Take out the clutter, bring out the essential

I think the treatment of this picture, the day of my daughter-in-law graduation ceremony explains in image, what we have to do with a story or a text for a gig.

First, it is true and not complectly so.

I did not graduate that day (years earlier, yes but without any ceremony)

The real graduate told me: "now put on that hat, you!" And finaly I did.

She took two pictures with it and me. One, me smiling warmly at her, and this one with an attitude.

Attitude is always better then just warmth.

But there was too much in the image, so I made a coutout first. Transformed in grey, what is not important and where focus should not be. Then cropped the image to be nearer the expression.

Here is the result.

The main point, expression, attitude, comes out in this "distilled" image.

We should do the same when we prepare a story. What is the main story? What attitude? How can we get rid of the clutter, the non essential part? After we found a good story, true mostly, we have to work with it to show what we believe it is the most important thing in it, at least for that telling, that time.