A photograph that tells a story is not the same as a photograph that shows something interesting. An interesting photograph says 'look at this'. A story photograph asks 'what happened next?' or 'what happened before?' or 'who are these people to each other?'

The tools of photographic storytelling are context, relationship, and implication.

Context is what surrounds your subject. A man crying is a photograph. A man crying outside a betting shop is a story. A woman laughing is a photograph. A woman laughing while her friend walks away is a story.

Relationship is the connection between two or more elements in the frame. Eye contact between strangers. A child reaching for a parent who isn't looking. Two people reading the same newspaper on opposite sides of a bench.

Implication is what the frame suggests but doesn't show. An empty wheelchair with a coat draped over it. A bunch of flowers propped against a wall. The aftermath, not the event.

You can work on storytelling deliberately. Before pressing the shutter, ask yourself: does this frame raise a question? If someone who doesn't know this street, this city, or this person looked at this picture, would they want to know more? That's your test.

Watch for: the moment before and after, not just the moment itself. A fraction of a second earlier, a fraction later — one of them usually has more narrative.

The point: photography is not just about what you see. It is about what the viewer imagines after they stop looking.