
your story that you're workingon and you're bringing people
into it, talk to them about howyou want to show that story off,
talk to them, how you want yoursubject to act and what you want
them to do.
And.
How you want them to be, you arethe guide in this situation.
You shouldn't be sitting backand just being like, oh, that's
great.
Do it.
You want.
No.
That's not going to tell yourstory, that's not going to
(23:11):
successfully show off a fabuloussubject.
What you need to do is guidethis situation.
Now, obviously.
If they are an athlete or ifthey are doing something
dangerous, safety is firstpriority.
Never put people in unsafesituations unless they are fully
up for it.
And they are fully prepared andyou are fully backed in.
You know, you know how to get toa hospital and get rescued and
(23:31):
all those other sorts of things.
Safety is priority.
Number one.
That will never change for me.
But when you can get out therewith that subject and they are
in agreement with what you'redoing and you can work through
them and you can guide themthrough this piece.
You can tell an amazing.
Story.
And one of the things I reallyfind about working with people
or animals.
Is that eyes really are thefirst real connection point to
(23:55):
telling a really powerful story.
So if you can include theperson's face and you can see
their eyes.
That's going to help draw peopleinto your subject a lot more.
We are drawn into the eyes ofanimals and into the eyes of
other people.
And we're going to feelconnected to them because of
them.
So use your subject's eyes todraw your people in, use your
subject in powerful situationsand in the right stances and
(24:17):
everything else, and guide themthrough that situation to really
help your viewer understand andconnect with your story.
Now the other couple of keythings about your subject is
that it is well-defined and it'sclear.
So often the outdoors is.
It's really easy to lose yoursubject.
To all the other amazing thingsthat are going on.
And so your subject needs to bevery, very clear.
(24:40):
You don't want your view of thatphotograph.
Guessing about what the subjectis in that image.
If there is even somewhat of adoubt.
About what the subject is.
You've either got to get rid ofthat image, or you've got to
strengthen that composition.
You've got to change somethingup there because your subject
should be very, verywell-defined.
All right.
The fifth and final element thatwe're going to talk about is the
(25:00):
setting.
Now, this is a pretty standardstorytelling element.
Your setting makes a hugedifference, but especially when
you're out doing some adventurephotography.
Because if you're, you know,taking photos of a raincoat and
it's a bright blue sunny day.
That's not going to really showoff that rain coat.
That's not going to make anysense whatsoever.
If you're taking photographs ofclimbers and they're.
(25:24):
Hiking the entire time and theydon't once climb.
That's not the right setting.
You need to put people in theright settings, in the right
locations, to be able to tellthe story that you want to tell.
It doesn't mean that youradventure stories have to take
place in the mountains or on theocean or in the desert or
anywhere like that.
I have seen a couple offantastic adventure stories that
(25:45):
are told.
Inside of cities.
There was a great one at Reelrock a few years ago that showed
off how climbing has exploded inurban centers and people who
have never seen rock before.
And the story was, was aboutshowing these rock climbers real
rock for the very first time,but they grew up climbing in
(26:06):
gyms.
They grew up climbing on thesides of buildings and in
playgrounds and anywhere theycould get their hands on to
climb, they did.
And so this story was abouttaking some of the world's best
gym climbers who had never, everseen or touched a mountain in
their entire lives and puttingthem in those settings.
That's a beautiful story.
And that is a perfect use oftwo.
(26:27):
Very, very different.
Settings.
So putting your story in theright setting.
Is critical to having peopleunderstand your story.
And this goes into the littledetails in your settings as
well.
Because if you're trying to talkabout like, This amazing back
country adventure, where you'reall out there and you're
surviving against the elementsand all these other kinds of
(26:49):
pieces.
And then.
You know, we can see a Starbuckssign up above the trees or
something.
That.
Destroys your story.
Obviously, that's not true withwhat you were doing.
So think about your setting,think about how you want your
subject interacting with setsetting and what you really need
to show to help tell your storyand how the setting can help do
(27:11):
that.
And this includes, if you'redoing something like a
documentary.
And you need headshots of yoursubject.
I have seen a few where they'vebeen out and they've been doing
these epic adventures and doingall these other kinds of things.
And then they did like acorporate headshot for them.
And it just was so incongruentwith the story that they told
that it really threw off thewhole photo essay.
