How-to: Storytelling in Photos
It's easy for nonprofits to get caught up in the storytelling craze and reach over for the nearest multimedia tool - the Flip cam. Great for family vacations, but not so great for promoting your latest achievement to showcase to potential donors.
Video can be a wonderful asset for an organization, but if the money and resources aren't there, it's best to wait until they are - until it's possible to create something aesthetically pleasing and truly powerful that can be shown again and again. Besides, there's plenty of other media alternatives to turn to when a story needs to be told; like photofilms, a glamorized slideshow of still photography combined with music, text, or voiceover. In this post, I'll detail the tools needed to create this simple, and yet compelling, form of storytelling.
The Price of Margaret's Retirement
**This post originally appeared on the Lumana blog.
A loud SQUAK almost makes me jump backwards as I open the gate to Margaret Kpodo’s compound – I look down and realize I’ve just bulldozed a chicken with the fence, and as I snicker, it angrily picks itself up and preens its feathers, throwing angry glances as it stalks away.
Storytelling is Hard
Storytelling sounds easy enough. After all, it’s part of our genetic makeup to tell stories, and human beings are fairly adept at it – we have been telling stories since the beginning of our existence.
In Eweland, storytelling is a part of daily conversation. So far, I’ve heard the story of the Goat Farmer and the Thief, telling of the value of learning a trade or profession, the Children and the Hyena, the tale of the wisdom of parents, the Father and the Three Sons, about showing equal respect and affection to all children whom are the future of the village, and many, many more.
Marconi, the Ghanaian Tailor
**This post originally appeared on the Lumana blog.
Marconi Midodzi greets us and waves from across the room, not even glancing at the fabric as he precisely guides the bright orange blouse through the antique sewing machine. A slender man, Marconi has grown up in Atorkor surround by family, and has been sewing garments for his small community for the past eight years. When he stands up to shake our hands, with a measuring tape draped over his shoulder and wearing expertly fitting clothes, he certainly looks the part of a professional tailor.
Seattle + Anloga = Entrepreneurship
My last week was frustrating.
A Seattle news station is doing a short piece on Lumana’s impact in rural Ghana, where they will be recounting client success stories as well as interviewing Founder Sammie and Director Cole. Last Monday, a Seattle-based Lumana volunteer taking her spring break in Ghana came armed to the Volta Region with a camera in hand and explicit instructions from the station in her pocket: collect footage to make as many Seattlelites bawl into their hankies during the allotted half-hour segment as she possibly could.
I'm in Ghana!
I'm currently in Anloga, Keta District, Volta Region, East Ghana working on a project for a microfinance organization called Lumana.
SCRITTORE
