Details, the Fabric of our Lives by Angie Mahlke
Hello, I am Angie.
I am a wife and a stay-at-home-mom to three unruly kids. I have lived in rural Minnesota all my life, where there are more cows than people. My love of photography can be dated back to the days where we had to buy rolls of film with 24 frames and then mail them in to be developed. There was something so fun and exciting about getting the images back after weeks—or months, depending on how long it took you to finish the roll—of anticipation. Then my love of photography transformed in high school and college when I took a few black and white film photography classes.
Fast forward a good decade to my 30th birthday, hugely pregnant with my second child, when I received my first DSLR camera—a Canon Rebel with a kit lens. I’ve spent many years learning and growing and developing my style, but those first photos I took of my boys on auto mode when I knew next to nothing are still some of my favorites. No matter the fancy gear we obtain and the hours and hours of time devoted to learning, the thing that will always matter the most is the answer to the question, “Why?”
Why do I pick up my camera? Why do I snap our days away? Why is it so important to me to document all the little things in our days? Because I don’t want to forget. Because I know the memories fade. Because I love the way a photograph can transport me back to yesterday. Because I love taking a moment I see everyday and making it beautiful. Because the art of photography feeds a part of me that needs filling. Because I love it.
My “why” is wrapped up in the need to document and the need to create. Why can’t they coexist?
Details, the fabric of our lives.
My very favorite thing in photography is storytelling. I like to tell a story with a single image. Most of the time my photos are authentic. I will capture the moment as it is happening. Other times I will have an idea in my mind of the story I want to tell and how I want to tell it. Then I set about executing the idea. Both ways have one thing in common: the telling of the story.
How do you successfully tell a story? With details, my friends. With details.
The details are the most important part of any storytelling image. They set up the scene, provide context, move the story along, evoke emotions. Details are the beginning, middle and end of every story.
Oftentimes when we think of details in photography, we think of the closeup images of hands and feet and hair. Those are rich with storytelling, too, and I will come back around to those. But, first, I want to dive into storytelling details.
Whether you are a documentarian (capture a scene with no interference) or a conceptual storyteller (set up an image with planning) or somewhere in between, the same ideas apply. You want to be conscious of what you include and exclude from the frame—the details. What you exclude can be as important as what you include. You are using the details of the scene to tell the story.
Here are some things to consider:
-setting
-composition
-light
-camera settings
If you are a true documentarian, the setting will be out of your control. You’re simply where you are when the moment occurs. Use the location to your advantage. Is it essential to the story? If so, include a lot of it in the frame. If it deters from the story, crop in tight to exclude any distractions. If you are in the midst of planning the image, consider what setting would best tell the story.
Let’s say the story you want to tell is the daily ritual of doing your daughter’s hair. The documentarian would choose the setting where the ritual takes place (perhaps a bathroom), but the conceptual storyteller may choose a different location if the original one is too cramped or too dark. There’s no right or wrong way. It’s a personal style preference.
Composition may be the most important thing to consider. There are so many ways to compose a photo. You can approach the shot technically, using the rule of thirds or any other various techniques. You can throw technique out the window and take a more creative approach. If you are able, I would highly encourage you to move around as much as you can to practice capturing the moment with multiple different compositions. Get up high, get down low, use leading lines, incorporate layering, use natural objects within the scene for framing, etc. Exhaust all possible options.
Then study the images afterwards. What worked? What didn’t work? Why? Being critical of our own work is essential to growth. This is different than being negative and chastising ourselves. That is actually detrimental to growth. When we can see our own work with a critical—but loving—eye, then we are opening so many doors.
Light plays such a big part in all areas of photography. It sets the mood, it highlights important areas, it guides the eye. Learning how to use light is as important as how to compose a photo.
What camera settings you use is completely preferential. Some like a shallow depth of field, which yields certain results, specifically if you want to really zone in on a specific detail. Some like the whole scene to be in focus, instead depending on compositional factors to help guide the eye and further the story along. And some let the story determine the settings.
The telling
So how do we use details to tell a story? First think about what you want to tell. Maybe it’s the ratty old blankey your daughter carries around. One way to approach this is to follow her around with your camera and capture it as many different ways as you can. Another way is first brainstorm how you want to record this. Do you want to document her clutching the blanket during an ordinary moment, such as playing with cars or reading a book or walking into a store—an authentic everyday scene? Or would you rather focus on your child and the lovey with minimal distractions by setting up a scene (makeshift backgrounds are easy enough if you don’t have studio equipment) where you can take a simple yet emotive portrait of a girl and her blankey?
Maybe the story isn’t centered around such a tangible detail as a worn lovey. Maybe it’s more of a scene, like the chaos of homework time. In this example, you will want to think about composition. How can you frame the photo to best convey the moment? Maybe it’s by backing up and including as much of the room as possible: the backpacks ripped open and folders leaking papers onto the table, kids half on, half off chairs, snacks strewn about, hands raking through hair in frustration—the frenzied feeling of contained energy about to spill out.
These types of images have the high likelihood of becoming a cluttered mess of too much stimuli. Use leading lines to guide the eye, framing to stress importance, layering to add depth and break up the frame into more easily digested fragments, and light and shadows to highlight important information.
The smallest of details
Now, finally, let’s revisit the subject of closeup details. You know, the big baby yawns, the teeny feet, the messy hair—all the things we typically think of when shooting details.
Creative crops are a great way to showcase these more focused details. Instead of including the whole face, crop the face in half. Instead of showing the whole body, crop to show only the feet. Remember to be mindful of the general limb cropping rules when doing this, though, to make it more pleasing to the eyes. (The general rule is to avoid cropping at the limbs and joints.)
A shallow depth of field is another way to zone in on the small details. Shoot wide open (aperture of f/1.8-2.8, for example) and allow the creative blur to aid in the storytelling. Maybe it’s the way your son’s hair curls at his neck. Focus on a clump of curls and shoot away. Everything but those curls will be out of focus. Maybe it’s the bouquet of dandelions your daughter picked for you. Focus on the flowers in her hands and watch as the background disappears in a creamy yumminess.
Being mindful of your composition is equally as important in these closeup details as they are in storytelling ones. Using a top down perspective is almost always a successful way of shooting details, as in the example of shooting the dandelions in your daughter’s hands. Think back to the homework scene example above. Instead of capturing the whole scene, get up on the table and shoot down on your child hunched over a worksheet, pencil scribbling across the paper. And let’s also revisit the blankey example. Get up close and personal with your daughter’s hand gripping the worn fabric.
Consider the use of light as well. Maybe you want to remember how your baby always gets his foot caught in the crib slat while sleeping, so you open the curtain enough at nap time to highlight the foot. Be sure to include some of the crib for context but allow the rest to fall into shadow.
Whether you’re a documentarian or a conceptual storyteller, whether you gravitate toward portraiture or still life, details are an immensely important part of all genres of photography. Knowing how to use them or how to highlight them is the key to improving all areas of your art.
I know I just skimmed the surface of this subject, but I hope you found it helpful. If you'd like to dive into details further, I have a course available through the Hello Storyteller Academy.
Please let me know if you have any questions. Thank you!