(27:33):
Or if your videographer it, youknow, get some elements in the
background of like rock climbinghelmets or whatever adventure
that these people are on.
Don't just throw them into, youknow, a blank office sitting on
a couch or something, which Ihave seen.
And it, it actually does ruinthe story.
You're trying to tell.
So think about that setting.
Even when it comes to the basicimages and the basic photos
(27:56):
about how that setting is goingto help tell your story.
That's in there.
All right.
And that's it.
That's our five elements ofstorytelling and how you can use
them to help with your adventurephotography.
And.
What I would fully suggest isthat.
Take a listen to this, writesome of these down, come up with
your own ideas here.
And then.
(28:16):
The Banff film Fest has anonline portion to it.
Maybe go get a ticket to that,to watch some of these amazing
ones.
Go on Netflix or prime or anyone of the other streaming
services that you use and gofind a few outdoor
documentaries.
And watch how they use.
All of these pieces that we justtalked about in here.
To tell masterful stories or howthey missed pieces and you
(28:37):
noticed it and it really didn'thelp you enhance the
storytelling piece.
Because in the end, especiallyif you're an adventure
photographer.
You're a storyteller.
That's really what you are, evenif your art form.
It's just beautiful landscapes.
All of this still applies.
You still need that emotionalconnection for people to feel
it.
You still need to feel themdrawn and you still need a
subject in the right setting.
(28:58):
And fantastic composition.
All of this still applies, evenif you just want to create
landscape art.
Let's go.
Play with some of these ideas,write some things down for
yourself, and you'll find thatthe more you think about this
and the more that you thinkabout this while you're creating
images.
The easier it's going to becometo see stories in the world.
Thank you so much for comingalong on this journey.
(29:19):
I'd love to hear your feedback,but the episode or anything else
that you'd love to learn about.
Reach out to me on Instagram atRobert Massey photography.
Find stuff on my website atrobertmasseyphotography.ca and
get out there and explore thisbig.
Beautiful world of ours.
All right.
Bye for now.
Welcome back.
Welcome back.
Welcome back to another episodeof the Travel and Adventure
Photography School Podcast.
I'm your host Robert Massey.
And today we've got a fabuloustopic for you inspired by the
Banff Centre's mountain film andbook festival, which is going on
right now in the town of Banff.
We are diving deep into thewonderful world of storytelling
(00:20):
in adventure photography.
Over the past 10 days or so,I've had the opportunity to
watch a plethora of spectacularfilms, all about being out in
the great outdoors, doingamazing adventures and pieces.
They've told incredible storiesand I've had the chance to speak
to a few adventure photographersand adventure cinematographers,
and the work that they do in theway that they tell stories has
(00:41):
really inspired me to createthis episode today.
So.
We are going to talk all abouthow you can have storytelling in
your adventure photography.
Now, before we unravel thesecrets to go into it, let's
dive a little deeper intostorytelling.
And why it is actually a reallyimportant part of photography,
especially as we start seeingmore and more people capturing
(01:04):
images, every single day oftheir adventures.
Storytelling is one of thosethings that is going to set
apart, the work that you create.
It's one of the things that noteveryone can see and not
everyone puts the time effortand thought into when they are
capturing images, especially inbrilliant locations.
Sometimes it's good enough justto take a beautiful photo of a
(01:24):
landscape, but when you canincorporate elements of
storytelling into yourphotography, that's really.
When your photos are going totake another jump and another
step, and they're going to setthemselves apart from just
another snapshot that somebodytakes.
Storytelling and photographybridges the gap between
yourself, the photographer andyour viewer.
It transcends language barriersand it creates a shared
(01:46):
narrative, inviting others tojoin you on your expeditions.
Feel the adrenaline rush as youconquer a towering peak or go on
a beautiful hike.
More than that though,storytelling adds depth and
context to your photographs andtransforms them from just
another pretty photo thatsomebody can put on Instagram
into powerful dynamicexpressions.
It allows you to capture whatthe scene looks like and the
(02:07):
emotions and relationshipsunfolding within that moment.
And you can do this in alltypes.
Photography, but adventurephotography in particular offers
a really unique opportunity toweave really compelling stories.
If adventure photographers areconstantly putting ourselves
into situations where it'sourselves and our own strength
(02:27):
and our own mental strengthsagainst.
Mother nature.
