CONTEXT & NARRATIVE – MARIA SHORT

Published by AVA Publishing, 2011

I've been reading this book 'Context and Narrative' of and on for a few months and feel it's a great resource for any photographer seeking a more in-depth

study of visual style in their own work.

In my opinion, the targeted audience for this book is more of an academic photography student rather than a photographer seeking to enhance or improve their images. After years of photography myself, I learned a ton of new information from this book and honestly, felt a little overwhelmed at times by some of the ideas presented.

The book is well laid out and organized in a very visual appealing way. It boasts artful images by a number of different photographers to give readers an opportunity to study the information in word form and in practical use. The summaries provided at the end of each chapter help reiterate the points within and give suggestions for photographic exercise to the reader.

The idea of capturing photographic images in regards to context and narrative took me far outside my normal photography 'box' thinking. Though once I recognized what was being discussed, I discovered that examples can be found in many places; most commonly in advertising and magazines. I read and re-read some sections of the book in an attempt to gain more knowledge of the process and to better understanding of the intentions of the author.

I think Maria Short does a great job explaining her concepts throughout the text and the case studies shown; proving that when it comes to communicating stories or relationships, it is not always in a visual sense but can be implied through various elements or symbolism in the building of the image.