Syllabus for the Photography class

From how to use a camera to editing, from visual storytelling using a single image to
photo essays, commercial, documentary and conceptual photography, from
landscapes to portraits, street photography to history of artistic photography.

CLASS #1:

presentations
discussion on what is photography, what is the role of a photographer, the
differences between photography and other mediums (the replacement of
painting in some fields, the impact on pop culture and the mass media, etc)
some notes on the history of photography, from the View from the Window
at Le Gras to the present moment
introduction to different types of photography and equipment
review and open discussion on some of the most important photographs in
history of humankind, the context, the styles used, how they were influential,
what changed afterwards, etc
attribution of an assignment for students to do until the next class: choose
one picture you like from a famous photographer and one taken from you to
present to the class, saying why they are important or beautiful

CLASS #2:

presentations of students pictures and class feedback

how to use a camera (exposure, aperture, shutter speed, iso, etc)
reading light and lighting types, focus and depth of field, different creative
uses and approaches (bokeh, HDR photography, playing with shadows and
writing with light, etc)
learning to see, awareness and observation exercises
open discussion on the work of famous photographers that played with light
and shadows (e.g. Andr Kertesz or Rupert Vandervell) and did night
photography (e.g. Brassai, Alan Delaney, Todd Hido, Michael Kenna, Winston
Link and Edgar Martins)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class:
meditation/observation exercises t o do in a street near your home, noticing
the colors and the light, trying to find interesting themes to photograph,
drawing the scene you want to photograph before taking the picture in
order to work on your observation skills (look for lines, shapes, angles,
reflections, the street life around you; see with all your senses, pay attention to

sounds and smells; which visual relationships can you notice in the world
around you?)

CLASS #3:

open discussion on the observation exercise by the students

motion, shutter speed and action photography
colors and perceptive psychology vs black and white photos
discussion on the untruth character of photography (brief introduction to
some famous examples, such as Eisenstaedt's The Kiss, Ian Wetherell's Loch
Ness Monster or Cristina De Middels Afronauts), presentation of different
vantage points and other approaches to express a subjective interpretation
instead of an absolute realistic version of the world
editing photos (e.g. adjusting brightness, contrast, levels, cropping,
temperature and saturation) and some notes on photo manipulation (history,
creative uses, ethics, finding your style, etc)
open discussion on the work of photographers that made intimate photo
essays or used subjective approaches (e.g. Rebecca Norris Webbs
recovering of the loss of her brother, Graham MacIndoes getting out of
addiction, Paola Paredess coming out, Philip Toledano's last days of his
father, Larry Finks improvisations, Rinko Kawauchis poetic images, etc)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: take two
pictures of the same subject/scenery but expressing two different
interpretations using different settings on the camera, through editing or
through slightly altering the view point in the moment of shooting/angle/etc

CLASS #4:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

composition (rule of t hirds, foreground vs background or the figure-to-ground
relationship, simplification vs different layers of meaning or action, etc)
lines (leading the eye, diagonals for dramatic effect, horizontals for harmony,
curves and shapes, etc)
framing of subjects, relationship between objects and scenery, etc
examples and open discussion of different forms of composition, creative use
of lines and shapes, and other mediums with the work of famous
photographers
use of different resources to tell a story and examples with the work of Lee
Friedlander and Andr Kertesz
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: print
cheaply (black-and-white in normal paper) five different photographs you

like and with a red marker draw the major themes in the composition, the
lines and shapes used, the different methods of framing and others visual
cues you can find on how the harmony of the picture was established