It's incorporating ourselvesinto nature.
It's driving the human body toendurance levels and strength
levels and everything elsethrough things that other people
could never even imaginethemselves doing.
And there's just a plethora ofstories that you can tell
they're of overcoming adversityand showing the grit and
determination.
(02:47):
It takes to be somebody wholoves the outdoors.
And the way it allows people totruly discover themselves.
And those are the kinds ofthings you can really tell when
you start incorporating elementsof storytelling into your
photography.
Now remember storytelling, isn'tjust a technique for you to put
into your photographs.
It becomes the full heart andsoul of your visuals.
(03:11):
It's what transforms thatphotograph into a captivating
tale that lingers in the mindsof your viewers long after
they've seen it.
We're going to talk about fiveelements.
That you can include and thatyou can think about, and that
you need to start incorporatinginto your images.
When you want storytelling tostart taking a bigger role, a
more front and center role inthe images that you create.
(03:32):
Now, sometimes these can bethought about, well in advance
and sometimes they have to bethought about in the moment as
you were there, as you werecreating based on the scene and
the light and everything elsethat's happening around you.
And the great thing aboutincorporating pieces of
storytelling into yourphotography is.
It's not gonna be all thatdifferent from pieces that
you're already thinking aboutwhen you are creating your
images anyway.
(03:53):
It's not learning something new.
It's just shifting yourperspective on how you use these
pieces.
All right.
So let's get into that firstelement.
And it's in my mind.
The most critical element toincluding storytelling into your
photography.
And that's emotion.
It lies at the core of acompelling storytelling in
adventure photography.
(04:14):
Just imagine a photograph wherethe sheer exhaustion of reaching
a summit is palpable.
There's that sparkle in theclimbers eyes, the wind tossling
their hair and the triumphantsmile that breaks across their
face.
Those raw unfiltered emotions.
Make a photograph come alive.
I got the chance to listen to awonderful adventure photographer
yesterday.
Who was shooting for a trailrunning brand.
(04:36):
And he was saying that they didall the typical trail running
photos.
Here's a beautiful mountainrange.
Here's a beautiful blue sky.
And.
Here's some trail runners inthat location and that's fine.
And those photos are beautiful.
His work is amazing.
But he was saying that for him,what was missing was emotion.
There was no pull line.
There was no through-line forhim to really feel connected to
(04:59):
those trail runners.
And yes, you need to show thoseshoes in specific locations.
You need to show them off doingthe beautiful things that trail
runners want to do.
But you also need to connect.
Emotionally with those imagesand you really want to connect
emotionally to.
What people are going throughwhen they're out trail running.
So what he did.
Was he went to his models andhis athletes and said, Hey.
(05:20):
I want you to run 15 minutesdown this hill.
And then I want you to run.
Back up this hill as fast as youpossibly can, right back at me.
And when you get to the top, Iwant you to be.
Exhausted and drained and justdone.
And those are the images thatthe trail running brand chose
for their ad campaign.
They didn't use the typical,beautiful landscape shots.
They use the ones that showedwhat a trail runner goes
(05:43):
through.
They use the ones that showedthe emotion behind why you're
doing it in the exhaustion.
And the joy because.
When you hit the top of a summitwhen you've been running for
like half an hour straight uphill, and you finally get to
that point where you're like, ohmy God, look at this.
Look what I've done.
Yeah, you're exhausted.
But you also have a twinkle anda smile in your eye.
(06:04):
And that is.
Incredible to be able to capturewhen you're photographing
people.
So.
Think about how you can tie inemotion.
Because when your audienceconnects with the genuine
emotions that you've captured inyour photo, they're transported
into the heart of thatadventure.
And really emotion is what isgoing to bind.
Your images together, whetherit's one photo with a deep,
(06:25):
impactful amount of.
Emotion in it.
Or the whole photo series whereyou're supposed to.
Feel the highs and the lows andthe triumphs and the sheer
exhaustion across an expedition.
It doesn't really matter.
Those emotions can conveyresilience and strength and
inspire viewers with.
That indomitable spirit of humanendeavor.
You also kind of invite youraudience to become active
(06:48):
participants in that story thatyou're telling.
And I really find this to betrue at places like the Banff
film Fest, where.
Yes, you're watching people dothese spectacular things.
But beyond that you're seeing.
That because they've done it.
