“I didn't have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.”  ― Mark Twain

What Twain is saying with this statement is that when we have limited time and space with which to express ourselves, everything that we include is indespensable in getting our point across.  The same thing is true of a photograph.  Every detail that is included in an image, or not included, should be an indespensable part of the story you are telling.

I took this photo at my dad's burial.  It is the story of that day.

Carefully craft a story in your photo today.  Know the story that you want to tell and carefully craft your image.  Everything from light and shadow, what is in the frame and what is not, perspective, depth of field...every detail will influence your story in some way.