CLASS #5:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

portrait photography and how to better capture people stories and emotions
open discussion on the work of famous portrait photographers (e.g. Henri
Cartier-Bresson, Annie Liebovitz, Yousuf Karsh, Irving Penn, Brian Duffy, Pierre
Gonnord, Jimmy Nelsson, Steve McCurry, Lee Jeffries, Rehahn, Eric Lafforgue,
Rehahn, Eve Arnold, David Baley, Cecil Beaton, etc)
the self-portrait and some famous examples, from the more realistic
approach of Vivian Maier to the more expressive of one of Fernando Lemos
introduction to still life photography, landscape and wildlife, anthropology
and visual ethnography, fashion/product photography, macro and other
commercial types of photography
open discussion on the work of photographers related with the styles above
(e.g. the still life of Roger Fenton, Edward Weston, Irving Penn, Joel Witkin,
Carlos Tarrats and Tom Baril; the landscapes of Minor White and Ansel
Adams, and other contemporary landscape photographers such as Kilian
Schnberger, Lars Van de Goor, Vincent Favre, Peter Lik, Max Rive and the
urban landscapes of Charles Sheeler, Andrew Prokos, Bernd and Hilla Becher;
the wildlife photography of Laurent Baheux, David Doubilet, Frans Lanting,
Nick Brandt , Antoni Kasprzak and Stefano Unterthiner; the Genesis series of
Sebastio Salgado (wildlife, landscape, ethnography) and the oil spills of
Daniel Beltr; the fashion photographers Terry Richardson, Richard Avedon,
Helmut Newton, Mario Testino, Peter Lindbergh, Steven Meisel and Bill
Cunningham; the macro from David Maitland, Carlo Galliani, Thomas
Shahan, Nordin Seruyan and Vyacheslav Mishchenko; other examples of
commercial or highly staged/produced photography, for instance Hiro, Oleg
Oprisco, David LaChapelle, Kirsty Mitchell and Katerina Plotnikova)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: make at
least one portrait of someone you know, one self-portrait where you try to use
different methods to show your personality or tell something about your life
(using the context around you, using effects or an artistic approach, taking
advantage of other objects and props for your visual storytelling, etc), one
landscape photograph, one still life photograph and a couple of
photographs on architecture or urban landscape (for instance portraiting
different approaches of a building, e.g. dramatic use of light and shadow, a
more poignant approach by showing the life of its inhabitants, etc)

CLASS #6:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

introduction to street photography and capturing life as it is
seizing the moment and Cartier-Bresson philosophy of photography
open discussion on the work of famous street photographers (e.g. Henri
Cartier-Bresson, Vivian Maier, Alex Webb, Martin Parr, William Klein, Anders
Petersen, Eugene Atget , Josef Koudelka, Garry Winogrand, Robert Frank and
Helen Levitt )
some notes on travel photography
open discussion on the work of famous travel photographers (e.g. Steve
McCurry, Werner Bischof, Rehahnm, Joel Santos, Eric Lafforgue, Lisa Kristine,
David Lazar, David Harvey, Annie Belt )
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: prepare a
series of fifteen images taken on the street where at least two of them are
portraits, and the rest show people in their daily life, interactions that
generate questions and possibilities of stories to the viewer, social critic,
documentation of habits and cultures, etc

CLASS #7:

review of the students assignments and class feedback, discussion on the

experience of photographing strangers, the ethics related, the selfconfidence required for the photographer, etc
introduction to documentary photography
review of work from earlier documentary photographers: Dorothea Lange,
Walker Evans, Marion Wolcott, Russell Lee, Paul Strand, Lewis Hine and others
the influence of the book Americans by Robert Frank
ethics of photojournalism, how to interact with the subjects, etc
open discussion on the work of controversial photographers (e.g. Diane
Arbuss freaks, Kevin Carters vulture with famine girl, Larry Clarks youth,
Richard Princes instagram series, Oliverio Toscani's benetton ads, Jill
Greenberg's crying children and Jan Saudek's surrealistic portraits)
review of some of the World Press Photo winning pictures
open discussion on the power of documentary photography and the
possibility of a photograph to change the world (e.g. Capas D-Day or the
death of a Spanish War fighter, Langes Migrant Mother, Adams Murder of a
Vietcong, Jeff Widener's Tianenmen Square protester, Nick Ut 's Terror of
Vietnam War, Malcolm Browne's Burning Monk, Joe Rosenthals The Flag of
Iwo Jima, etc)

attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: choose
one theme to document (can be a social issue, the daily life of a person you
know, etc) and take a series of five photos that can tell a story about it

