There’s a lot of communicating happening in photography.

Photos are constantly expressing ideas, saying things and bringing thoughts to our attention.

The power of visual communication is what surprised me the most after I got deeper into photography.

At first I was drawn to photography for the simple fun of creating interesting images.

But when I learned that photos can be used to voice ideas and concepts, that's when I fell in love with photography all the more.

So how do we “talk” through photos?

Let’s look at some examples through architecture photos.

Quick tip: To compile these photos, I did a search for "building" in my Lightroom Mobile catalog:

Quick tip, continued: That's the quickest way to find specific photos if you've got thousands of photos in Lightroom, like me.

Look at this first photo example below. How is this photo "talking"?:

Photo 1 was captured on a foggy day, the building is towering high above the camera. What feelings is it conveying? What message is it communicating?

Do you sense a feeling of dread? Of overwhelm? Or perhaps simple sadness?

Let's look at this next photo example:

Photo 2: Notice the weather is different. Notice the angle is different. How is this photo communicating differently than the first photo?

The building looks smaller, less imposing.

The movement in the environment around the building gives a different mood. We see context, we start seeing the building from a different perspective.

The emotion feels lighter, more energetic, hopeful even.

Let's look at a third photo example:

How is Photo 3 "talking"?

The sky is now helping us look at the building differently. There's a playfulness to it.

The angle makes the building look strong, important. Yet the clouds are adding softness.

What is this photo telling us that the previous two photos weren't?

Finally, let's look at a 4th example:

This photo is talking to us in yet another way. The weather is creating a barrier. The building is hard to see. There's disconnect, mystery.

This photo is communicating a different feel.

Notice how each photo was captured in a very distinct way? It was intentional.

The intention was to communicate an emotion, a message, a tone.

These aren't just photos of buildings. They're messages created by a photographer using angles, lighting, weather and even editing.

When you take a photo, your subject isn't just "talking" on its own.

---> You're helping shape its message by how you take the photo.

This is the difference between someone who takes photos, and someone who communicates visually.

You've got a lot of power with your camera and you can communicate messages without ever writing a single word.

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Unlock the power of your phone camera and your creative voice at my next photography workshops.​

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Hi I'm Gabrielle. I run a full time photography business in Winnipeg, specializing in portrait and commercial photography. This newsletter started with my passion for helping everyday people realize their full photography potential. With a bit of technical and creative help, you too can take better photos with the phone camera you already have.

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Gabrielle Touchette Photography

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