Visual Storytelling – Workshop with Joe Aguirre

Well, what should I write about the "Visual Storytelling" workshop, where there is - at first - nothing to see? The very worthwhile workshop with Joe Aguirre from San Francisco aimed to sequence series of images in a meaningful way. The result could be a magazine or small book project. Printing something like that is obviously not something that can be done in a weekend. Each participant was asked to bring around 200 printed images with them. These were then selected by Joe and sorted together according to certain criteria. Each participant had full control over their personal work at all times. At the end of the workshop, everyone now has a project that they can show as a picture story at some point.

During the workshop in Berlin, Joe managed to propose constructive suggestions for everyone to develop the story. At first it seemed impossible to me given the very different projects - from nude to street - everything was there - but he did it! He addressed the different stages of development individually. Everything he said had meaning. At all times I had the feeling that he knew what he was talking about. Really very remarkable and worth every cent this workshop cost.

To give you a rough idea of ​​the two days, I brought a video. During the workshop I kept running the camera while listening. Because of the limited luggage that I wanted to lug to Berlin for the two days, I didn't use a proper microphone, but rather the one built into the camera. I hope you forgive me.

I find myself at a good level when it comes to selecting images from a larger series. After all, I have the pleasure of taking a large number of photos almost every other weekend at Millerntor, in order to then show the important images here in the blog. I also hone this art for my customers at other events. Nevertheless, I sat down to work on my photos from the Nepal trip that I did with Viva con Agua at the end of 2016 until the “Visual Storytelling” workshop and did not put them in a harmonious order. VcA has long since taken the images that are important to her and They also use them in many different ways. As is well known, individual works also hang in a Hamburg hotelBut how can I use the photos I took “on the side” during the trip? That was my motivation for taking part in the workshop. Apart from that, I have been following Joe Aguirre for a long time and likes his style and work.

Steps for “Visual Storytelling”:

A few simple steps will help you to put your story in a good order. It starts with a wide-angle shot of the scenery. Then you should show who it is about. This is followed by the activity that plays a role in the story. A summary and an ending complete the story. Everything is logical and difficult to implement in detail. It is always important to arouse the viewer's emotions and to get to the point of the story. "All killer, no filler!" is a direction that should be taken into account when selecting the images required.

It is also helpful to be able to tell the story without many more explanatory words. And - very important: if you want to tell the story more fully, you need more time to photograph it.

Conclusion of the “Visual Storytelling” workshop:

Participation was absolutely worth it for me. With Joe's help I managed to put my Nepal pictures in an order worth seeing. I wouldn't have thought that was possible before. Now I just have to see how I can implement the many recommendations. And the workshop and Joe's input also created a lot of good incentives for my future work.

Of course, I can recommend following the other participants, because they will certainly implement their great projects soon: Sven (thanks also for organizing the workshop), Pedro (NSFW), Frederik, Giulia and J.

In my opinion, Joe Aguirre's special way of dealing with people and finding motivating words can be clearly seen in two sentences that he said to me over the two days:

"There are some pictures that I would have liked to have taken myself. But if you only take such pictures in faraway countries and not in Hamburg, you are just a tourist - and not a photographer."

Joe Aguirre having a final coffee session with photo equipment

Joe Aguirre having a final coffee session with photo equipment