You're starting to see what youcan do too.
And you're starting to envisionthe things that you can do as
well.
And that to me is what's sofascinating and so interesting
(07:11):
about including emotion in aphotograph.
Because when you capture thesegenuine emotions, You really
are.
Getting people to immersethemselves in the experience.
And inspiring them to dosomething like this for
themselves, or even go in andcapture images like this for
themselves.
So the next time that you'reout.
Think about how you can showyour own emotions in an image,
(07:32):
whether that's in a selfportrait.
A selfie.
Or any sort of other form, ifyou're with friends, capture
their feelings of emotion and itdoesn't have to just be.
You know, the broken down bitsof outdoor adventure.
There's also a ton of joy andjubilation and amazing other
pieces.
I think back to this photo ofJimmy Chinn and Alex Honnold at
the top of.
El cap after.
(07:53):
Alex Honnold has finished hisfree climb.
And.
Alex Honnold looks exhausted,but thrilled.
And Jimmy Chinn is hugging himfrom around the side and you can
see that he was bouncing up anddown and hugging his friend
because his friend was alive andhe'd finished this amazing feat.
And he was just so.
Thrilled.
To see his friend again, to seethat we was up there and that
(08:14):
photo just sits.
In a little part of my heart andI will always think about it
when I think about things in theoutdoors and that moment of pure
sheer joy that was up there.
I think.
Of all the amazing photos thatcame out of that expedition and
out of that.
Spectacular thing that AlexHonnold did.
That one at the top is one ofthe ones that sits with me.
(08:34):
Because of that emotion that'sin it.
So.
That is your magic ingredient inadventure photography.
That is what's going totransform.
Something from a prettyphotograph.
Into an unforgettable tale.
So next on our list iscomposition.
Now we all know what compositionmeans in terms of a
(08:56):
aesthetically pleasingphotograph, you have the rule of
thirds, framing, leading lines,the golden ratio, all those
sorts of fabulous things.
And you need those in.
Any sort of really goodphotograph, you need some sort
of really compellingcompetition.
But in storytelling terms,composition goes beyond just
(09:17):
those typical terms.
We're thinking of, we want tohave strategic placement of
elements.
That can lead your eye to yoursubject, to the most important
pieces.
You want to be able to have yoursubject be noticeable in.
A very chaotic environment thatcan be the mountains or a
forest, or a lot of places whereadventure takes place.
It can actually be reallydifficult to have your subject
(09:38):
pop out.
So you need to be really certainabout your composition to help
tell that story.
Let's think about taking a photoof somebody who's rock climbing.
A lot of the rock climbingphotos you'll see from people
are actually shot from belowshows the climbers, butt, and
they're going up the wall andhere's this big wall.
And if it's a pretty sunset oranother peaks around or
something, it can look reallycool.
(09:59):
But that doesn't really get intothe story of telling that image.
Really impactful climbingphotography typically comes from
above.
Or from the side, or even fromanother mountain top, depending
how you want to tell the story.
So let's say instead of beingbelow the climber, you get above
them.
And what this gives you a chanceto do is to show the scale of
(10:20):
the wall that they're on becauseall of a sudden, you're not
looking up at it.
You're looking back down at theground and how far that climber
has come up.
And you can really show thedistance that they are up in the
air.
You can also show the intensityon their face and you can show
like the veins and their musclesand everything popping and
pulling as they're working theirway up that wall.
And you can show even when theytry to clip into something or if
(10:40):
they have to jam a piece of gearinto the wall themselves, that's
going to hold on.
And you can get their eyes andyou can get them looking towards
that next bit of your objective,or you can get their hand
jumping towards the camera.
There's all sorts of othercompositional pieces you can
add.
Just by going from being belowthat climber.
To being above them.
That's because a well composedphotograph has the power to
captivate and really linger withyour viewer.
(11:03):
So take into account thosetypical compositional elements
that we all really want to seethe foreground elements in the
background elements and thepretty peaks and, and all those
kinds of things.
And then.
What's going to really make adifference is.
Picturing where your subject isgoing to be in that composition.
So one of the really powerfulpiece of advice I was told by an
adventure photographer, she wasa mountain biking photographer.
(11:25):
Was that she would envision.
A beautiful landscape shot.
And then she would put a cyclistinto that landscape shot and her
shots are.
Epic.
