What is Visual Storytelling?
Photographer and designer Marioly Vázquez explains why visual storytelling is the best branding ally you can find
Social networks were designed to make people connect to each other, but, according to Marioly Vázquez (@cestmaria), the way we use them now can often make us feel more isolated. In this context, how can you get your personal project or brand to truly connect with the audience?
Marioly, an expert in creating creative online content, has the answer.
Find out what visual storytelling is, how to build your brand, and how to create deep connections with your followers using this technique.
What is visual storytelling?
Visual storytelling means telling stories through images. If you are into photography, you may know it as a photo essay, a narrative the photographer can infuse in a selection of pictures.
However, you don't need to be an expert photographer to achieve good visual storytelling. Using just your mobile phone, you can capture powerful moments to share on social networks.
How can storytelling help you promote your personal brand?
If you open your Instagram feed right now, you will see an ocean of continuously updated images and videos. To make your pictures stand out, your secret weapon will be empathy, through which you will connect with your audience.
To connect with your audience, you must learn to develop your own style and narratives, to tell your stories naturally.
You don't have to create a complete narrative in each of the photos in your feed. Think of the whole set as your entire narrative, representing you, your product, or your idea. Every image you upload will be like a chapter of your story.
Let's return for a moment to a photo essay concept, which you can find in many magazines. When you look at one, it's easy to see that each photograph is part of a bigger story. Likewise, every photo you share must be beautiful in itself, but looking at them together, they will be more powerful.
How to build your own visual storytelling
When defining the narrative of your photos, try to answer these questions so that each image has an intention:
- What's happening?
- Where does it happen?
- Who is involved?
By clearly answering the questions in your images, clarity and coherence are achieved for both you and your viewer.
Marioly shares a very clear example: imagine that the story you want to tell is that of a trip you made to see a beautiful sunset. The first photograph you will show will not be the sunset photograph. You will build up to get to that moment. That way, you'll offer a context for the viewer to better appreciate that sunset picture.
Some examples of visual storytelling
A Finnish photographer who portrays aspects of everyday life with an editorial sensibility. Notice how he uses wide shots to show the entire context and then closed ones to appreciate the details.
She also points out that his photos are edited in the same style, so they feel coherent and part of a whole.
Béatrice is a food stylist and photographer, and her love of food inspired her to tell the stories behind different recipes. Her work features the cooking process's different steps, from the collection of the ingredients to the finished dish.
If you want to learn more, sign up for Marioly's Domestika course Visual Storytelling for your Personal Brand on Instagram, and develop a visual strategy to create a narrative that attracts and connects.
English version by @angeljimenez.
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