Why Stories?

If you lived in the US between 1985 and 1987, you probably watched a show on the NBC television network called Amazing Stories.

While the 45-episode series explored fantasy, horror and science-fiction, as a 15-year old boy, I was hooked. I wasn't the only one, though. I recall that series being the subject of many discussions at school between friends who were also watching it with me.

Why?

Well told stories, whether it was your grandma or a Steven Spielberg production (which Amazing Stories was), have a way of capturing people's imagination, delivering a message with impact and motivating or inspiring action.

But narrating stories is a skill that doesn't come easy. Much less an epic story, I have struggled all my life to tell a joke without swallowing the punchline. So, if telling stories is powerful and it can captivate audiences near and far, online and off-line, how does one embrace the process of storytelling that it becomes second nature?

Storytelling Is Sacred

Enter Patrick Moreau of Muse Storytelling. He staunchly believes he has the process figured out. His company Stillmotion routinely wins awards, including five Emmy's, for documentaries the company has produced for its clients.

When it comes to storytelling from the heart, we believe you can learn more from a well-informed friend than you can from the finest academic institutions. We bring this personal approach to our storytelling processes, books, online courses, intensive workshops, filmmaking consultation, mentorships, and speaking events in the world at large.

Patrick Moreau is quite literally, obsessed with story. He believes that story is unparalleled in it’s ability to bring people together. And so he spends his days telling stories through his filmmaking at Stillmotion and helping others be empowered by story through their Muse Storytelling process.

He believes that we must “guide the heart, but move the heart” – that we need to connect emotionally if we want to change the behavior or perspective of our audience. It’s a philosophy that’s been presented to global business leaders at the United Nations in 2014 as well as at TedX (see below).

He’s worked for some big brands, directed several documentaries, won some Emmy’s, but more than any of that, he’s a real dude that loves the craft of filmmaking and how it’s a skeleton key to unlock so much wonder in this world.

Read – What science can teach us about being a truly happy creative?
Read – The importance of storytelling over statistics.
Read – What makes for a great Super Bowl ad?

The Interview

I had a wonderful opportunity to speak with Patrick about Muse Storytelling and his work at Stillmotion:

Examples of Stillmotion's Work

Click on the photographs below to get a glimpse of the work Patrick and his team at Stilmotion have produced in the past.

Patrick Moreau at TedX

Do you still need to be convinced about storytelling? Here is a TedX talk that Patrick gave just last year:

Tools To Build Stories – Register For Storybuilder

So, how does one construct a story? If you are a filmmaker or a photographer, you have a lot of factors to consider and keeping track of them all is challenging.

Patrick Moreau and his team are on the cusp of releasing a tool to help you build your stories. It's called Storybuilder and it launches on May 23rd. Register for the launch and receive 3 months to give the new tool a whirl for free.

Full confession, my friends … I am obsessed with Marie Masse's website, Fearless & Framed. If you ever considered documenting reality for yourself or for your photography clients, you need to check out Marie's blog posts.

Challenges Of Documenting Reality

Highly produced portrait sessions are in vogue right now, so the challenge becomes convincing clients to sign up for a documentary session. Marie says, “The point is that somewhere, we have started to neglect taking photos that document our lives, our personality, and our connections.”

We are going to quickly evolve into a society that produces “cute” pictures that simply don't have any soul. Marie isn't advocating for the complete omission of selfies or the occasional “camera aware” portrait. She (and I wholly agree with her) is calling for more balance.

Marie double dog dares photographers to commit to creating a list of possible documentary opportunities. And if clients are still reluctant to work with you, Marie has a free PDF that outlines four easy ways to increase client demand. Here is an alternate link to the same free resource.

Fearless & Framed

Marie Masse describes her website in these words:

Fearless and Framed was built out of a vision far different than your average, trendy photography sessions. We wanted to create a place where developing and professional photographers can be freed of any rules that may be in their head about how a photo session should be.