Ran into a briefly.
Honestly don't remember hername, but it was a beautiful
piece of advice.
And.
That comes back to me every timeI'm out.
Looking for a place to put asubject into an image.
(11:47):
So when you're building out thatcomposition, Don't just think,
oh, look how beautiful that is.
And forget about the mainsubject in that photograph in
that main subject.
Should be your climber should beyour hiker.
It should be.
Your person is in there.
Maybe it's the main peak.
You also have pizzas.
The landscape is the main peak,but don't get distracted by all
the other elements in thatscene.
Really show off that subject inthe best light that you possibly
(12:09):
can.
Which is a pretty good pun,because one of the best ways you
can compose a scene is usinglight to show off your subject.
Compositionally when you'relooking for where to place your
subject in a scene, includingthem.
In a light beam, including themat the end of a bit of light,
including them in the brightspot, in an image is going to be
the most impactful.
We are naturally drawn towardsthe bright spots of images.
(12:32):
And so if you have a light beampopping over a mountain and it
lands directly on your subject,that is a beautiful place to
place them.
Or if you're in a forest andyou're walking down a path and
there's a spot where there's aSunbeam.
Place them into that Sunbeam.
It's going to be where peopleare going to look for them.
It's going to be where it'sgoing to allow you to have them
pop out the best.
Obviously.
(12:53):
You might need to light theirfaces.
You might need to have somereflectors.
There's some other work thatmight have to go in depending on
the quality that light that'scoming in there at that point.
But that's going to really help.
Elevate your composition onceagain.
One of the ways you can changeyour composition is with color.
So we've talked a lot aboutcolor being really important on
this podcast.
I think we did this a coupleepisodes ago, so I'm not going
to really get into it, butespecially in the adventure
(13:14):
world, color plays a crucialrole in your storytelling.
Vibrant, bold colors, reallyconvey energy and excitement.
And they really help.
Have your subject pop offagainst what is typically a very
cool expanse, especially inmountain landscapes and forests
and other places like that,where reds and yellows and
oranges are really going to helphighlight where your subject is
(13:35):
in that scene.
And.
Kind of bring a sense of energyand vibrancy to that scene as
well.
They're also highly contracted,so you can see them pop out
against the shadows.
So.
It looks really, really goodwhen you pop people off in the
right colors.
Having somebody in a dark greenmight look really good in
person.
But honestly, in a forest,you're going to lose them.
(13:56):
It's not going to work reallywell.
So really when you're workingwith people, if they're models
or if they're just your friendsor anything like that, or if
you're just going out foryourself and you're gonna be
taking a lot of self portraits,Getting a bright colored coat
can making massive difference.
I went intentionally bought ayellow coat because it makes me
stand out in the photographswhen I include myself in them.
And I can throw it onto a modeland be like, here, we're going
(14:16):
to help you pop a little and ifthey fit it and it looks good on
them, that can really help bringyour composition together
because it's another element.
That you can add into the scene.
So.
Start with your typical.
Rules of composition.
Rule of thirds framing, all thatkind of good stuff.
Don't forget about simplifyingan image as well.
(14:37):
And this can be really difficultto do in the outdoors.
But the more complicated animages, the more likely you are
that you're going to lose yoursubject somewhere.
So if there are layers uponlayers upon layers upon layers,
upon layers of mountainousregions, and there's a valley
and a lake and all these otherpieces that in-person like, oh
my goodness, this is amazing andbeautiful.
(14:59):
And your climber, your hiker,your Mountaineer, whoever it is
is.
It's you know, maybe acentimeter big on that frame.
That's not helpful.
You can't see your subject inthat you can't see the story
that is going on in that moment.
So instead you want to eliminatesome of those pieces and really
simplify that composition, andyou can still show off some of
them.
But it's also important that yousee that human struggle that's
(15:22):
in there, that you see thatsubject that's telling that
story.
So composition.
It's a very critical piece ofthe storytelling.
And honestly, in my eyes, I feellike a lot of adventure
photographers that I talk to,especially myself.
We can do a lot more to simplifyour images, to help tell
stronger stories.
I find it really difficult towant to cut out even a small bit
(15:43):
of one of these turquoise lakesout here, or to maybe not
include that one more.
Mountain peak just off to theside, but by simplifying down
and by cropping in a littletighter or by zooming in a
little tighter, when you shoot.
