This is the last part of a three part series about the use of media for NGOs. For more read part I and part II.

The biggest question before and after is the thought of who you want to reach with your pictures, videos or multimedia. Especially in the first part i was writing about visual language and how that affects the viewer of your stories. In this last part, with this thoughts in mind, i want to talk about how to use this different forms of visual language and media for communication purposes. This will be a lot about the delivery and how to get out the most of the material we have produced.

CONCEPTS*

Every concept for a new campaign involves thoughts about the audience we would like to reach with our media and that influences what type of media we use, but also what visual language. Beside that there is a lot to think about how we would like to involve people with our campaign in the cause. This is always the most important aspect and worth a lot of time spending on it. Do you want people donate money? Do you want to make them aware of an issue? Or do you maybe want both? How can we involve them? Do we mainly need a fast emotional overloaded fast donation we need like in an emergency like the Haiti earthquake or do we want to create a long-term relationship with the donors? Each one of the answers to this questions is in need of approaches obviously. So every concept is different at the end as there are way more specific question for every cause. So i will not draw some concepts here.

INVOLVING PEOPLE*

Important tough is in my opinion the thought of how to involve people. The way of communication, especially for NGOs (always tight in communication budget..) changed quite a bit with the internet and social media specifically. There are a lot of powerful tools out there, for free use. But at the same time also the form of communication with donors and other people changed through that. It is not a classic advertising communication (promoting your ‘product’ in a one-way-communication) anymore, instead it involves people, with writing comments, spreading the word further with this tools, getting feedback, questions. In short, it allows a direct communication and not only a delivery of a product like a brochure what is first of all only giving information. The direct communication allows not only to get the feedback, but also to activate people, make them interested with not only making them consume, but also actively taking part. A powerful way to involve people in a cause, sometimes maybe even more important than actual donations from the start. Check the Condition Critical project by MSF for a great example on that.

APPROACHING PEOPLE*

In a recent interview photojournalist Tim Hetherington stated “You should be interested in this because this is Afghanistan” — is not a constructive way to engage.” What he is talking about is the approach that many choose when it comes to important issues. By giving people the feeling that they have to be interested because it is important. With the change of communication, i believe, this approach is also more and more going away and new forms to engage people should come up. There are thousands of issues were it is tried to give the feeling of remorse as a tool to engage. Think of Climate Change as an example. No one has to be engage, but when we provide something what makes people interested in the cause, we could reach them in a totally different mindset.

VISUAL COMMUNICATION*

One thing that changed quite rapidly with the internet and the overflow of media. We consume way more visually than a couple of years ago, also because reading on a screen is still a pain in the are. Adding to that is the fact that most people are visual learners, what means the impact of visual media on them will be higher than words. What that means for information provided on websites of NGOs is that it should focus on clear visual interesting storytelling to make people interested with visual content. People will barely read in the web long reports from projects, especially not when there is a short video or multimedia. But words in combination with multimedia could do the trick if used in balance.

NOW WHAT?*

The last bits focused a lot on communication in the internet, also because i think it is one of the major platforms to reach people and get fresh information out. But there are of course the classic way to communicate with your audience. Lectures, brochures, advertising, tv-spots to name a few are still powerful. The advantage of a mixture of the different types of media i talked about in the second part is that it allows the use also in this different other outlets. Especially multimedia produced material offers video, photos, audio and all that what could be used for other purposes as well. I believe that it is not about communicating one way to get donors, the chance that comes for NGOs nowadays is bigger. It could engage people not only to donate, but also to involve them, make a cause important to them, connecting with people, leaving comments, spreading the word and helping to make the cause out in the world. Not because they are told it is important, but because they think it is important.

This is the second part of three part series about Media and the use for NGOs in their communication. Read the first part here.

Last week i was writing about the visual language and how we can use it to deliver different messages in our NGO work. Today is the next step. While last week it was more or less about visual media in general, i wanna look in todays post into the different types of media we have to tell the stories we want to tell. I will not exclusively talk about visual media as i think the other forms we have are powerful as well and it would be stupid to forget about them. So let’s jump right into it.