Fearless and Framed is about leaving the props and backdrops at home. We document life and yield photos that merit tears in a mom’s eyes, warmth in a bride’s heart, and become a tangible piece of someone’s history forever to be shared.

Click the link below to receive Marie Masse's 29 page ebook, 7 Day Storyteller’s Challenge, totally free of charge.

What's in it, you are wondering? Well here you go:

1. Get off Order-Taker Mode
2. Shooting Details: Object + Human Details
3. My shooting techniques (getting clients to relax too)
4. Energizing the story through editing
5. Evaluating Your Story
6. The #1 Thing You Need in Growing into a Business
7. Getting Your Marketing Moxie

Click Here to grab the 7 Day Storyteller's Challenge ebook

Portfolio Of Documentary Photography

Shop At Fearless & Framed

The other thing that I absolutely loved about Marie's website were exactly the right resources I was looking for. I pretty much bought everything in the store! See a screenshot of my cart before I checked out.

Use this special code which is valid until July 31, 2016 – tiffinbox15 to get 15% off her store.

Here are the resources I personally bought:

Client Guide Template For Documentary Photographers
Session Sparks – Photo Session Ideas Ebook
Goodbye, Posing Guide
Family History Photo Sessions
Client Attractor Toolkit

Which ones will you need for your documentary portrait photography business?

Ryan Jones quit his corporate job and instinctively knew he had to be come a photographer.

After working at the Fresno Bee as a freelancer and starting a commercial photography business on the west coast, Ryan decided to pull his roots up and move to New York City. He currently lives and works from Brooklyn, New York as both a street photographer and a wedding photographer. I urge you to check out his portfolio and website.

Ryan's work struck me as well-crafted and thoughtful. His photography can be labeled as off-beat or even a bit odd, but his portfolio is full of arresting images of daily life that place you in the scene as if you were actually witnessing it for yourself.

While some of his documentary style could be attributed to his attending the Foundation Workshops, it is Ryan's love for chaos on the streets and making sense of it all that informs his actions. His raw or organic approach to street photography lends itself well to also those commercial clients who seek him out for just that kind of work.

Ryan also curates a blog called An Unlikely Scene. He created it in 2013 and invites other street photographers to submit their work to be considered for inclusion.

A couple of weeks back, Ryan and I sat down to chat about his career and why street photography is so important to him. We discussed his blog An Unlikely Scene and one of his favorite street photographers, Richard Baker.

Some of Ryan's finest work:

Matthew Jordan Smith's repertoire as a commercial and fashion photographer is well known around the world. Yet, he chose to work on a personal project that took him to all 50 states.

The project involved visiting with 100 families across the USA. He photographed children outdoors, holding up signs with their ambitions and ideas to lead their country. It's a project that took him 3 years to complete. After pouring his own resources into the project to start photographing children in America, Smith ran a successful Kickstarter campaign. He now has published a book that is every bit inspiring as his own journey through these united states.

I managed to corner Matthew to a quick Skype interview. Give it a listen. You can buy the book here.

You'll find below a slideshow with about 15 of Matthew's images from the book, Future American President.

Are you pursuing a personal project like Matthew Jordan Smith? Do you want to be featured here on Tiffinbox? Contact me right away!

Daphne Chan is a fine art photographer based in Vancouver, Canada. But she is embarking on a three-month residency in New York City to explore and perhaps discover gender identity among the LGBT community there.

When we met briefly in NYC, at Photo Plus Expo, I was both intrigued and baffled by her decision to drop her business cold and move to a different city, just to pursue a personal project. It was perhaps my own curiosity to know how she made the leap that motivated me to write to her and ask her to come on TiffinboxTV.

The project is called Transparency: The Gender Identity Project and I'll be photographing members of the transgender community in New York to help them share their experiences. I believe all individuals have a right to be truly seen and acknowledged regardless of gender identity.

Learn more about Daphne's project and support it, if you can.