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Photo Essay
An essay means (in French), an “attempt”. A photo essay is attempting to tell a story or show a certain perspective of something through photographs!
For example my upcoming print book, SUITS is a photo essay — an attempt to critique the corporate prison of the “golden handcuffs”. I wanted the SUITS photo essay to encourage people:
Break free from your golden handcuffs, and exit the rat race!
Of course SUITS is ultimately just an essay, an attempt.
The philosopher Montaigne wrote essays for his entire life, “attempting” to seek greater truth and wisdom in philosophy. Even my favorite contemporary philosopher (Nassim Taleb) refers to himself as a full-time “essayist”.
This means as a photographer, whenever you make a photo project or essay, you’re making an attempt–an “assay” to seek some deeper truth about life through your photos!
I intend SUITS to be my lifelong project, a series of attempts to find some deeper truth about the intersection of money, happiness, freedom, and the “good life”. I’ll keep shooting SUITS probably until I die!
As for you friend, I encourage you to start your own photo project, or photo essay.
Choose a concept or idea which is important and personally significant to you. Pursue this project with all your heart and soul. Don’t you give up, and also make sure, enjoy the process!
Tips
- Just shoot a lot in the streets. Figure out the essay as you go.
- There’s no perfection in a photo essay. Every time you click the shutter, it is an “attempt”. Therefore don’t get discouraged or demotivated when you shoot an entire day without any results.
- Study the great photo essays of the past, like “Vietnam inc.” by Philip Jones Griffiths; one of the most beautiful projects done for the sake of humanity.
JUST SHOOT IT!
ERIC