Michael Stern and Storytelling in Commercial Photography

Blogging about your street photography carries with it some huge benefits. You’ll see traffic to your website increase and you’ll notice the people who come stay longer as they get to know your work on a new level. In a world flooded with street photography images, writing about your photography will make your images stand out as unique. Your images will carry more weight as you shed light on the stories they contain, regardless of whether the story is about yourself or your subjects. Best of all, writing about your work can help you gain clarity when it comes to your goals as a street photographer and the message you hope to transmit to others.

But the million dollar question Bob and I hear all the time is, “How? How can I write about my images if I’m not a writer?” It’s an excellent question and a reasonable one too. Most photographers are more interested in visual creativity than that of the written kind. But the thread that may very well connect all creatives is storytelling, and this is where words can really add something special to the way you share your photographic work.

Blogging about your photography doesn’t have to be complicated or time consuming.

In this episode of the SPM podcast, Bob and I discuss how to write. We break it down into a step-by-step process and show you that writing doesn’t have to be intimidating. We even go over quite a few writing prompts to help you get those creative juices flowing and find your inner writer. To make them easier to use we’re including them right here in this post for easy access. Remember, your words are valuable. Write about who or what inspires you, tell a story, explain your techniques, describe your challenges, celebrate your successes – the sky is the limit!

Writing Prompts for Street Photographers

• What was happening at the time you took the photo (the back story)?
• What captured your attention?
• How much did you work the scene (about how many frames did you take) and why did you choose this particular photo as your favorite?
• What challenges (personally or photographically) did you face on the street? How did you overcome them?
• How did the people you met while shooting affect you?
• What did you learn from any give experience on the street? What might you do differently?
• How did you feel while shooting and afterwards?
• How did an image or moment affect you externally and/or internally both in positive and negative ways?
• Why did you choose to create a series of images or work on a specific project?
• Who or what inspires you to do street photography? What photographers, painters, writers, etc. inspire you as you create your images?
• What has street photography taught you?

Keep this list on hand as you think about what images you will publish on your blog. And feel free to add your own prompts questions to the list too!

Usually we wish you happy shooting, but this time, we’ll wish you happy writing! As always, feel free to get in touch with any challenges you are facing or other tips that have helped you write about your work. We are always happy to hear from you and to get your feedback. And be sure to listen in to this podcast for more tips on how to create written content to accompany your images. We’ve prepared some practical, easy to use advice that will help you to succeed at writing – even if you’ve never tried writing before.