An introduction to Narrative Imagery.

Narrative imagery is visual storytelling. The artist has to be able to tell their story to the viewers with only one image. This image will include various elements in mind to help them achieve this. These elements are:

PLOT
CHARACTER
SUBJECT
THEME


With the above subjects in mind the artist would take other factors into consideration such as;


Models/Subjects
Gestures/Body Language
Clothes on subject
Colours/Tones
Compositions (negative space creates an isolated atmosphere)
Location
Weather
Signifiers/Signified
Objects (machinery=strength, rose flower=love, birds-mockingbird=recognition, finding your soul)

So in a nutshell, narrative images use semiotics to tell the story

The Philosopher/scientist Charles Peirce put signs into the categories below:

• ICONIC 
• SYMBOLIC
• INDEXICAL

ICONIC: Holds the shape/form of what it actually is (portraits, documentary, product)

Starving child in Sudan 1993

SYMBOLIC: These do not look like what they are representing but a widely known and used. (traffic lights, flags etc)

Peace

INDEXICAL: Refers to the physical relationship between the object photographed and the resulting image (wiki) (smoke=fire, thermometer=temperature, clock=time)

Proposal

Below is a list of genres of photography that use narrative:

•Tableau or staged
•Photo essays
•Documentary
•Photojournalism
•Fashion
•Advertising/Commercial

In general, narrative is catagorised in many different genres such as:

•History
•Film noir
•Moral or fable
•Real world
•Fantasy or sci-fi
•Comedy
•Biography
•Romance
•Crime
•Horror
•Action
•Thriller
•Diary