ABSTRACT
A photo essay is basically a story told through photographs. Like any story there needs to be a structure, otherwise it might collapse under the weight of its own confusion. Establishing shots are the images that introduce the viewer to a photo essay. Travel magazines often start a feature with a double page spread that bleeds (borderless) off the page. Time of day of course also comes into play when doing overview establishing shots on terra firma. Cityscapes, landscapes, buildings, and monuments are all subject matters that are typically photographed using ambient light. Two key elements to concentrate on are how to create strong "eyes are the window to the soul" portraits and the equally powerful "environmental portrait". The most common mistake is to plant the person's face in the middle of the frame leaving a lot of dead space at the top.