Words*

A lot of the communication an NGO is doing is coming through words, if it is at presentations, the brochures or the website. The written has still a big part in the form of communication. In my mind it has a couple of advantages. First: It could easily be adjusted to the needs of the story. With a photograph you might be missing in the story you can’t really reproduce it easily. Words at the same time ‘only’ need the knowledge and the experience to tell the story (leaving beside a general discussion about quality of storytelling). This means it is a easy to use way to communicate a story. At the same time the reader has to trust the words. A photograph, audio interview or videoclip is testimony that is (tough still subjective) in our perception closer to the truth. But, and this is also important, it is easier to draw a picture of complex situations or stories with words than with a photograph or the single perspective of one interview. With the use of the internet, in my opinion, also the way of how we consume has changed a lot. Long texts on NGO websites might be read only by few as the whole way of consuming content got way more visual in the last years.

Audio*

The closest to written words is for sure audio. It brings us a level of personal story that written words can hardly have. It also influences us emotionally way more than written words normally do. A big plus for 90% of the stories NGOs want to tell as most of the impact on people their stories have is on an emotional base. We get more of a certain person or some atmosphere sounds as well. It brings us more in the scene. It is not said for nothing that audio is in film 50% of the quality. Once watch a film without the sounds, i think it is crazy how fast you loose track of the story. At the same time audio is good adjustable in the editing of the direction of stories for instance.

Photography*

Photography has been widely used by NGOs. The quality might be very different, but the visual testimony of the situations and projects is a powerful tool. The biggest amount of people are visual learners. At same time photography is so powerful because it is static in one way, but that allows also the viewer to take time, wander around in the picture. The  situation is not changing, it gives time to build an emotional relationship. The viewer is able to find his own way into the story and through it. It is a testimony of a certain moment that try to tell the story. At this is also the point, why high quality photography can be so much more powerful in the impact on people. We are used to a huge amount of visual impact each day and a lot of photography is filled up with certain amount of related stories in our heads. That makes photography a very powerful emotional tool. One of the disadvantages of photography is one of it’s powerful abilities. It is only capturing one specific moment. Photoessays are one way to get over that problem.

Video*

Classic videostories about projects have always been a good way to share stories. It combines audio, moving images and the moving image is directing the viewer through the story. This is a huge difference to photography, not only because of the audio, but also because of the clear direction of the viewer. One could argue that photography can also direct the viewer with lines , light/shade and so on, but still video is faster, not giving so much time for the viewer and the moving part of the image has a huge power to draw the attention of the viewer. Used rightly it can have a huge impact on the knowledge side, but powerful photography might have the higher emotional impact.

Multimedia*

The combination of more or less everything what i said above could be found in multimedia. Many photojournalists right now jump on the multimedia train with extending their photoessays with audio to tell stories more deeply. It combines the power of both audio and photography in one. It could be easy to produce, when you combine for instance an interview with a set of pictures, as well. High level multimedia is something different tough, when it combines atmosphere sound, interviews and music, fine tuned to the pictures. But thinking back of what said about photography and video, a combination of those two with powerful audio could be the most powerful way. It combines the advantages of photography (making the viewer explore the scene himself, higher emotional impact, and so on) with the ability to transmit knowledge and direct the viewer to certain parts of the story. What that brings, when used right, is complex, but also quite obvious. It is a combination of the most powerful storytelling tools that could be very fine tuned on delivering the message. There are other advantages in multimedia i will talk about in the last part of the series, so stay tuned.

In the last part, that will be online in two weeks, i will write about the different ways to use media and deliver. We came from the general thoughts on how we want to tell something to the forms of media we can use to tell that. So in the last part it will be about the use of what we produced to deliver our story/ message to possible donors.

This is the first part of three part series about Media and the use for NGOs in their communication.

Last week i was writing about the project ‘Starved for Attention’ that MSF published recently in cooperation with the VII photo agency. They claimed to communicate the case of malnutrition in a new visual language to give it a fully new perspective and i was disappointed with the first published story by Marcus Bleasdale as it again was a series of b/w pictures from hospitals. The question is what is visual language and how can a NGO use it to get their message across. This little three part series will be about that, about the possibilities of visual language, the different types of media and what their advantages and disadvantages are plus as the last part, how to to use this media for different communication purposes. First starting today with some general thoughts on visual language.