Or just changing up thebackground.
That's behind somebody a littlebit.
That can dramatically enhanceyour story.
Alrighty the third element we'regoing to talk about today.
(16:05):
Timing.
Adventure photography is sooften about just seizing the
right moment.
Now timing in adventurephotography is about capturing
that definitive moment that kindof defines the essence of an
adventure.
It can freeze raw emotions.
That triumph at the summit thatwe've talked about or focus as
you're in the middle of a reallybeautiful climb or just moments
(16:25):
of laughter that Jimmy chin andAlex Honnold image, we've talked
about.
And it's these kind of fleeting.
Authentic moments that canreally bring together your
story.
And it could be a split secondof action too.
Mountain biker in the perfectmoment of midair.
The horseback rider flying pastyou, anything like that, that
can invite a viewer into yourimage, but it's not just about
(16:47):
having a high shutter speed whenyou're thinking about timing,
because that's all the examplesthat we've talked about there,
and that is critical.
You need that right moment tocapture something, but.
Your timing also needs to befocused on.
Telling the right part of thatstory at the right time.
And this is where a little bitof pre-planning can be huge to
be able to tell this storyproperly.
(17:07):
And so it's critical for you tobe prepared.
So looking at advanced to wherethe sun is going to be looking
at advance to.
What you're going to want toshoot and the storyboard that
you want to tell and buildingthat storyboard out in advance
that you're ready for thesekinds of moments to happen.
So when you're planning out thatshoot.
Think about those essentialmoments that you're going to
have to hit and you might haveto time it perfectly.
(17:30):
Let's say that you're capturinga race and you are one of just a
few photographers on that sceneand you have.
Four or five shots he need toget, which means that you have
to know exactly your times to beable to get from location, to
location, to location with allyour gear.
With the ability to captureeverything by the time you get
there.
And.
Not spending too much time andnot getting too lost and just
(17:52):
shooting the one thing that'sright in front of you.
So you need to work out yourtimes properly to be able to get
to each one of these locationsor.
You need to have your timingright so that you know that when
you're leaving and you want tocapture the sun, just cresting
over top of a mountain, or justabout to sink behind it.
That's a matter of.
Not even minutes, like maybe aminute, some days where that sun
(18:13):
is perfectly positioned on theedge of that mountain to cause
that sun flare.
You miss that you're done.
You miss that shot.
So your timing has to be.
Perfect.
You have to know exactly howlong it's going to take you to
get up that mountain or to skithere, to do whatever it is that
you're going to do to get thatshot.
But your timing has to be deadon.
So you need to get that down toa T and it's not just about
(18:34):
timing in your photographs.
Obviously we need that.
You need the right shutterspeed.
You need to click the shutter atthe right time or have the right
high drive mode on or whateverit's going to be.
Because that moment of, youknow, the mountain biker flying
through the air off a jump iscritical.
But your ability to get there ontime is critical as well.
And then beyond that.
Timing.
Isn't actually just about thelength of the shutter speed.
(18:56):
It's about telling the rightpart of that story.
So there are.
Amazing moments on pretty muchevery expedition, but not every
amazing moment helps tell thestory.
This is one of the things Ireally realized watching a bunch
of these films at the film Festthis week.
Was that.
Epic landscapes don'tnecessarily make the, be all
(19:17):
end.
All of a story.
It's that human connection andit's that achievement of an
objective.
And so if you miss your timingon that critical shot, where
this person has worked for yearsto get to this location, you
hiked for 16 days just to skidown one specific mountain.
And there was lots of otherbeautiful scenery shots and lots
(19:37):
of other beautiful moments, andall these other pieces that were
worked in there.
And.
You get to this critical momentand you miss your shot.
You're not there.
Your timing is off.
Anything goes wrong with yourtiming in this critical moment.
You've kind of missed the coreelement of your story.
And timing's not just about theshutter speed in this case, you
need to decide.
How your time is going to impactthe way you want to tell that
(20:01):
story because we can choose.
And the safe way to go about inmost situations is just a
freeze.
The action.
Don't risk.
Anything else.
Just freeze that person in midair, freeze them as they slide
down the mountain, whatever itis that they're doing.
But work with that high shutterspeed and then play with
everything else that you need toin there.
