mystery box photography:
Where is she going? And why is she looking back?
what jj abrams can teach us about taking better photos
Empty Space and Darkness Can Really Enhance the Mystery in your Photos.
One of the most subtle—and perhaps most powerful—storytelling techniques in photography is what I like to call the mystery box. The term comes from filmmaker J.J. Abrams, who argues that the most captivating stories are those that begin with unanswered questions. In photography, this approach invites viewers into a moment filled with ambiguity—one that suggests a story without ever fully revealing it.
Rather than presenting a clear narrative, mystery box photography thrives on uncertainty. These images drop the viewer into an unresolved situation and allow them to linger there. Who is this person? What’s just happened? What might happen next? The story exists in what is implied but unseen. That space for interpretation is what keeps the viewer engaged, imagining, and returning to the image with new thoughts.
Several examples from my travels illustrate this idea. In Romania, I photographed a solitary woman standing in a dark, atmospheric church. Is she praying? Reflecting? Waiting for someone? She is surrounding by darkness, why is that? Where is she? Leaving empty spaces in your photography and shooting wide can really help enhance the effectiveness of your mystery boxes. We often shoot wide to give context to the viewer - but what is we gave them context without context?
In Karbala, Iraq, I captured a photo of a young girl in a chador walking through a crowded alley, glancing back over her shoulder. Is she curious? Cautious? Lost? Why is she dressed so conservatively? It’s uncommon to see young girls dressed this way. All these questions linger in the viewer’s mind, unanswered. Similarly, in Morocco, I photographed a young girl at an Amazigh festival. She appears to be surrounded by parental figures—so much so that even the camera struggles to fully see her, with part of the frame obscured by an out-of-focus adult. And yet, her gaze pierces through the crowd, leaving the audience wondering, “What’s going on here?”
Who is this boy? Why Does he Looked so Concerned? And Why is he Behind Bars? All these questions and more answered in next week’s episode of Dragon Ball Z!
And in India, I was able to photograph a boy as stares through the barred window of a train. Where is he going? Why the concern on his face? Is he safe? Each of these photos, while compositionally simple, is charged with unanswered questions. In truth, the actual stories behind these images are quite ordinary. The boy on the train, for instance, was simply bored while waiting at a station, and the bars were standard for all windows on that line. But that doesn’t matter. What matters is how the image makes the viewer feel, the thoughts it stirs, and the stories it inspires in the imagination. Sometimes, the version the viewer creates in their mind is far more compelling than reality—and that’s where the real storytelling power of photography lies.
This technique is particularly effective in landscape photography, creating unreal scenes that leave the viewer questioning where such a photo could have been taken. This approach to landscape photography can transform a pretty picture into an evocative image—one that lingers in the viewer’s mind, sparks curiosity, and invites interpretation. Here's how mystery works to elevate landscapes beyond just beauty.
Key ideas behind the Mystery Box:
Mystery is more powerful than knowledge.
Not knowing what’s “inside the box” is more compelling than revealing it. The unknown sparks imagination and emotional engagement.Unanswered questions engage audiences.
When photos make viewers ask questions, it sparks engagement and leaves them thinking about your photo long after they’ve stopped looking at it.Mystery invites participation.
Viewers become more involved because they’re mentally filling in gaps, speculating, or projecting their own ideas into the story of your photo. Speculation is inherently participatory.It’s about potential.
The unopened box contains infinite possibilities, and that potential is often more interesting than any single resolution.
