What kind of story are you telling as a photographer? Please watch the above video and share your thoughts below in the comments.

This experiment was recently posted and I wanted to create some dialogue and discuss how we can grow and learn. The pictures we create have the opportunity to share with the world amazing stories.

This video had several photographers shoot one subject. Each photographer was given 10 minutes and a story about who their subject was. Their goal was to create a portrait of the man they were taking a picture of. What the photographers didn’t know is that each photographer was given a different story about who this man indeed was. In the end, the portraits created each told a different and beautiful story.

In watching this video a few thoughts came to mind regarding the process. They (the photographers) were doing what good photographers do and tell a story. I think it’s a teaching moment that having different outcomes is a good thing. The photographers that were featured here did what I hope all photographers do when telling a story. One photographer even asked the subject what he was looking for and wanted to convey in his portrait.

I feel this video shows the responsibility photographers have. We have much more power than we feel and often utlize. It’s up to us to tell that story and bring it to life. I would have loved to have seen all the photographers told the same story to prove that even with the same story we would have seen a different portrait from each photographer. I feel that would have made a stronger point to show how important it is to choose a photographer based on who you are as a person and how you connect with that photographer. It would also show that as artists we all have our unique way of telling stories.

In the end, each image had such a different feeling, a different meaning and a different story. It’s a beautiful resource and responsibility we have as photographers. When we tell a story, everyone wins.

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