But you can also choose to maybeencapsulate that moment by
(20:22):
having a little bit of shutterspeed blur, having a little bit
of blur in your subject as theytake off running.
Or a little bit more movement inthe snow so that you can see the
depth of the powder that they'rein.
There are all sorts of differentways that your timing can be
used.
To enhance that storytellingmethod now.
Don't just choose to do this.
(20:42):
If you are working with anathlete who is expecting you to
tell a story for them.
Talk to them first, show themexamples of what you're planning
on doing.
Show them how your shutter speedis going to affect these various
pieces.
And you'll work to capture aphoto that feels like this,
especially if it's a one-shot.
If it's not, if you can get themto do it again, and they can do
it a few times over, you couldplay with top styles and timing
and all those sorts of pieces.
(21:04):
But if you have one shot atthis.
Really work that out with themin advance because your timing
in that sense is so perfect andso critical to the story.
All right.
And the fourth element we'regoing to talk about today is
your subject.
This can be your athlete.
This can be your model.
This can be a mountain range,whatever your subject is.
Honestly, your subject needs totell a compelling story.
(21:27):
And that is up to you as thephotographer.
There is also a bit on the modeland the athlete to have a
compelling story to tell, but ithas also really up to you as the
photographer to find thatcompelling story, to tell with
your subject.
They are the central character,the anchor that guides your
viewer through their narrative.
Whether that's your hikeragainst a rugged mountain
backdrop, the Explorer forgingthrough dense jungle.
(21:47):
Lone surfer, riding a wave,anything like that.
Your defined subject is.
Probably the most critical thingin telling a good story.
Because even in a single image,your viewers should connect.
With that subject.
They should feel drawn intothem.
They should feel an emotionalconnection to that subject.
(22:09):
And really your subject iswhatever you make that subject
to be.
It could be a beetle.
It could be your dog.
It could be a blade of grass forthat matter.
You just have to find a way tomake that subject your central
character.
And that's where all of yourother elements of this come into
being, that's where your timing.
Your composition.
(22:29):
Your emotional connection.
All of those come into beingwith your subject they'll are
centered around your subject.
So for me.
Especially when working withhuman subjects, I really like to
talk to them.
And if it's their story to tell,obviously you need to find out
how they want to tell thatstory.
What they're looking to say, howthey're looking to present
themselves.
(22:49):
But if it's your story thatyou're building into, if it's
your story that you're workingon and you're bringing people
into it, talk to them about howyou want to show that story off,
talk to them, how you want yoursubject to act and what you want
them to do.
And.
How you want them to be, you arethe guide in this situation.
You shouldn't be sitting backand just being like, oh, that's
great.
Do it.
You want.
No.
That's not going to tell yourstory, that's not going to
(23:11):
successfully show off a fabuloussubject.
What you need to do is guidethis situation.
Now, obviously.
If they are an athlete or ifthey are doing something
dangerous, safety is firstpriority.
Never put people in unsafesituations unless they are fully
up for it.
And they are fully prepared andyou are fully backed in.
You know, you know how to get toa hospital and get rescued and
(23:31):
all those other sorts of things.
Safety is priority.
Number one.
That will never change for me.
But when you can get out therewith that subject and they are
in agreement with what you'redoing and you can work through
them and you can guide themthrough this piece.
You can tell an amazing.
Story.
And one of the things I reallyfind about working with people
or animals.
Is that eyes really are thefirst real connection point to
(23:55):
telling a really powerful story.
So if you can include theperson's face and you can see
their eyes.
That's going to help draw peopleinto your subject a lot more.
We are drawn into the eyes ofanimals and into the eyes of
other people.
And we're going to feelconnected to them because of
them.
So use your subject's eyes todraw your people in, use your
subject in powerful situationsand in the right stances and
(24:17):
everything else, and guide themthrough that situation to really
help your viewer understand andconnect with your story.
Now the other couple of keythings about your subject is
that it is well-defined and it'sclear.
So often the outdoors is.
It's really easy to lose yoursubject.
To all the other amazing thingsthat are going on.
And so your subject needs to bevery, very clear.
(24:40):
You don't want your view of thatphotograph.
Guessing about what the subjectis in that image.
If there is even somewhat of adoubt.
About what the subject is.
You've either got to get rid ofthat image, or you've got to
strengthen that composition.
You've got to change somethingup there because your subject
should be very, verywell-defined.
