Henry B. is an avid photographer who loves telling a good story. He’s also a member of our Shutterfly Gallery Guru team, dedicated to supporting your photo book and storytelling creativity. In this interview, Henry shares tips on how to make your photo book story stronger and more dramatic, through the art of journaling.
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I’m Henry Barbe and I’m retired which means that I spent my time mostly doing what I like. I’ve been a photography hobbyist since 1969 when I purchased  my first 35 mm SLR. These days I shoot only with a digital SLR. My experience with Shutterfly and photo books began when I started to use my photos in telling mostly fictional stories. Additionally, I’m on the Shutterfly Gallery Guru team. As such, I review a lot of books in the Shutterfly Shared Gallery.
 
My immediate observation is that there is a lot of great photography in these books. I also observed that the presentations are creative and extremely good. However, I also noticed that there is a difference in some books which made them stand out in my mind. Since all books have great photography, it is something some books have which goes beyond the pictures. To me, the difference is that some books have the element of drama.
 
Let me say that I’m no expert in this. Also, while I know it’s possible to create drama with a photo alone, the books that caught my attention used text and layout along with the photos to create the drama. In this article, I want to share some of the techniques I’ve seen used in two of the gallery books to add drama and excitement.
 
My first example is from the book “ The Journey To Conseco” by Chuck26287. Although this book is about wrestling which is a sport that doesn’t necessarily excite me, Chuck tells a story with drama and excitement that goes beyond the individual sport. Most of the book consists of excellent action photos from matches during the year. However, at the start of the championships, he defines the state championships with a crowd photo with what, where, and when information.
 
Next, Chuck has action shots from the preliminary matches. This is followed by the page shown below which I think adds a lot to the climax of the matches and the book:

Notice how the scale of the event is highlighted in the text by stating the number of high school wrestlers and by emphasizing that only two wrestlers are left.
 
Next, there are some pages of action photos of the championship match followed by the following page which give the results:

Once again, Chuck’s choice of the picture and the accompanying text says a lot more than just giving the result. It implies the work involved and the disappointment as well as the hopes and dreams for the future.
 
The next example is also a sports book titled “ Ladyhawks Rachel” by MaryS4. This book is about the season for a girls baseball team. While the book chronicles the season for the team, Mary personalized the book for individual players. In addition to baseball action shots, Mary included social event pictures as well. However, I think the drama is added by giving their disappointments along the road with pages like the following:

Notice the last sentence which is a statement of hope, but I think that it also adds a sense of something better to come.
 
The climax of the season and the book begins with a page stating the event as the Western World Series and giving the place, the dates, and the number of teams. To me, the very next page tells of a last inning come back in a very exciting manner made all the more dramatic because of the disappointments earlier in the season. Here’s that page:

The LadyHawks went on to win the series. My point is that Mary made the season into a real story in a way which could not be done with photos alone. After all, life is much more than an event on a particular date. The details of the event as well as the emotions of the participants and observers matter.
 
While these examples are from sports, the same techniques could be applied to almost any photo book. I certainly learned from these books and I hope you will as well.