"Break Out Your Cameras to Enhance Your Image Writing" by Yours Truly

My craft article appeared today at Women on Writing. Ta-da! :)

Photo by Vera Ja, https://unsplash.com

“Break Out Your Cameras to Enhance Your Image Writing”

By Melanie Faith


For a year, off and on, I shot a series of photos called "In the Green." The series included many different subjects, some that you might expect (from an emerald, leafy landscape to the green whirls of a decorative cabbage I saw at a farmer’s market), and others that might surprise. A perfect example of the latter was the mint-hued upright piano I spotted at a craft store in the Midwest while visiting my sister one summer. Needless to say, I couldn’t let that piano, which also sported a giant ivory stencil of a splash of roses above the keyboard, go undocumented.

Not all of the elements in each shot were green—such as three clover-shaped skeleton keys I couldn’t resist from an auction—but I incorporated a Kelly green into the background.

Each image, several of which have been published over the past year, including in Fourth & Sycamore, includes at least one aspect of the color I’d chosen, which also happens to be my personal favorite. (A little trivia for you.)

My photography practice has enhanced my writing practice for years, and vice-versa. What can photography bring to enhance our writing skills on the page and screen?

- Photography is imagery-focused, just like writing. Do you like to take photos of your family dog or cat? How about landscapes? Or food shots from restaurants or your own kitchen? What about your children or grandchildren? Or sports? In each of these types of shots, and more, there is a subject in your composition that you zero in on, to the exclusion of other details in the shot. The same is true for our writing. In our writing practice, we narrow down the subject we’d like to explore and the best genre to explore it (poetry, nonfiction, fiction, and flash, to name a few options).

Just as in our compositions we decide if we want to take a long, wide view (as in a landscape) or the close-up view (as in a macro or micro shot), in our writing, we make choices about how we will present the protagonist(s) or antagonist(s). What will be their main motivations? What action will be the catalyst for beginning the story in conflict, in media rest? What word pictures will bring to life the tone and theme in our poem?

- Photography evokes numerous senses within visual imagery, just as good writing does. No, we don’t have scratch-and-sniff photos yet, but a great photo of a box of popcorn triggers our memories and associations with the scents and textures of popcorn just as multi-sensory imagery in prose or poetry within the minds of readers.

- Photography teaches us about connections, symbolism, and resonance. Just like in our writing, in photography there’s the surface subject—perhaps a platter of enchiladas—and then there’s the deeper meaning of the picture—your grandfather taught you to include a lime wedge to garnish them and so you always make yours with limes at the ready. The evocative personal and background details in such a shot will influence not only why you chose to document your delicious dish, but also will affect the way that viewers approach and appreciate the composition, even if they don’t know 100% (or any) of the backstory. Good photos, just like good writing, reveal key, carefully-selected details that draw in the audience.

- Photography, much like writing, is self-expressive and just plain fun. It can be easy, amidst craft talk, to forget that there’s a magical and exciting sense of exploration in both art forms. Many times, I’m surprised and entertained by the subjects and themes that both my lens and pen create and how much they share in common.

Try This Prompt! Choose a color from the ROY G BIV spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Make a photo every day for four or five days of something with this color. Warning: it’ll only take a day or two until you notice the color everywhere.

Feel free to use the camera on your phone, if that’s easier than hauling around a larger camera.

On the last day, use one of the images from your photos as a prompt to kick-start a new poem, short story, scene, or essay. Include unique descriptions to denote each color in your writing. Thesaurus.com is a wonderful resource for hue synonyms.

Consider continuing to take photos in your series for as many days or weeks as the idea appeals, and then repeat this exercise as often as you’d like with a piece of writing inspired by your new photo compositions.

Need more inspiration? Consider my upcoming Imagery Power: Photography for Writers class.

My Next Book! Drumroll, Please... :)

Marvelous news! I’ve just received an acceptance letter for my next craft book for writers, Photography for Writers, from Vine Leaves Press.

My book’s birthday will likely be in December, just like mine and my darling birthday-twin niece! Couldn’t resist sharing.

Photo courtesy of: Jim Strasma, Unsplash, https://unsplash.com

A sneak-peek at the content and concept:

"Calling all shutterbugs! At last! Here's a craft book about photography specifically written from a writer's POV. Brimming with insight into image-making process and prompts to motivate, this down-to-earth, expressive guide is directed towards developing your writing and visual arts skills concurrently.

Written by a published photographer and writer who has been there, rest assured: this isn't a dusty technical jargon-filled tome of F-stops or aperture priority, and no previous photography skills are necessary to jump into this adventure. Love taking pictures? Have a passion for writing? Dig self-expression? This book is for you.”

Photo courtesy of: Roven Images at Unsplash, https://unsplash.com/

12 of My Photos Published in Barren Magazine :)

Pleased to announce that a portfolio of my work has been featured in issue 5 of Barren Magazine. Including this shot:

My Work in Harbor Review! :)

Happy New Year 2019! Hope your year ahead is joyous and inspired.

Two of my photos were just published in the current issue of Harbor Review. A wondrous way to kick-start a creative 2019!

My moody landscape photo below is from my Moment Series and is entitled: “Wyeth Sky 2.”

Somebody Made the Leap to Twitter; Wonder Who! ;)

This afternoon’s special project was rolling like it was 2009— yes, I have (at last!) joined the Twitter-sphere.

Ta-da! Clickety-click for some quotation inspiration and writing pizzazz.

From my Moment Series: “3.”

It's Publication Day! :)

It's my book birthday! Welcome to the world, Poetry Power!

Photo courtesy of Kyle Head at unsplash.com

My subtitle says it all: “An Interactive Guide for Writing, Editing, Teaching, and Reflecting on the Life Poetic.”

Write poetry? You know you need some new prompts. Teach? Your students will thank you for this advice and for the publishing tips. Have some poet friends in your workshop or writing group? I hear that their birthdays and the holidays are just around the bend.

Signed copies available (pm me).

Ebook and tactile copies available at Amazon and Vine Leaves Press.