WHAT’S THE STORY?*

Before we start thinking here about different ways of visual language, we have to think of the different stories that might be told. As a NGO there are different stories that are to tell with different purposes. When you take the example of ‘Starved for Attention’, this is all about creating awareness for the problem of malnutrition. Now there are different angles to approach that story. From the MSF staff to people affected. One of the big problems with all this crisis stories about starvation, war and IDP camps is that it is full of stereotypes. We have seen stories about that for years and (even when done with best intentions) it is hard to find an audience for this with the same dark B/W pictures on and on again. But more about that later.

Another purpose for and NGO could be to tell about their work to show people what actually happens with the money they donate. Most of the time this focuses on the projects, shows the relief it brings and maybe also that there is still need for more help.

A bit excluded from that is often the media that is used for campaigns like posters, brochures and so on. This is about advertising and the easiest way is to have some staged pictures or a clear concept for this purpose as it allows you to articulate your message really precise. This is a small line between capturing reality and something arranged. Something also worth to think a lot about.

Now after some thoughts on different purposes let’s think a bit of how to capture it for your use.

THE COLOR VS. B/W DISCUSSION*

As photographers, videographers and multimedia producers the visual aspects are how we tell stories. And for all of you that read this blog a bit more regularly, i’m a big fan of b/w photography, but at the same time a big critique for it’s use in some contexts. B/W has a big advantage and that is simplification. With taking away the aspect of color it is often easier to read, to focuses more on the basic aspects, in short, it is puristic. But as i said before it is especially in the context of Africa (sorry for this generalization) a widespread way to tell all those harsh stories that i believe makes many put it in a box. I’ve seen that before, another crisis in Africa. So the question is, can B/W be useful to tell your story or does it maybe takes the attention away as it’s use get’s all those stereotypical stories running. At the end it is about what you show and i’m a big fan of B/W use in many ways. It is just something to think about as it has a big influence on the atmosphere of your story.

WHO DO YOU WANNA REACH WITH YOUR STORY?*

The use of visual language is also as an NGO depended on who you wanna reach with your story and what you want to tell. While it might work well to have a set of B/W pictures or a video with someone telling you through a devasting story published when you want to point to a situation in need, it might in no way be the story you want to have out when you want to tell about your work there. The audience you want to approach with your story and what you want to tell them is from major importance. Quite obvious, right? But that also tells us that there is nothing like the perfect way to cover a situation. And it is important to think about the purpose of your story before you cover it. It’s not about going there and taking some snaps. Don’t forget, your media is maybe your most powerful tool to communicate and reach people directly and emotionally.

THE POWER OF PERSONAL STORIES*

I truly believe that most people want to be educated about a situation. One powerful and emotional way is to tell personal stories, like MSF did in there ‘Condition: Critical’ project. Let people tell their stories. It gives the audience the chance to connect (Way more than if you give overall facts of the situation. Numbers are abstract!) and more understand the situations they live it. It is not done without any facts maybe, but first of most people get attracted by an emotional impact. Beside the fact that giving the people a voice is in my personal opinion one of the major ways to show respect for their situation.

This can only be seen as a short introduction into the subject, some basic considerations and of course there are many more things to consider when thinking of visual language and how it could help you to tell the stories and connect with your audience. The next part (online next monday) will be about different types of media and the advantages and disadvantages they have.

I had just come out of a school, where the Rwandan genocide had left unbelievable horrors just 15 years ago. I was moved and still in deep thoughts when this young guy was standing proud on the street. His eyes catched directly my attention and i knew i wanted to photograph him. He seemed to be so self-confident and at the same time serious, knowing what this place means. Maybe he even lost also parts of his family here. I could never find out. He spoke no english, but that was also not important in this moment. Our eyes communicated with each other. We greeted each other. It took some minutes, but when i finally raised my camera, he looked at me, honest and deep. I never got his story in his words, but he shared it with me with his eyes. Communication is not always in need of words.

