Telling stories through composure

Funny, touching, and interesting things happen all around us every day. How do you re-tell that story in a photo?

Professional photographer Bob Ernst will discuss the techniques he uses to achieve this on Tuesday, Oct. 5 at the 2 p.m. meeting of the Vernon Camera Club via ZOOM.

Ernst has been telling wedding and event stories for years with his company, Robert Wayne Photography. Prior to his retirement, he photographed hundreds of weddings, portraits and events with the company named after his twin sons, Robert and Wayne. Ernst joined the Vernon Camera Club, as a member, to recapture the joy of a hobby photographer. In this presentation, he will graciously share his tips and techniques learned over the eight years he was in business.

Ernst’s presentation, “Story Telling in Photography,” will address elements of composure and how they contribute to a photograph’s ability to tell a story. The presentation is about using composition guides (rule of thirds, symmetry, rule of space, leading lines, unusual angles, framing, etc.).

“I will address how elements of composure allow us to capture and communicate that story-telling in our photos” Ernst said.

Although in his business, he invested in advanced equipment, required a website and a photo studio, he said “composure is one of the topics that does not require special equipment or advanced skills beyond simply thinking and seeing before clicking the shutter.”

Ernst’s interest in photography has a funny start. “As a young 20 something, I saw the 1986 King Kong movie in the theater. There’s this scene where Jeff Bridges is photographing Jessica Lange through a 35mm camera as she frolics around on the beach. I thought that looked like fun and wanted to get into photography. This is really where my interest began!” he said.

Shortly after the movie, Ernst purchased a Pentax K100, which he said was a good introduction to manual film photography. “I realized I enjoyed photographing people and capturing emotional, story-telling moments. About this time, the “photo-journalistic” approach to wedding photography was emerging and I thought it was something at which I could be successful,” he said.

Ernst is a long-time resident of Franklin. Ernst’s work can be seen at a Zenfolio hosting site: photos.robertwaynephotography.com.