The Artist Unleashed: PHOTO IMPACT: USING IMAGES FOR WRITING by DG Hudson

Which comes first, the photograph or the writing?

For blogposts or articles, photographs can start the ideas flowing.  For my fiction writing, the words comes first, the photos inspire. This post explores how to use an image to enhance your writing and a few pointers on creating the image.


Capturing the Image

Develop a camera eye, the ability to spot interesting subject matter. Wait for the tour groups in a crowded venue to pass before taking your photo, and don't stand in front of the monument (unless it's for your family). 

With fewer people in any location photographs, there are more possibilities for use.   Take several shots of important subjects, at different distances and exposures.  It's much easier with digital cameras.  Taking multiple shots gives you a wider choice.


Three important factors to consider when framing an image:

• composition
• light
• clarity or sharpness

The sphinx in the photo below illustrates all three.

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Egyptian Antiquities, Louvre Museum, Paris by DG Hudson

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Themes and Photo studies

Photographs can be combined for great effect when you determine the common thread.  Look for:

• A pattern (chimney pots on rooftops, statues in a row, multiple bridges)
• Different versions of similar things (architecture, museums, bistros)
• A specific subject with many views (Eiffel tower, Monet's Garden, Versailles )

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A Soaring Eiffel Tower, by DG Hudson

Using the Image

The first photo in a post or an article is a visual hook and important for conveying an idea of your text content. Photo studies can be used to highlight a specific subject.  Include long shots, wide angle shots and closeups when creating a study of any subject.

Insert photos between blocks of text and identify blocks of photos with captions.  This provides a break for the reader.  A setting in a photo can provide a stimulus for description and dialogue. Take your camera with you. Everywhere. Take a backup camera when on vacation, in case of a mishap.  

For examples of most of the points I've mentioned here, refer to Paris Posts, a collection of posts about the city and what to do there, or Paris Etc, 26 posts about people, film, art and locations relating to Paris, France (created during the A to Z April Blogging Challenge 2012).

  

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Images can capture today what might be gone tomorrow, so take those photos sooner rather than later.   Oscar Wilde’s tomb was half covered on all four sides in kisses and signatures, when we visited the site in Pere Lachaise Cemetery.  About a year later, descendants of Oscar Wilde had the tomb cleaned and covered with glass to protect the surface.  I’ll have proof that it used to be different.  A frozen moment.  Thanks, Jessica, for the invite to guest post.

How do you use photos with your writing, especially blogging? Do you prefer more text and fewer images?  Do you use photos to capture the image of your characters in your novels?  Please share in the comments.

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BIO:

DG Hudson writes science fiction and mystery from the west coast, in Vancouver, B.C., Canada.  She maintains two blogs, with lots of photography.

Blogs:
D.G. Hudson - Rainforest Writing
D.G. Hudson - 21st Century Journal

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