When i started writing this article i just thought of two words that described for me what is important when we photograph people, especially strangers and especially when we don’t speak their language. This two words were Interest and Respect. But of course there is more than that. And even when most of my experiences is coming from photographing in different cultures and sometimes harsh contexts, it could easily also be transmitted inside your own culture. So let’s think of eleven things what could help you to get closer to the people you want to photograph. It might all feel basic and natural and maybe at the end it also is.

Don’t be shy. I know that is the biggest barrier for many to shoot with a telelens instead of getting close, talking with the people. And it is never easy, for sure not. There are a couple of tricks that help quite often, when you don’t feel like walking by and directly start talking. Like snapping some pictures around of other things, just to make them interested as well. It’s a bit of a game. A creating interest on both sides game. But i normally recommend to put the camera down and just get in contact. At the end 90% of the people allow you take pictures and most of them also really like it.

Be interested. Seriously, this is what i think is more important than anything else. Forget about your camera for a moment. I quite seldom approach people directly with my camera. I have a reason why i want to photograph this person, there is something what interests me. So i keep the camera down, to find out about it. And after some time i think of photographing again. It is not always like that, but most often.

Show respect. You step into privacy, never forget that. Taking a portrait of someone is really close and private. So stay sensible all the time. Especially when you take pictures of people in harsh or difficult conditions. It is a big gift that they offer you to step into their lifes and the smallest thing you could do is show respect for their situation and give everything to try to understand it or honestly care.

Be honest. Be clear about your intentions. There is nothing more wrong as telling them a story why you want the picture of them. Tell them your intentions and why it is important for you. It will help you a lot, i promise. Nothing destroys trust as fast as the feeling of not really knowing what the other ones intentions are. You want them to be honest, be it too.

Be open. The more open you are in your way to approach them, the more you allow them to get an understanding of who you are, the more it will help you that people trust you, sometimes even after some seconds. And only when they trust you they allow you to get close, not only physically. And people sense that.

Communicate. Even when you don’t speak their language. There are thousand more ways to communicate than only with words. Eye contact is something important, body language and a smile goes always a long way. And it creates an relaxed atmosphere.

Share. One of the easiest ways to break the ice is to share the pictures with the people you photograph. Especially when you don’t speak their language. In the moment you share, you don’t take something away from them, but share something with them. And to share something together is always a good starting point. Maybe even let them take pictures as well. My camera is quite often first of all a tool to communicate, not a snapper that takes something.

Take time. This is very important as well. Take your time. As i said, i try to keep the camera down when i first talk to people. I try to get interested and make them interested. And also while you take pictures, take your time, when you have it. Make them feel comfortable and forget about the camera. But at the same time, know when it is enough. You might like to take pictures all day long, but there is a moment where it gets to much. So sense that.

Forget about stereotypes. When your only intention is to photograph the exotic, move on. It might be one of your intention, what is not bad at all, but when the only reason you photograph is the exotic the person is showing you in your eyes, you will never get close. First because he/she is for you just a picture of something formed before in your mind, but also because people sense that. It has a lot to do with the first point, being interested. I can’t imagine a moment where people liked to be treated as art objects (beside maybe in a carnival with amazing costums…).

Give your pictures. I always try to carry a Polaroid Pogo, a small pocket sized printer with battery with me. It changed the whole game for me. It is my chance to really give something back to the people i photograph. I can print the pictures directly on location. Many people i photograph do not have email or other ways to easily send them pictures. And there is nothing better than the beady eyes of a child when it gets the first picture in his life. And when i don’t have it with me, i’ll try to get back, when there is time. I once made this reportage about street kids in Butare, Rwanda. I was quite some time in this area for another project, so i came back some days after with my laptop and showed them the pictures and printed them for them on the street, what must have been a little bit of magic to some of them, but we had a great time. And i took not one picture.

A NO is always a NO. Never forget that. I’ve seen too often people snapping pictures secretly even when the person denied to get the picture taken of him or her. It is the most disrespectful thing you could do. And i guess you are the last one who would like to be treated like that.

As i said before, all that is basic and should be natural, but sometimes it is so easy to forget about some of the points. This is what helped me and how i try to be with people i want to photograph. Maybe it helps you as well. And if you have more ideas, i’m happy to hear them.

