Photostories: What do you look for?

Personally I like short stories, not because I don't enjoy reading the stories, I do. It is just that i have trouble loading pictures, so when there is a long story people just tend to not explain it in words, and I ave to scroll through quite a few empty picture spaces which makes me feel bad that I can't look at all the hard work someone puts in. This may be just me but because I can't enjoy the story has a bit of discription and is relativly short I can't enjoy it.

 

I like long stuff. I read vast quantities of webcomics after all. What really turns me off is when it is a continuous story, but the creator does not link the past stuff anywhere or even just the previous page. Makes it hard to know what the heck is going on. Also, linking to an outside site instead of just linking the pictures. I just dislike that in general. I'll make exceptions (especially if it is actually well organized and not just "I'm dumping an album link here", or worse, "I'm dumping my account here, good luck looking for the pictures that are actually relevant"), but it tends to lower my desire to read.

I don't know how much that applies to other people, but there you go.

 

I actually like longer stories too. Not so much huge numbers of photos in one post, but continuing stories. I like to get to know the characters. And I like it when text is part of the image more than between the photos. ^__^

 

Three things I appreciate in a photostory, from most to least important:

-Plot containing a good dose of conflict, in which I get to know and care about the characters
-Good editing
-Decent photography quality

If a story has these, I don’t much care about the length.

The average person’s attention span won’t last through big paragraphs of description or dialogue that lead nowhere. In as few words as possible, say only what must be said to move the plot along.

That extends to the photos, too. I vastly prefer taking my time to enjoy just 3-5 dynamic photos taken from different angles with new poses than scrolling through 8-10 in which hardly anything changes. One doesn’t need to be a prodigious photographer to make a good photostory. Simply recognizing where you can cut out excess or redundant content and striving to ‘say’ the most with each photo goes a long way toward keeping the audience hanging on each word.

These are my general thoughts, not aimed at anyone.

If I find myself lacking inspiration for angles and levels of closeness that add interest and create tension, I will study the jump cuts (?) in a movie and try to recreate them.

 

I prefer short stories because then I can actually focus. With longer stories, I get distracted by only looking at the massive amount of pictures XD

 

I have yet to really look at photostories really. This just more from my experience of reading other stories and manners of storytelling. I'm excited to see take a look into photostories all the same.

I do know that if it is a series, I'd like to have links to specifically the previous stories so I know what I going on. Length doesn't really matter for me of the story. I would like the images to work, rather than be linked to some vague album without further information. I don't need a whole lot of conflict, but more import for me to care about the characters.

 

Sounds like a plan! I'll go check out the photostories you have!

 

I like photostories for their ability to tell a story with images (like a graphic novel). Length is a secondary consideration. First is definitely clear plotting, then photo quality. Length is a distant third.

 

I have a short attention span, so I like short and sweet. I like to be able to see the doll's character in the story without needing to read through pages and pages of backstory. (Likewise, I'm not very interested in reading long written stories either, I'd prefer to safe all the super in depth stuff for roleplay where I can interact with it.)

Attention to detail is important too. You don't need a full diorama with expensive props or fancy editing software, but at least pose your dolls as naturally as possible, hide your messy bedroom behind a sheet or poster board and make sure the wigs are brushed and not slipping off. Just simple little things anyone can do without needing to spend money or arrange the entire house can make a huge difference in how nice the photos look, which in turn keeps focus on the story and not all the distractions.

 

Probably relating to my love for reading, I love longer stories that take the time to flesh out the characters and build up to wherever the story is going. I'm new to the whole photo stories, so I've been absorbing whatever few I've seen so far. For the most part I've only seen short ones, and it just makes me wish more people made longer ones. I need to keep an eye out for the longer ones for sure! Like some others have mentioned, I am not sure how easy it is, but if it's a story that continues from another, having a reference link that brings you back to the beginning for those who may have found you in the middle of it would be a wonderful thing. Whichever you decide, I would definitely like to see it because I find them quite interesting, and look forward to whatever you come up with!

 

I prefer something shorter.

The common fault that I see is assumed knowledge.

The person making the story knows everything about it, and I know nothing. A lot of the time they fail to convey most of it which leaves me scratching my head. I can still enjoy the pretty pictures, but I just don't know what they mean.

I've never seen your characters, I don't know the setting, the back story, or what they are thinking. Unless the photo or text makes it blindingly obvious it's just a slideshow.