Photos connect content with intention

What’s involved in creating photos for a book? I’ll take you on a journey into storytelling with photographs. How do you make choices, create coherence, and achieve a meaningful result?
– Sia Windig

The voice of photographs in the storytelling book for NVON

“Sia, would you like to create expressive photos for a scientific textbook?”
The question came from Marcel Kamp, biologist and writer of books for NVON. It’s in the nature of a scientist to focus primarily on describing objective facts. That’s what the book is about. But without a sense of connection to nature and emotion, you remain stuck in pure rationality. That’s why the request was for images that evoke wonder and shift the focus from the head to the heart—and to action.

The assignment
The book highlights, theme by theme, how STEM teachers can integrate sustainability into their lessons. Our planet is extraordinary, and so much is at stake right now. For each chapter, create a visual link with nature to make readers more receptive to this message. All the photos together must also tell a story, including the cover.

Three steps to a visual narrative

The key ingredients of a strong photo story are: defining the tone of voice of the images, establishing the layout requirements for the book, and finally, creating a coherent visual narrative.

1. Defining keywords and atmosphere

I began by reading the book concept. From each chapter I distilled a single keyword—an overarching feeling or theme. Then I searched my photo archive for images that resonated with those ideas.
It was during the Covid lockdowns, and what I missed most was having another photographer to bounce ideas off. A golden move was bringing in Nienke Koedood, an online storytelling mentor. The first thing we did together was analyze the different styles in my photography and choose one.
I landed on my poetic, often nearly abstract macro images. These photos reveal only a fragment of reality, leaving space for the viewer’s own interpretation, discoveries, and sense of wonder. Exactly what my clients were hoping for.

2. Placement and format

The next step was choosing the format: landscape, portrait, or square—and whether to work in color or black and white. What is usually a starting point in image editing hadn’t yet crossed my clients’ minds; in their view, those decisions would come later, once everything else was finished. But that would leave me very little time to deliver the images properly.
So I proposed a layout that would allow me to move forward—and thankfully received approval. Each of the nine chapters would open with a double-page landscape color photograph, with an information column placed on the right. This format allows the image to make a true statement. Just as important: I defined where the page fold would fall. The cover image would be vertical, with space for text and logo. From that moment on, the selection process became far more focused, and a subtle narrative line began to emerge.

My tip for next time: make it clear from the very beginning that these agreements form the foundation for the photographer’s work.

3. Image editing: selection and coherence

Then came the moment to curate—and to shoot additional images where necessary. It’s essential to separate personal memories and emotions from the photographs themselves. With Nienke’s feedback, I learned to look at my images as an outsider.
What mood does this evoke? Does it match the keyword? Is there enough story in this photo? And finally: when all the images are lined up, do they belong together?
Sometimes an image fit the keyword, but not the larger narrative—and sometimes the reverse. Using Photoshop, I unified the series through consistent editing. A key connector throughout the book is a palette of natural colors that harmonize with one another.

Sharing interim selections with the clients required a strategy. While puzzling with what fit together, some images fell away and others needed to be created. Early on, I gained agreement on the overall mood of the images. That gave me the freedom not to pitch every single photo.
Just before final delivery, I presented the series with a few alternatives in reserve. Choices were possible—but none were needed. It’s a beautiful moment when everything comes together and simply clicks.

“When people look at my pictures, I want them to feel the same way they do when they read a line of a poem twice.” – Robert Frank

How does photo storytelling work?

Photographs take us on a journey through our own visual memory library. They connect to our experiences and the emotions linked to them. An image comes alive within us in a way words cannot. After my presentation, Marcel Kamp, the commissioning author, put it beautifully:

“Every time I listen to a piece of music, it evokes something in me—each time something different. That’s how it is with your photos. They awaken something, on a level beyond words.”

Key narrative elements in a photograph

In photographic art, you play with line, shape, texture, color, light, sharpness, and depth. A photographer uses this awareness to create an effective composition—and thereby convey meaning.
The interplay of these elements evokes emotion and guides the viewer through one or more perspectives. A well-executed photo essay doesn’t rely on a title; the story tells itself and connects viewers with their own experiences and emotions.
But in this book, the quote and keyword anchor the image even more firmly to the chapter’s content.

Example: narrative elements in a photograph

What storytelling elements can you spot in this image of a salt crystal in a large field?

Key elements include the placement and sharpness of the tiny salt grain, the colors, and the texture. I’m playing with contrasts—large vs. small, strength vs. fragility, part vs. whole. There is a sense of solitude, but also warmth and softness.
This image fits the chapter on positioning—how students and teachers navigate certain and uncertain knowledge in science subjects.

BHave a look at the book: Plan Bèta on the NVON-site

The interplay of space, color, and message

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