For more check the tutorials section here.

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Today i wanna give you a short introduction on how to do a photoessay, based on my experiences, so as always there might be better or more compelling ways. So feel free to add those in the comments. The photoessay is also, when it comes to multimedia productions, the body of it as it tries to tell a story, so it is interesting to get a bit into that. Here are some ideas to think about.

1. Topic: At first and before any further thoughts what pictures you might need, you should think about the topic. What is the story? What do you wanna tell with the pictures? I always try to make that as clear as possible to myself to be sure what i need.

2. Research: If we start looking at it even before the shoot, do your research to get to know as much as possible about the story. It gives you the freedom to move and react more while you shoot. Normally, as long as you do documentary photography, it is not possible and also not the best way to start with a clear idea in your head, so that you just shoot what you thought before. That leads to stereotypes or at least single perspectives. I always try to be as open for everything what happens. I once was shooting a story on monks in Laos. I had this pictures in my head of them being so puristic, sleeping on the hard ground, eating once a day, praying and so on. And this was true in one way, but there were many more stories. That Phra, one of the monks, had a computer and a english dictionary in his room. And while i was shooting suddenly a cellphone rang –  of one of the monks. They started taking pictures of me as well with their phones. And at the end they gave me their mail adresses to sent them the pictures. Not really what i was thinking of before. But it was good to do the reasearch as it allowed me to see that in perspective and react on that.

3. Angle: Now you have done your shoot and it is time to think about what you will need for this story. What are the major parts you want to tell? Where should it lead the attention to? Do you have a starting point and an end? Are there different angles to tell the story? Think outside the box. Try new stuff, new point of views (not only in the pictures).

4. Length: A photoessay, especially when presented in the web should normally not be longer than 15 pictures is my experience so far. We are used to a big amount of speed and it is hard to keep the attention, even when you have great pictures. A photoessay with ten really good pictures that combine all important aspects will do a far better story than when you put in your 30 best pictures, but they repeat the same aspects. Really try to think again: What tells the story? What is important for the story? It is about the story, your pictures are the tool to tell it. I have tons of good pictures that might never get published as they do not fitted in the story they were shot for.

5. Parts: Think about the essay as a story. Every good story has a starting point, a body and a conclusion. In the classic photoessay this is shaped with a couple of different shots you include.

The establishing shot gives you an introduction and shows you where the story is taking place. Most of the times is is a wide-angle shot.

The medium shot is leading into the subject. It tells you more about it and how it belongs to the enviroment.

The close-up is a classic detail shot, giving you important single parts of the story.

The portrait is bringing the subject close and personal.

The moment is giving you special moments of the story. It could tell a little story in itself or be part of the bigger picture.

The closer is the shot that sums up the essay and leaves you with a thought or a conclusion.

This different parts don’t have to be in every photoessay in general. They are more giving you a direction what might help to tell the story, even when most photoessays at least have a establishing shot and a conclusion. Talking about the speed of consum in the internet, it is important to catch the attention of the viewer directly. So maybe try switching the parts. Make your first shot not the establishing shot, but something like a ‘hook shot‘ that pulls the viewer directly in the story. As always experiment with that.

6. Captions: The captions are another important part of the photoessay most of the times. I always try to have captions that do not tell what we already see in the picture. Let the captions add what your picture might not tell, like the names of people, their background or important information that could not be photographed. The captions allow you to give the story the last precision.

7. Experiment: All what i wrote before should be seen as a starting point. As there are thousand approaches to tell a story, if classic linear or non-linear, you have also all freedoms in your photoessay. Maybe you want to start with a certain moment and tell the story from there with what happend before and where it leads to. Or  you mix different perspectives. Try it out. At the end it is important what tells the story best.

As a little inspiration to the end i would like to lead you to the photoessays of my students of the ‘Withourowneyes’ project in Rwanda. Most of them had never before even photographed seriously and most pictures were taken with cellphones. In small groups they had to shot a story in three days and compile the pictures to a short photoessay. Here you can see their results.

Check more tutorials here.

