In my last post, I talked about learning to critique your own photographs. And, I promised to share an exercise that I’ve been doing that can help us begin to express our experience.
In Chapter 10 of Sean Kernan’s book, Looking into the Light, he talks about asking students in his workshops to respond to images (their own or others) with just one word. He then chooses the words that come closest to the subtle essence of the image and they discuss further.
I’ve been doing this with some of my photographs recently and am posting them on Instagram with the tag #onewordphotos. Note: I use the “Quick” app to do this but there are certainly many others that can do the same thing (tell me which apps you use to add words to images). I find that it’s good to go with the first word that comes into my consciousness. This is usually the word that comes closest to what I felt.
The photograph above is one of my favourites. Whimsy means playful, quaint, or fanciful. To me, the curved stems randomly surround the big, colourful leaf, almost as if they’re dancing. It’s like one last party before winter arrives and the large leaf is just shining. Here are a few more examples below (the one, bottom right, should just say “alive”).
You can then explore the word and image further through journaling. What does the word mean to you (especially in the context of the image)? Elaborate. How does it express your experience of the moment? How does it express something in your life right now?
Try it yourself, and please post your images to Instagram or Flickr and tag with #onewordphotos.
Remember that you can do this with any visual image, not just your own – a painting at the art gallery, an image posted on Flickr or Facebook, or your kids’ artwork. It will help you tap into the emotional energy you felt at the time.
Learn more about a visual journaling workshop with me and Sally Gentle Drew at this page.
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What a wonderful idea, to put just one word which comes to mind as soon as we look at an image. I love that idea! I do love your ‘whimsy’ photograph!
Love this idea! I have an inspiration folder for my special photos. I think I’ll go there and see what words I can come up with!
I liked seeing your one-word images – getting a better idea your emotional reaction to each photograph. I have a hard time with exercises like this – they remind me of a test and I’m afraid I will get the answer wrong. Completely illogical since there is no wrong answer but still…
Brenda, I find that so interesting that it comes across as a test to you. No one word will fully describe an image. This is just one way to get to the heart of the image for you and you alone.
Oh my goodness. I love this idea! I used a similar idea in the past as a way to choose + name prints for my Etsy shop; I chose qualities and selected the image I thought best fit each quality. But this feels different and I want to play with it. Thank you, thank you, for the inspiration.
I am so happy to be in a Group with you again. Can’t wait for the class to start. The idea above about using one word to describe is wonderful and so are you. Thanks for sharing.