Meri Walker Joins TheAppWhisperer As Co-Editor of Mobile Photo Essays Column

Meri Aaron Walker (iPhoneArtGirl) has taught art photography and photojournalism for over four decades. She has received over 50 awards and grants in the US and Europe and her work is included in numerous private and public collections. For the last five years, Walker has worked solely with mobile technologies and with programs which allows to adapt traditional photography to the new tools of mobile devices. Walker has two websites and she is a member of New Era Museum She also served as a juror for the Florence International Photography Awards. in 2015, and she was the sole juror of the Cell Phone IV Show for the Texas Photographic Society; most recently she was a member of the MIRA Mobile Prize 2016 Jury.

If your photo essay is demonstrating how something is created (literal or not) from beginning to end then this is a good format. It could be the creation of an art painting, or something like an arrest – both are relevant.

This does not have to be ‘real time’ it can be implied but you can use time to structure your essay.

Sometimes it might be more appropriate to pick out highlights, this offers an alternative to a structureless essay. Examples of this could include a natural disaster or the death of a public figure. News organisations quite often use this technique and also use a number of photographers and perhaps more commonly now, citizen journalists at the scene to provide content.

A photo that summaries the entire issue and illustrates essential elements of the story. This might be a photo of woman — maybe your main character.

A wide-angle shot to establish the scene.The idea of the establishing shot is this: When you do a photo story you are taking your viewers on a journey. You need to give them a sense of where they are going, an image that allows them to understand the rest of the story in context.

A detail shot to highlight a specific element of the story. Close-up, sometimes called detail shots, don’t carry a lot of narrative. Meaning, they often don’t do a lot to inform the viewer on a literal level but they do a great deal to dramatize a story.

This can be either a tight head shot or a more environment portrait in a context relevant to the story. As mentioned above, photo essays are built around characters. You need to have good portrait that introduces the viewers to the character.

Focuses on the subject in a group during an activity. Images of your character interacting with others — all helps give a human dimension to your character.

This is photo or group of photos that offer a how-to about some specific element of the story or process.

A photo that can be used to close the story, one that says “the end.”

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