As i have been asked about that a couple of times in the last weeks, i decided to do a short tutorial about the techniques i use for putting together my multmedia stories. There might be other ways, i believe, and as always trying out different ways is the best way to find out what works for you. But here is how i work with it right now.

1. Preparation:

This might be the most important part, even when it is sometimes not the most loved one or the one you have time for. But if it is possible, gain as much information about the story you wanna cover. There is no way in covering a story about climate change for example when you don’t know what to look for. So gain information! Another very important part is the preparation in general. Load batterys, clean cards, make sure the equipment works. And then prepare questions, try to get information about locations, all that has just one major reason: You will save a lot of time while shooting, time you can use on concentrating on the work itself -  doing the pictures or video. I always try to be as prepared as possible, also because it gives my mind more freedom to react on circumstances. For example new questions that are poping up in your mind. It gives you a lot of freedom. Another important point is that you are working way more precise. You know what you are looking for and also here, you have more time and space to check stuff, find out what you are missing.

2. Shooting the story

Ok, now you’ve done your homework. Just go there and scroll down your list of questions, pictures you wanna have and so on, you might think? Photography is always based on interaktion. You apply your view on your subject and your subject is giving something back to you. So use that. Stay open for new ideas, thoughts or images. You will never have the chance to be 100% prepared and that is good. Everything else would also be boring, right? Use the preparation more as kind of a support what helps you to stay open for other things. You might have a context you wanna tell the story in or you have clear guidelines in your mind how the stry should look like at the end. Always question yourself and your view on it. There are thousand ways to tell each story. see you prep more as a tool what helps you to find out the best way to tell it. I know, it’s frustating sometimes, but it works for sure.

3. Check your material

Now you had this intensive day or days shooting, doing interviews, filming, interacting. You filled all your cards, you have seen that there are some amazing pictures. Job done? No, maybe not. First of all, you wanna tell a story, so it might be difficult to know what you have only by looking at some pictures. And yes, you will need more than one picture, videofile. This is a totally annoying part, but it’s worth it. You had a long day shooting and the only thing you wanna have is a cold beer and some food and relax for the rest of the evening. BUT doing the back-up and a first look at the material you shot during the day has some advances you don’t wanna miss. First, you have your stuff save! And second, you get to know what you have and at that point you have a better understanding what you might need than in the prep. And this will help you a lot to see if you are lacking something in your material. And as long as you are on location you have the chance to go back and shoot the missing bits and pieces. Especially when you shoot your story far away from your hometown, like i did in the last weeks in Rwanda, this is essential.

4. Storyboard

You’ve done everything right. The material is amazing and you can’t wait to put it together. You jump on your computer, open final cut and here we go. Mh, the annoying part isn’t over i guess. One of the big disadvantages of the digital age is that you gain so much material that it is close to impossible to keep an overview. What i do is slowing down. The first step with the interviews is to write them down. For sure there is nothing nice about it. It takes a lot of time, time you would way more like to spent differently. And it’s totally boring. But at the same time it is the only way to get a clear understanding of what you have.

The next step for me is then printing it all out, the written down interviews, the pictures you selected (print more than you need), even frames of the videofiles, maybe if you are very acurate with the length written on it. I have this metal lanes on my wall back at home where i then start to put together all this pictures, textfiles and so on. It easily gives you a visual understanding how you story will look like and it is also a great way to arrange things fast. Way faster than in Final Cut or any other editing program.

5. Postprocessing

And now, after i’ve done all that and have my storyline ready on my wall, it’s time for the final postprocessing. Photoshop the pictures, edit the videofiles, cut the interviews. If you have all that done, it is only a short way left. You now know exactly what you wanna do and you just have to put all those files in your planned order. As all of you who have worked with videoediting software might know, also that takes some time, but at least it is way more precise and you miss all the try and error you normally have in there. And after some time you have a wonderful multimediapiece with you story.

As i said in the beginning, this is my way how i work with it and what works out for me the best. There are in my opinion no real shortcuts to it if you wanna do it serious. It’s always easy to gain some stuff and put something together out of it afterwards (i’ve also done that in earlier work.), but it could never be so precise. But no one said it’s gonna be easy, right?

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