Imagination and Visual Narrative

Grade levels:
9 - 12

Duration:
Minimum one 45-minute classroom period

What tools do you need to create deeper, stronger, more complex and layered visual narratives? You can communicate details and sense words to bring the reader along on an immersive journey. With photography, the medium is more suited to “showing” than “telling.” However, there is still much to be gained from traditional story structures and imaginative narrative writing techniques. A good story can stimulate you to add dimension and detail to your photography and to approach it with planning and intention.

The lesson begins by brainstorming and defining the elements of narrative fiction. We will discuss how the traditional elements of narrative fiction can be found in photography, using examples from the Getty collection. Following discussions of the single photograph and the photo series, you will explore imaginative narratives and practice turning them into visual storyboards.

Vocabulary

Climax

The peak of a story; the main event in which the main character faces the problem or conflict.
Detail

A word, phrase or sentence that is unique and memorable. Good details activate the senses, to help the reader see, hear, smell, touch or taste what’s being described. A detail can convey information about any element of a story, and ideally supports the theme as well.
Events

The key things that happen in a story. Events should proceed logically from each other to provide a clear beginning, middle, and end.
Genre

Categories of literature in both fiction and non-fiction, based on the type and purpose of writing. Examples in narrative fiction include poetry, prose and drama. Sub-genres include literary fiction; epics, fables and fairy tales; mystery, crime, horror, thriller and suspense; historical fiction; romance; Westerns; and science fiction and fantasy.
Narrative Fiction

A sequence of connected, imaginary events; a story.
Pacing

Classic story structure begins with an inciting event, followed by rising action, a crisis, a climax, and resolution.
Point of View

Who tells the story; and how they convey the story events. Conventional points of view are first person (“I”) and third person or omniscient (“S/He” “They”).
Problem

The conflict that is central to a story. Conflicts are typically internal (character vs. self) or external (character vs. outside forces).
Resolution

The conclusion of a story’s plot; in which questions are answered and loose ends are tied up.
Sequence

A sequence of photographs is intended to be viewed in a particular order. To build the story, the viewer begins with the first image and continues in the order prescribed by the artist.
Series

In contrast to a sequence, a series denotes multiple images related by a theme or idea, which may be viewed in any order.
Setting

The place and time of a narrative. Often used to set mood and introduce problems.
Subject/Characters

The people in the story. The key character is the protagonist (or main character), who embodies, experiences and/or drives the central conflict of a story. A protagonist usually needs an antagonist, which is the person or thing the main character is contending with. Secondary characters support the events of a story.
Theme

The central message of a story, as differentiated from the topic of a story. Stories usually have a topic and a theme. For example: In Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women, one might say the topic is “Four sisters growing up in a household in 19th-century Massachusetts;” and the theme is “Learning to balance familial duty with personal growth.”
Topic/Main Idea

A summary of the major thought or point of a written passage. A text may have multiple major ideas; readers infer the main idea of the entire passage by looking for the most repeated or referenced ideas of the text.

Introduction

Just as books can be nonfiction or fiction, photographs can tell stories that are true and stories that are made up or fictionalized. By examining the stories in photographs that are retellings, staged, or imagined, and relating them to literary fiction, we can use those ideas to strengthen our understanding of visual narratives.

The questions for inquiry at the center of this lesson include:

What are the elements of narrative fiction?
What is a “theme,” and how does it relate to a “topic”?
How do the elements of narrative fiction relate to the principles of visual art and design found in photography?
How can photography create/inform/deepen imaginary narratives?
How can narrative structure inform photography?

You will:

Analyze how imaginative narratives convey messages and tell stories
Create the outline of an imaginative narrative

Set the Stage

Begin by looking at the image shown below, created by Anaya Wynters, a photographer from the Unshuttered program. Read the caption to learn more about the image.

Questions for Discussion:

What do you notice first about this image?
How would you describe the subject of this photograph?
What do you think is going on in this photograph? What story is it telling you?
What aspects of the photograph are showing you that story? For example:
- The photographer’s point of view or perspective?
- How are the subjects framed, or positioned?
- Telling details of the subjects or their surroundings?
- The scene’s foreground and background?
- Visual elements such as patterns, leading lines, scale, or lighting?
- Stories can be told through writing as well as photography. Can photographs be narratives?

Brainstorm:

What are some of the essential elements of a story/fictional narrative? Create a list of these elements and define terms. Sample terms and definitions are found in the Vocabulary section.

