Photographing problems and solutions: how to engage viewers in the process.

Life often involves problem solving. Some of the problems, as well as their solutions, may lend themselves to visual interpretation. Skilled photojournalists are often able to define the issue at hand visually for their viewers and engage them in the problem-solving process.

Jim Summaria, a Chicago area freelancer, had to shoot a story about employees learning to master a new computer program at Allstate Insurance in Northbrook, Ill. Summaria's most effective photo was this close-up shot of an employee as he faced a difficult decision. His intense response symbolizes the difficulty of the problem and his quest for the solution. Through trial and error, he must learn how to use this program, and Summaria's engaging image helps viewers relate to the man's predicament. This picture defines the challenges of the class far more effectively than a superficial image of an overall classroom scene.

Photographer Eric Haglund recently posted a travel picture on the Internet that also does a good job of defining a problem, and goes on to demonstrate a solution. Near a bridge over a river in Costa Rica, Haglund saw five men gathering rocks for a construction job. This picture is all about scale relationships and teamwork. The men are small, the supply of rocks abundant. The problem they face dwarfs them in size. They must search by hand among dozens of glistening rocks to find the right size and shape for the job, and then load them onto a small truck. While three men at left search for choice rocks, another fellow is tossing a rock to the man near the truck. Will he catch it? Or will it catch him? Haglund stops the rock in flight, provoking this question. So far, only a few rocks rest in the bed of the truck. This picture defines the scope of the problem and the nature of the solution and leaves the rest to the viewer's imagination.

I shot the final two examples of problem-solving pictures on my travels. While visiting Vietnam's Historical Museum in Ho Chi Minh City, I noticed a man approaching a large decorative iron gate holding two bowls of steaming noodles in his hands. Instead of moving in to fill my frame with the noodle-bearer, I chose to dominate the frame with the ornate gate to give my picture a sense of place, at the same time creating a scale contrast to make the man's task of opening the gate seem more difficult.

I deliberately used backlighting to reduce detail, removing facial detail to make the man more symbolic and less descriptive. I want this picture to ask questions and demand answers from my viewers. How does this man solve his problem? Does he put one bowl down and open the huge gate, then pick it up and walk through? Is the gate locked or unlocked? Will he call for help? I tried to make a picture that lets the viewer guess the solution to this simple but challenging problem.

My final example involves more of a solution than a problem. While visiting South Africa's Addo Elephant National Park, I noticed an elephant bull trying to shove his way into a water hole. I learned that this particular elephant was a newcomer to the park and had to use assertive tactics every time he needed a drink. I caught him in the act of solving his problem in the only way he knows. After enough shoves, he probably will earn his own space at the water hole.

The thirsty elephant, along with the locked-out noodle carrier, the rock slingers and catchers, and the stumped computer trainee, faces a challenge and must find a solution. These images attempt to define the issue and engage viewers' imaginations in the process.

Philip N. Douglis, ABC, directs The Douglis Visual Workshops, now in its 32nd year of training communicators in visual literacy. Douglis, an IABC Fellow, is the most widely known consultant on editorial photography for organizations. He offers a comprehensive six-person Communicating with Pictures workshop every May and October in Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona, Ariz, For registration information, call +1 602,493.6709, or send an e-mail to [e-mail]. Send photos for possible use in this column to: The Douglis Visual Workshops, 2505 E. Carol Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85028, USA. View Douglis's travel photojournalism portfolios on the web at www.worldisround.com/ home/pnd1/index.html.