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What can you do that combines creativity, physical exercise and the latest social media tools? The answer: A photo walk, and now is the perfect time to organize one. Get outside and stretch your imagination along with your legs. Photo walks are fun, informative, inspirational and a great way to mix and mingle with friends and co-workers.
What exactly is a photo walk? It’s a group of people with cameras (any kind of camera—from a cell phone to a big pro-rig to even video) who wander together, usually along a predetermined route, for the purpose of taking pictures of what they observe. Along the way they share their photo experiences and knowledge, and then later exchange and comment on the images they captured. It’s the latest and greatest trend in the photography field, and its popularity is soaring worldwide, with good reason.
The main purpose of a photo walk is to “see” things you encounter every day—like streets, trees, buildings, etc.—in a totally different way. It’s a technique to increase your creativity by opening your mind to out-of-the-ordinary thought patterns. When the great 19th-century impressionist painter Claude Monet was asked how he came up with his wonderful compositions, he explained a process he called “de-labeling” or “de-naming” the world around him. In other words, he did not see the doorway or the book, he saw a rectangle. He didn’t see the sun or a coin, he saw a circle. By separating the object from the weight of its meaning, he was better able to visualize how various shapes might fit together well. This is really what photo walk participants do—they perceive everyday objects in a wholly different context than usual.
Psychic shooting
A photo walk is not about documenting the things you see along the way. Nor is it necessary to seek out something unique or innately photogenic to shoot. The goal is to awaken your mind’s eye to the world around you, to become aware of the mood created by light and shadows, to discover and visualize the essence of an everyday scene. A huge benefit of this exercise is that by forcing your brain to get out of its boring visual rut, you will increase your overall creativity in the process, a perk that goes way beyond just improving your photo-taking capabilities.
Another unexpected benefit of participating in a photo walk, rather than just heading out with a camera alone, is the empowerment provided by the group dynamic. I’ve seen it happen on photo walks all over the world—a usually timid shooter will become suddenly emboldened, and the next thing you know they are climbing up a lamp post for a shot or asking a total stranger to pose for them—things they would never do out on their own. The group energy provides a secure place to try new things—to go wild or give yourself permission to play or just be silly. No shot or technique is frowned upon on a photo walk, and experimentation is highly encouraged. It’s freeing and artistically invigorating for amateurs and professional shooters alike.
Photo walks can be led by a professional shooter or not, depending on your objective. If your goal is purely social, including a leader might not be the right choice. But with a pro-leader along, there will be someone on-hand to provide both technical camera setting and lighting information as well as artistic encouragement. Chris and I have led photo walks at corporate communication and public relations conferences across North America and in Europe with great success. It’s the most popular part of our corporate training courses. Once, just for fun, we hosted an ad hoc photo walk with our local photo clubs. An e-mail invitation and a mention on Facebook and Twitter were all it took to organize that event.
All our photo walks have been well attended even in bad weather, and enthusiastically received by the participants. For me, seeing what everyone shot is as exciting as the walk itself. Even though everyone walked the same route and saw the same things, I’m always shocked at the diversity of the images produced.
Organize your own photo walk
Sound like fun but not sure how you could use it? A photo walk is a great way to kick off a new campaign or garner attention for an upcoming company event. It makes an excellent ice-breaker or team-building exercise as well. Think about assigning one (or two, at most) specific goals for the participants. My favorite is asking participants to shoot a self-portrait during the walk. Other assignments might include shooting a concept like “harmony” or “texture,” or if it’s a company event, maybe “teamwork” or “sustainability” would be appropriate. There is no end to the possibilities. I would caution against assigning more than two specific goals, and I would designate those as totally optional. Making the photo walk too regulated will defeat its purpose.
A photo walk can be as elaborate or as simple as you like. Some organizers set up a web site for pre-registration and host a gallery of photos following the event. Most organizers will designate and distribute a Twitter hashtag so participants can tweet before, during and after the event, and many use sites like Flickr to post the resulting photos. Or simply post a notice on the company bulletin board—you’ll be surprised at how many people show up.
So grab a camera, put on your walking shoes, and invite some people to join you on a photo walk. I guarantee the results will be picture perfect.
Suzanne Salvo and her husband/partner Chris are co-owners of Salvo Photography, an international award-winning studio with bases in Houston, Texas and near Milan, Italy. They specialize in location shooting, and assignments have taken them to more than 65 countries. Typical projects include annual reports, ad campaigns and editorial assignments. See their member photos on the IABC home page. For more information, visit their web site at www.salvophoto.com. For more fun, visit Suzanne’s nationally recognized photoblog at www.salvoatlarge.blogspot.com. |