CLASS #8:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

documentary photography (continuation)
photojournalism vs alternative ways to talk about a subject (more
conceptual/artistic, more subjective, using approaches from different
photography styles, etc)
visual storytelling and the photo essay (researching about a subject or theme,
check lists of what to photograph in field trips, how to organize a sequence
of photos to tell a story, etc)
social critic, human rights and political activism, review of the work of
photographers such as Martin Parr, Sebastio Salgado, Claude Cahun, Bob
Adelman, Bruce Davidson, Charles Moore, Ernest Withers, James Karales,
Laurie Simmons, Birgit Jrgenssen, Carrie Weems, Nan Goldin, Catherine Opie
open discussion on the work of photojournalists that cover wars, news,
humanitarian issues, etc (e.g. Matthew Brady, Robert Capa, Sebastio
Salgado, Carol Guzy, Frank Fournier, Larry Barrows, Ken Oosterbroek, Walter
Astrada, Don McCullin, James Nachtwey, Mary Ellen Mark)
open discussion on the work of contemporary documentary photographers
that use alternative approaches (e.g. Raphael Dallaporta, Alec Soth, Daniele
Delaini, Cristina de Middel, Rania Matar, Paolo Woods, Graham MacIndoe,
Philip Toledano and others)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: get back
to the theme in which you took the series of five photos and take some more
photos with the new knowledge you have on the photo essay, now paying
attention to the order of your sequence, the fluency of the visual storytelling,
check list of what to photograph, etc

CLASS #9:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

introduction to conceptual, experimental and fine art photography
some notes on Pictorialism, a movement in the early days of photography
that tried to simulate paintings (e.g. Edward Steichen, Miron Sherling, Jane
Reece, Charles Puyo, Clarence White, George Seeley, Robert Demachy,
Anne Brigman, Leonard Missone, etc)

symbolism and metaphors, using objects and scenes to tell a story and
propose different meanings
introduction to Surrealism, the current that broke with the realistic
representation typical associated with photography (e.g. Man Ray, Fernando
Lemos, Jerry Uelsman, Philippe Halsman, Maurice Tabard, Hans Bellmer, Dora
Maar) or examples of contemporary artists exploring this style (e.g. Kyle
Thompson, Erik Johansson, Christopher McKenney, Stephen Criscolo, Martin
Stranka, Ronen Goldman, Tommy Ingberg, Joel Robison, Alex Stoddard, Anka
Zhuravleva, Sarah Loreth, Brooke Shaden )
introduction on other creative approaches (e.g. light painting, high speed
cameras, multiple and long exposures, cyanotype photography and other
alternative processes) and review of some examples of artwork (e.g. the
experiments of Fabian Oefner or Daisuke Y okota, the cyanotypes of Gail
Erwin, the experimental photography of Stephen Gill, the Lomography trend,
the multiexposures of Edmund Kesting and Boris Mikhailov , the light work of
Dean Chamberlain, the light paintings of Eric Staller, Vicki Da Silva, Patrick
Rochon, Janne Parviainen, Brian Hart, Dana Maltby, Hannu Huhtamo and
LAPP-PRO)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: use any
of the methods and inspirations from this class to make two pictures that
present reality in a different way, one through the use of the camera itself
and the other through editing; make three photographs where you use
objects, the scenery or gestures from a subject to express some metaphoric
meaning or symbolism