Discuss:

Once the list has been created, answer these questions as a group.

Are the elements of a story also found in photographs?
How do the story elements relate to photographs generally, and this photo, specifically? a. For example, how would you identify the subjects or characters of this photo? The point of view or the setting and details?

Discuss: Re-Imagined Stories from Photographs

Now that we have discussed how photographs can tell stories, let's apply those ideas and questions to a photo series from the Getty collection.

Look at the following images. Or view the images on getty.edu. Read the paired narratives and read the captions to learn more about the image.

Discuss:

Take a few minutes to look at the photograph series and answer the following questions as a group.

What do you notice first about these images?
How would you describe the subjects of the photographs? What are the subjects wearing?
How would you describe the settings? What details do you notice in each photograph?
What do you notice about the format, e.g., the composition, focus, lighting, framing?
What do you think the topic of the photographs is?
What do you think the theme of the photographs is?
What story do you think the photographer is telling? What elements of narrative fiction does the artist use to tell that story? Do the paired narratives deepen or distract from the visuals of the photographic series?
What questions does the series pose for you?

Further Context:

The photographer staged six photographs, using herself as the subject, to reimagine the story of her great-grandmother, María Gonzales, who migrated from Mexico to Southern California as a single mother. Fernandez wrote, "María was already a legend in my family. She was somebody I was told about, and, being the oldest granddaughter, I was always all ears in family conversations. (I think I know more than the adults ever wanted me to know!) But because of this, she was sort of in my head, somebody to be proud of, someone who had merit—and the reason we were here in "America." Her hard work shaped the family work ethic and the desire to achieve both academically and within our chosen careers." [1] The artist notes that there she could find only two existing photographs of María in her research, leading her in an artistic direction that might be said to mirror the genre of historical fiction in writing. She says, "I recognized I could not completely and accurately reconstruct the different time periods, I didn't really even want to do this. I included anachronisms to let the audience know that this is a reconstruction or 'reenactment.' By including contemporary elements into the photos, I wanted to convey that this migration story is historical but still relevant and current." [2] During the creative process, Fernandez realized how difficult things had been for her grandmother and others like her—"[t]he racism, sexism, and elitism she endured, her desire to leave her country of origin and its religion behind, and branch out into the vast unknown (at least, unknown to her) of the Southwest." Fernandez wrote further, "I was putting forward María's migration story as that of an explorer….I recontextualized her story by positing migration as an exploration or expedition." [3]

View Christina Fernandez photographs in the Getty collection.

Exercise: Imaginative Narrative Outline

Now it is time to create your own imaginative narratives.

Use the Imaginative Narrative graphic organizer. [See Resources section]. Work individually or in a group. Create your own outline.

Practice: Imaginative Narrative Storyboard

Use your story outlines to create storyboards.

A storyboard is a set of sequential visuals that tells a story. Storyboarding is a powerful tool for planning a visual narrative. Storyboards allow visual presentation of information and, at the same time, reveal the arc of a story. Next, you will use the Storyboard template. [See Resources section.] Don't worry, you do not need to be great at drawing. Storyboard visuals can be anything from stick-figure drawings to detailed illustrations to photography to collage. If you need more frames than the six on a single page of the template, use another copy of the template. Use as many (or as few) as you like. Refer to other storyboard examples to see the wide range of possibilities.

Reflect

Introduce, show, and describe your storyboards to the class. Set up your stories with information from your imaginative narrative outlines, such as genre, setting, characters, and conflict.

As a viewer, provide positive feedback as others share.

Questions for group discussion:

As you present your work and view the work of others, answer these questions.

What is the first thing you notice about the storyboard?
What elements of imaginary narrative do you observe in the storyboard?
What elements of the narrative would you like to learn more about?
Are there any further opportunities to show more about the story?
(If not announced by the artist) What do you think the theme of this story is?

Questions for individual reflection:

Answer these questions on your own.

What did you discover about yourself and others in the course of the project? Or Did you discover anything about yourself or others in the course of this project? If so, what?
What was challenging, and why?
What detail are you most proud of and why?
Is there anything you would do differently?

Banner Image: Untitled, Anaya Wynters, 2018

[1] Gallun, Lucy, and Christina Fernandez. 2019. “Christina Fernandez’s María’s Great Expedition.” MOMA Magazine.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.