What is a great title?

Today a very good photographer friend of mine asked me a question about titles for prints. I had to laugh to myself because there is a running joke in my house that all my prints are titled “Trees in Fog, Sauvie Island.” This joke was started by my young children, so the problem is real. The idea that I am bad at names for my pictures is well-earned.

I do believe titles are important; maybe that is what makes them so difficult to write well. I know some folks who are particularly good at this task. I have asked my friends Susan and Katharine many times over the years to come up with titles for my pictures.  The best titles in my catalog are thanks to them. 

So what makes it so hard? Maybe you want a title that invites and informs the viewer, maybe sets a direction for them to follow, but does not tell everything. Also, there are many good reasons to not direct the viewer at all and allow them to come up with their own interpretation. The whole “a picture is worth a thousand words” deal. Think Pepper 30, the well-known picture by Edward Weston. The “30” is simply the 30th time he had made a picture of a pepper in an old funnel. 

I read that one well-known photographer suggests translating the title into an arcane romance language.  Another one titles all his work is “near” and then the location. Think of a Near Suavie Island, kind of deal. 

I suspect this issue is widespread across all art mediums. Painters, sculptures, you name it, they struggle.  It may be that the authors have it the easiest; their medium is words, after all. 

For me, the perfect title evokes mystery.  Photography is by nature a literal medium, a slice of time recording something that existed in front of the camera for a fraction of a second. It struggles to make a picture that does not only include what the photographer has placed the camera’s frame around. Through a good title, an artist may be able to overcome the subject-driven nature of photography and coax the viewer into seeing more deeply into the heart of the maker.  

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts, how do you choose a name for your works.  Join the conversation if you can.

Be well,

Ray

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