20 Powerful Pictures that Tell a Story

Compelling, moving and emotion-provoking pictures that tell a story for inspiration. They do not only demonstrate a certain important event or occasion but are also great examples of storytelling in photography.

The pictures were taken by those who witnessed the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, COVID-19 protests, acid attack, Iraqi demonstrator, and more.

20 Amazing Pictures That Tell a Story

If you take a look at these pictures, you will notice that a human being plays a primary role in all of them and it tends to provoke more intense emotions in viewers.

However, even if a human is absent, it can still successfully tell a story. Examine all these pictures and, hopefully, they will inspire you to try telling a story through a photo as well.

1. Elon Musk Celebrates the Launch of SpaceX

In this shot, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk is celebrating the launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Crew Dragon spacecraft on NASA's SpaceX Demo-2 mission to the International Space Station from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 30, 2024.

Within almost 24 hours after the launch, the Crew Dragon capsule and NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley reached the International Space Station. This date will go down in history as the first U.S. capsule with a crew that made it to space since 2011.

2. Protests on U.S. Coronavirus

One of the brightest photos that tell a story in 2024 is this shot of a protestor carrying the “We Will Not Comply” sign. Taken in Richmond, Virginia, U.S., on April 16, 2024, during the demonstration near the Virginia State Capitol, the shot reflects people’s dissatisfaction with the quarantine regime.

3. Lu Yuejin’s Conversation with the Police

In one of the most touching photo stories, Lu Yuejin is begging the police to let her daughter go through the checkpoint after their arrival from Hubei province at the Jiujiang Yangtze River Bridge in Jiujiang, Jiangxi province, China, on February 1, 2024.

The woman, who works a farmer, made an attempt to ask for a pass for her daughter, 26-year-old Hu Ping, who suffers from leukemia. The daughter didn’t manage to get a second round of chemotherapy in the overcrowded hospitals of Wuhan, the city where the coronavirus pandemic began.

4. Woman Wearing a Mask During Coronavirus

This shot demonstrates a woman who is wearing a mask and is moving away from the employees of a disinfection service company. They are sanitizing a market in Seoul, South Korea, on February 26, 2024, to prevent the further spread of coronavirus.

5. Iraqi Protester Sitting on Tires

In one of the powerful images that tell a story, an Iraqi demonstrator is sitting on the tires and is blocking the road. The picture was taken during protests against the government in Najaf, Iraq, on February 2, 2024.

6. A Woman Walking Down After Haiti Earthquake of 2010

A photographer captured a woman walking down a destroyed street in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on January 20, 2010. Such devastations were caused by a massive Haiti earthquake that occurred 8 days before this shot was taken.

The earthquake initiated on the West Indian island of Hispaniola and affected the countries of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Haiti, which occupies the western third of the island, suffered more losses than any other area.

7. A Firefighting Crew Control a Blaze

For four months now, bush fires have been wreaking havoc in the southeastern states of New South Wales and Victoria. The fires have burned more than 38,000 square miles an area the size of South Carolina.

More than 28 people have died, and 2,000 houses in rural areas have been ruined. This particular shot is a prominent example of storytelling photography.

8. Eufemia Garcia After Volcano Eruption

In this picture, you can see Eufemia Garcia, a 48-year old woman who lost 50 members of her family during the eruption of the Fuego volcano. She is resting and holding a shovel, hoping to find her nearest and dearest amid all the ruins. The picture was taken in San Miguel Los Lotes in Escuintla, Guatemala, on June 15, 2018.

9. Desert Storm on Chinese Village

One of the most startling pictures that tell a story demonstrates a massive cloud of sand descending on Chinese village. It all led to an immense sandstorm in a village in Golmud in the Qinghai Province, which is located close to the edge of the Gobi Desert.

10. Dihan Has Been Smoking for Years

The family of this boy from Indonesia takes great pride in him. Not so long ago, Dihan used to smoke up to two cigarette packs on a daily basis. Now he claims to smoke less.

Dihan’s mother, Sulawati, said that her son didn’t feel well, he was coughing a lot, and the doctor suggested that he quit this terrible habit. Then she added that Dihan is trying his best and smokes only five cigarettes each day now.

11. Reaction to the Water After a Protest

In this wonderful example of picture story, a protester is happy to get some water on his face after the tear gas was released during demonstrations following the death in Minneapolis police custody of George Floyd in the U.S, on May 30, 2024.

12. Nusrat Looks in a Mirror

In this shot, Nusrat, who has survived an acid attack, is looking in a mirror while being at a shelter run by the Acid Survivors Foundation in Islamabad, Pakistan. Nusrat’s husband and brother-in-law were the ones who attacked her during the family conflict. The shot was taken on March 8, 2014.

13. A Boy Waiting for the End of Ramadan

The photograph captures a boy who is looking up in the sky and is waiting to break his fast at the end of the first day of Ramadan. He is sitting on the rooftop of his house during the quarantine in Colombo, Sri Lanka April 25, 2024.

During Ramadan that lasts a month, Muslims from all the corners of the globe gather with their families in order to break the fast at sunset and pray at mosques. This year, they were unable to do it in a proper way due to the coronavirus pandemic.

14. Ethiopian Man Finds His Family

One of the truly moving stories pictures was taken at Asmara airport where Azmera and Danait Addisalem met their father, an Ethiopian journalist, for the first time in 20 years. They are definitely crying tears of joy in this photograph.

15. The Self-Immolation of Buddhist Monk

Undoubtedly, it is one of the pictures that tell a story without words. It captures Thich Quang Duc. He was a Vietnamese Mahayana Buddhist monk who performed self-immolation on June 11, 1963.

It was an act of the protest against a corrupted South Vietnamese government led by Ngo Dinh Diem that persecuted Buddhists. Look at these iconic photos that will amaze you.

16. Brad Pitt Waiting for an Oscar

On February 9, 2024, Brad Pitt won his first Oscar for the best supporting actor in the movie “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” directed by Quentin Tarantino. In this shot, Pitt is patiently waiting for his Oscar statue to be engraved at the Governors Ball after the Academy Awards in Los Angeles, California.

17. Surgeon After Heart Transplant

In this photograph, you can see a heart surgeon who has successfully performed the first heart transplant. The surgery lasted for 23 hours. In the corner, the surgeon’s assistant is sleeping. The shot was taken in Poland, in 1987.

18. A Capsule Carrying the Astronaut

After the extraction from the Soyuz descent module, Koch was captured with a broad smile on his face, overwhelmed with happiness. It is clearly visible in the footage taken by the Roscosmos space agency from the landing site.

Koch blasted off on March 14 last year.

19. Marine with Kitten

This shot was taken during the Korean War, in 1953. It depicts Frank Praytor, the U.S. Marine who became famous after he was captured taking care of a kitten. Praytor died on January 10, 2018, in Albuquerque, New Mexico at the age of 90. He hasn’t been feeling very well for the last few years.

If you take a look at this photo, you will be no longer wondering how do pictures tell a story. In fact, it doesn’t only reflect the human’s kindness in the middle of the ruthless war. This photo even saved Praytor from courts-martial.

20. Gun Salutes Fired in London

The photo marks Queen Elizabeth II’s 68th anniversary of her accession to the throne in London, Britain. Taken on Feb. 6, 2024, it demonstrates the members of the Honorable Artillery Company firing a 62-round royal gun salute from outside the Tower of London.

Tata Rossi

Hi there, I'm Tata Rossi - a professional blogger, read more