YenraPhotography

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Choosing variety for an event gallery

Choose a few photographs with different contributions, and keep the fuller collection close by.

A small selection can invite someone into a much larger day. One photograph might show people within a setting; another might bring a face, gesture, or readable detail closer. Choosing variety begins with noticing what each picture contributes.

Give the selection several contributions.

Here are five photographs selected from Renfest Closing Day 2013. Their numbers identify contributions to this selection, rather than the order in which events happened. The complete 219-photograph gallery remains available alongside this smaller view.

Four people beside a stall, with buildings and other people visible around them.
1 · People within the setting.
Renaissance Fair or Festival · Photograph: Yenra
A close portrait with a dark decorative mask and feathered headwear.
2 · A closer face.
Woman in Feathered Headdress · Photograph: Yenra
A standing person holds a decorated basket toward the camera.
3 · A gesture and an object.
Woman with Basket of Flowers in Wooded Area · Photograph: Yenra
A horizontal portrait with a speech-bubble sign and a large dark moustache.
4 · A detail to read.
Portrait with a speech-bubble sign · Photograph: Yenra
Two people in decorated hats stand together, with one holding a mug.
5 · A shared portrait.
Steampunk Enthusiasts Pose for a Photo at Outdoor Event · Photograph: Yenra

The first picture includes four people, a stall, buildings, and other people around them. It gives the selection a setting. The closer masked face brings costume detail forward; the basket photograph adds a gesture and an object. A speech-bubble sign offers something to read, and the last picture brings two people together in a shared portrait.

These contributions can help you describe your own selection in ordinary words. You might choose a wider view, a close face, a hand at work, a small detail, or something unexpected. Let the photographs you have suggest the possibilities.

Compare one alternative.

A close portrait of a red-haired person.
Another close portrait.
Woman with Red Hair and Green Eyes · Photograph: Yenra

Try imagining this close portrait in place of picture 2. It keeps a face close while changing the person and the amount of costume detail in the selection. Look back at the other four pictures: what connection becomes easier to notice, and what changes?

Changing one picture at a time makes comparison manageable. Keep the other choices in place, try an alternative, and write a few words about what it adds. You can return to either version as your ideas develop.

Keep a fuller view available.

A short selection offers a welcoming doorway into a larger collection. Keep a link to the full gallery so viewers can explore beyond your choices. This selection sits beside all 219 photographs in their original archive order; each picture also links to its original photo page.

Look back with curiosity.

  • What does each picture add?
  • Which pictures repeat a contribution you already have?
  • What would you like to include on your next outing?

Continue with Choosing a small set of photographs, Learning from a contact sheet, Building a small photographic story, or Writing captions that invite a closer look.

Browse the complete Renfest Closing Day 2013 gallery → · Take the event-variety experiment with you →