A photo essay is a unique assignment, as pictures are known for being able to say 1,000 words. Adding your own text, however, can help guide the readers and viewers to better understand the tone, direction, and story you were looking to tell with your photographs.
I chose to make my photo essay about my grandmother, and all of the adventures we used to go on with her. It was a very heartwarming experience because I got to revisit some places I have not been to in a while, while taking my camera and capturing images in a more compositionally fascinating way than any family photo can be.
The images were planned out in advance and I knew what images I wanted to take and in which order. This made the writing portion easier because I knew I wanted to use each image as its own story, while also finding a way to transition from one story to another.
The photos I took matched quite well with the text that I laid underneath them, and overall the story I created with my pictures and text made me believe that anyone who reads this will instantly think of memories they’ve had with their family members.
Most of the photos I take are simply to have visually appealing pictures in my portfolio and to be shown in gallery form. This assignment took my photography skills in a new direction because I was deliberately taking less photos to get the right photo, while also finding ways to link the photos together in a way that could tell not only a meaningful story for me, but a meaningful story for anyone else who reads it.
Gabe Walerysiak 