1st assignment: Create a Sense of Mystery

In this assignment, use Photoshop to create an image that conveys a sense of mystery. Like a book or film that ends inconclusively, images that are only partially revealed or pose unanswered questions often stay with us longer than ones where every loose end is neatly tied up.

As David Duchemin states in his book, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, "A great storyteller doesn’t tell absolutely everything. She tells enough to make you care, to tell the story and move the plot, and no more. Extraneous details don’t provide anything more than confusion. In fact, more than just cluttering the story, a flood of details kills the mystery and the engagement. A good story has a sense of wonder, it raises curiosity, and it leaves something untold for us to gnaw on. Perhaps it’s a glance out of frame; we’re familiar with the look of affection a woman has on her face, but who is she looking at? A face moves into silhouette as you press the shutter, and suddenly a photo of a specific woman is a photo of a woman around whom there is some mystery.

Leave enough clues to tell the story, and exclude enough to create a sense of mystery. Unanswered questions engage a viewer and create an interaction between the image and the viewer—a deeper level of viewing that allows us to think and feel more connected to the story. Similarly, placing details in the image that are discovered only after looking at it for a while can contribute to a feeling of surprise, even the feeling of being let in on something. It gives the image an extra layer, engaging the viewer longer or more often."

As in all assignments, use the design elements and principles meaningfully -perhaps in unexpected ways to work against expectations.