Smartphone Photography: Story-Telling at the National Museum of American History

This safari is especially designed for smartphone users!

Her face says it all: “You can make me sit in a segregated part of this train, but you can’t break my spirit.” Her face is proud, resolute, her chin is held high, her lips are tight, her hands firmly clasped in her lap, as if to say: “Someday, one day, we will be able to sit anywhere we want. I might not see it in my lifetime, but I know it will happen….”

She is a life-sized figure in the “America on the Move” exhibit at the Museum, and her face makes a GREAT story-telling image that you can learn to capture with your camera.

If you are the photographer at family gatherings, or the volunteer photographer for a local charity or church, or you just like to come back from your travels with photos that tell a story of events or incidents that you saw, photos that show relationships between people, photos that clearly tell what is going on, photos like the one below, then this safari is for YOU!

In this safari you will learn to position yourself (usually low and close) to get the most dramatic impact of the scene you are witnessing. You will learn how to use the advanced capabilities of your smartphone’s camera to get secret shots of funny or serious stories that you see, without alerting your subjects. You’ll learn about composition, white balance, different shooting modes, how to cope with unique lighting situations without flash, and how to you use your smartphone to capture exhibits, paintings, sculptures, dioramas and other works of art with the existing low light. We’ll show you how to tell stories and make an impact.

Here are examples of images you can take on this safari:

Going on a trip with David of Washington Photo Safari was a fun and instructional outing! We were taught how to tell a story to the viewer through photography. Using the statues in the National Museum of American History, we were able to focus on framing, composition and explains to the viewer the story we saw in from of us. David helped explain the settings, exposure and composition of framing your image. He really took the time to help my wife with her new Canon camera! I would recommend Washington Photo Safari for anyone how wants to learn all about photography and have a fun at the same time. Todd B., Fairfax, VA on Facebook