CLASS #10:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

continuation of studies in artistic photography and open discussion on the
work and different approaches of artistic photographers such as Alfred
Stieglitz, Andreas Gursky, William Eggleston, Gregory Crewdson, Edgar
Martins, Gerhard Richter, Ruud Van Empel, Jaan Knnap, Cindy Sherman,
Francesca Woodman, Grace Weston, Amanda Charchian, Duane Michals,
Bill Brandt, Abelardo Morell, Nick Brandt, Laurie Tmer, Pamela Creevey,
Jarret Murphy, Michael Massaia, Imogene Cunningham, Floris Neusss, Jeff
Wall, Robert Mapplethorpe, Ruth Bernhard, John Got o, Guy Bourdin, Jan
Saudek, Walter Chappell and others
visual language and photo critique (e.g. Roland Barthes, Susan Sontag, Errol
Morris, John Berger, Victor Burgin and others)
open discussion on the artwork of famous photographers

attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: write a
critic on the work of a fine art photographer or photo essay of your choice,
explaining the concept behind, stating his/her different methods,
approaches, influences and why is it important

CLASS #11:

review of the students assignments and class feedback

how to create a photo project (the different phases of the project, from
choosing a theme to the pitching, from funding to the making of an
exhibition, writing to explain the concept, different approaches for visual
storytelling, etc)
open discussion on the artwork of famous photographers
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: writing a
concept for a photo project, presenting a list of ideas for its development,
style and approaches, a plan of shooting and preferably starting to meet the
subjects you want to photograph

CLASS #12:

review of the students project proposals and class feedback

practical class for working on the project, study of possible inspirations, group
discussions on potential directions to the projects, etc
introduction to non-western photography and photographers, review and
open discussion about their work (e.g. Asia - Jiang Zhi, Wang Jinsong, Tomoko
Sawada, Shikhei Goh, Ohm Phanphiroj, Manny Librodo, Nobuyoshi Araki,
Raghubir Singh, Chien-Chi Chang, Nick Ut, Dayanita Singh, Daido Moriyama,
Shomei Tomatsu, Alex Baluyut, Oscar Motuloh, Erik Prasetya, Lu Guang,
Takuma Nakahira, Chang Tsai, Tay Kay Chin, Ho Fan, Shahidul Alam, Raghu
Rai, Lu Nan, Eikoh Hosoe, Rinko Kawauchi, Daisuke Y okota; Middle East - Lara
Zankoul, Shirin Neshat , Gohar Dashti, Shadi Ghadirian, Newsha Tavakolian,
Boushra Almutawakel, Nermine Hammam; South America - Ana Casas Broda,
Paola Paredes, Mauricio Lima, Daniele Volpe; Africa Mauro Pinto, David
Goldblatt, Alf Kumalo, Bob Gosani, Constance Larrabee, Obie Oberholzer,
Ernest Cole, Peter Magubane, Zanele Muholi, Zwelethu Mthethwa, etc)
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: shooting
for the proposed project , editing the photos and writing an artist statement
for the project

CLASS #13:

review of students ongoing photo projects and class feedback

review and open discussion on Cambodian photographers or photographers
that worked in Cambodia (e.g. Lim Sokchanlina, John Vink, Antoine D'Agata
and others)
invitation of a professional photographer to give a motivation talk explaining
their work, giving some inspiration to the students, etc
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class:
continuation of the personal project of each student integrating the
feedback received

CLASS #14:

individual final presentation of the students photo projects

invitation of a guest to provide feedback on the projects (e.g. a curator or a
magazine/newspaper editor)
discussion about the exhibition of the students work from the whole term
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class:
preparation of a talk about one photographer of the students choice (not
covered in the classes yet and using what was learnt in the photo critic class),
his/her bio and context, presentation of some of his/her iconic photos and
essays, the techniques and styles used, why is influential or important to
photography, and state five aspects the class can learn from this
photographer

CLASS #15:

students talks on their favorite photographers, class feedback and open

discussion of lessons learnt from them
using multimedia (text, sounds and videos to enrich photo essays)
some notes on working in photography, building a portfolio, etc
review of some portfolios of famous photographers
open discussion on some multimedia projects and presentation of useful
online tools for photographers
attribution of new assignment for students to do until the next class: make
your own online portfolio with the different works made in the class and any
other personal projects

CLASS #16:

review of the students portfolio

wrap-up and summary of what was learnt
examinations