All right.
The fifth and final element thatwe're going to talk about is the
(25:00):
setting.
Now, this is a pretty standardstorytelling element.
Your setting makes a hugedifference, but especially when
you're out doing some adventurephotography.
Because if you're, you know,taking photos of a raincoat and
it's a bright blue sunny day.
That's not going to really showoff that rain coat.
That's not going to make anysense whatsoever.
If you're taking photographs ofclimbers and they're.
(25:24):
Hiking the entire time and theydon't once climb.
That's not the right setting.
You need to put people in theright settings, in the right
locations, to be able to tellthe story that you want to tell.
It doesn't mean that youradventure stories have to take
place in the mountains or on theocean or in the desert or
anywhere like that.
I have seen a couple offantastic adventure stories that
(25:45):
are told.
Inside of cities.
There was a great one at Reelrock a few years ago that showed
off how climbing has exploded inurban centers and people who
have never seen rock before.
And the story was, was aboutshowing these rock climbers real
rock for the very first time,but they grew up climbing in
(26:06):
gyms.
They grew up climbing on thesides of buildings and in
playgrounds and anywhere theycould get their hands on to
climb, they did.
And so this story was abouttaking some of the world's best
gym climbers who had never, everseen or touched a mountain in
their entire lives and puttingthem in those settings.
That's a beautiful story.
And that is a perfect use oftwo.
(26:27):
Very, very different.
Settings.
So putting your story in theright setting.
Is critical to having peopleunderstand your story.
And this goes into the littledetails in your settings as
well.
Because if you're trying to talkabout like, This amazing back
country adventure, where you'reall out there and you're
surviving against the elementsand all these other kinds of
(26:49):
pieces.
And then.
You know, we can see a Starbuckssign up above the trees or
something.
That.
Destroys your story.
Obviously, that's not true withwhat you were doing.
So think about your setting,think about how you want your
subject interacting with setsetting and what you really need
to show to help tell your storyand how the setting can help do
(27:11):
that.
And this includes, if you'redoing something like a
documentary.
And you need headshots of yoursubject.
I have seen a few where they'vebeen out and they've been doing
these epic adventures and doingall these other kinds of things.
And then they did like acorporate headshot for them.
And it just was so incongruentwith the story that they told
that it really threw off thewhole photo essay.
(27:33):
Or if your videographer it, youknow, get some elements in the
background of like rock climbinghelmets or whatever adventure
that these people are on.
Don't just throw them into, youknow, a blank office sitting on
a couch or something, which Ihave seen.
And it, it actually does ruinthe story.
You're trying to tell.
So think about that setting.
Even when it comes to the basicimages and the basic photos
(27:56):
about how that setting is goingto help tell your story.
That's in there.
All right.
And that's it.
That's our five elements ofstorytelling and how you can use
them to help with your adventurephotography.
And.
What I would fully suggest isthat.
Take a listen to this, writesome of these down, come up with
your own ideas here.
And then.
(28:16):
The Banff film Fest has anonline portion to it.
Maybe go get a ticket to that,to watch some of these amazing
ones.
Go on Netflix or prime or anyone of the other streaming
services that you use and gofind a few outdoor
documentaries.
And watch how they use.
All of these pieces that we justtalked about in here.
To tell masterful stories or howthey missed pieces and you
(28:37):
noticed it and it really didn'thelp you enhance the
storytelling piece.
Because in the end, especiallyif you're an adventure
photographer.
You're a storyteller.
That's really what you are, evenif your art form.
It's just beautiful landscapes.
All of this still applies.
You still need that emotionalconnection for people to feel
it.
You still need to feel themdrawn and you still need a
subject in the right setting.
(28:58):
And fantastic composition.
All of this still applies, evenif you just want to create
landscape art.
Let's go.
Play with some of these ideas,write some things down for
yourself, and you'll find thatthe more you think about this
and the more that you thinkabout this while you're creating
images.
The easier it's going to becometo see stories in the world.
Thank you so much for comingalong on this journey.
(29:19):
I'd love to hear your feedback,but the episode or anything else
that you'd love to learn about.
Reach out to me on Instagram atRobert Massey photography.
Find stuff on my website atrobertmasseyphotography.ca and
get out there and explore thisbig.
Beautiful world of ours.
All right.
Bye for now.
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