Photo Storytelling

Choose this exercise

Purpose: Compare how individuals create different narrative interpretations from a shared set of images.

Use it when: At the beginning of a workshop or reflective session to practice visual interpretation and personal narrative without complex rules.

Skip it when: When participants need to analyze empirical facts or when visual materials create access barriers that cannot be accommodated.

Group arrangement: Individual selection and drafting, followed by sharing in groups of 3 (with groups of 4 for non-multiples of 3, or whole-room sharing if group size is 6 or fewer)

Timing: Source gives 15 to 30 minutes; 20 minutes fits individual selection, small-group sharing, and debrief

Materials and tools

• A collection of at least 40 diverse printed images (landscapes, objects, people, abstract scenes)
• Blank scratch paper (1 sheet per person)
• Pens or pencils (1 per person)
• Optional digital whiteboard (e.g., Miro, Mural, Padlet) containing image files for remote delivery
• Timer

Before participants arrive

1. Spread printed images across a central table so they are fully visible without stacking.
2. Ensure there are at least twice as many images as participants.
3. Place scratch paper and pens at each participant seat.

Say this to open

Take a look at the images on the table. You will select three that catch your attention, place them in any order you like, and construct a short story that connects them. The story can be fictional, personal, or purely descriptive. There are no right or wrong narratives.

How to run it

1. Introduce and browse 3 minutes

   Deliver the opening instructions. Invite everyone to walk to the display table and review the images silently without grabbing immediately.

2. Select three images 3 minutes

   Each person takes three distinct images and returns to their workspace. If someone prefers not to pick physical cards, offer an alternate selection method.

3. Sequence and draft 5 minutes

   Participants line up their three images in sequence. Give 4 minutes of quiet time to write or outline a short story connecting all three. Example: Image 1 shows a rusted key, Image 2 shows an empty road, Image 3 shows an open window; the narrative traces finding a key that leads someone down a road to an open house.

4. Share stories in small groups 6 minutes

   If the room has 6 or fewer people, share as one whole circle. For larger rooms, form trios, adding one or two groups of 4 if the count does not divide by 3. Each person takes up to 90 seconds to show their images in order and tell their story. Non-speaking listeners hold comments until the speaker finishes. Anyone may pass or simply display their cards without narration.

5. Debrief 3 minutes

   Reconvene the full room. Ask 2 or 3 participants to share how their image interpretation evolved once they placed the pictures side by side.

Debrief questions

• What made you choose the specific order for your three pictures?
• Did anyone see an image used in someone else's story in a way completely different from how you saw it?
• What was easy or difficult about bridging unrelated scenes into one narrative?

Finished output: A set of sequenced three-card image layouts with brief written or spoken narratives produced by each participant.

Remote

Pre-load 40 or more numbered image files onto an online canvas (such as Miro, Mural, or Padlet). Participants browse the board, duplicate their three chosen images into their own marked workspace, arrange them in order, and write brief story bullet points. Run small-group sharing by sending participants into breakout rooms of 3 people (or 4 if numbers require) for 6 minutes.

Hybrid

Provide all participants access to a shared digital whiteboard where every printed image is duplicated online. Remote participants pick and sequence images directly on their virtual canvas. In-person participants pick physical cards and take photos of their trio to drop onto the board, or use the digital board alongside remote peers. For sharing, place remote participants in virtual breakout rooms while in-person participants form physical clusters. If pairing across modes, the in-person partner joins the remote room on a personal laptop to view each other's canvas frames directly.

Access and participation choices

• Provide high-contrast, large-format images or short descriptive text captions on the back of each image for low-vision participants.
• Participants may write their story, tell it verbally, or simply name the three images without narrative pressure.
• Any participant may pass during sharing without giving a reason.

If the session gets stuck

Multiple participants want the exact same printed image card.

Provide duplicates of popular cards or allow a participant to take a quick photo of the image with a phone and leave the physical card on the table.

A participant gets stuck trying to force a literal logical connection between unrelated scenes.

Remind them that dream logic, emotional tone, or simple time passage works just as well as direct cause and effect.

Terms used here

• Visual prompt: An evocative picture used to spark an idea or narrative rather than illustrate factual data.