Simply put, a photo essay is a way of telling a story through a series of photographs, by
one photographer, and may be as little as three or four images or as many as 20-30 or even
more. A picture story, on the other hand, is usually a series of photographs by two or more
photographers.
The images in a photo essay are ordered in a specific way, often chronologically or as a
series, with the aim of engaging the viewer’s emotions as well as their mind. Captions
may be used to help the audience understand the individual images but the text is always
subordinate to the pictures. In other words, the images do not illustrate the text, the text
supports the images.
The sequencing of a photo essay is often, but not always, ordered in such a way that a
narrative evolves, much the same way as a narrative in a spoken or written story evolves.
Documentary photographers and photojournalists often use the photo essay to show how
events have unfolded, to convey strong emotions and engage the viewer in interesting
concepts. James Nachtwey, Mary Ellen Mark, Sebastião Salgado and Peter Magubane are
documentary photographers who have all used the photo essay to great effect.
So try to think of the photo essay as being something like a theatre piece. The images have
actors and a setting in which events unfold. As the photographer, you are the director and
can choose which actors you want in your story, which scenes you want include, and how
you will arrange them. The choices you can make are limitless.
Example of my essay work : www.wix.com/donalhusni/photostory
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