London Documentary Photography Workshop: ‘Mind the Gap’ - 16-17 September 2023 (2 days)
This is where street meets documentary photography. This 2-day documentary photography workshop in London is the start of your personal 12-month project, the result of which will be the production of your book or zine.
The initial workshop is an intensive ‘documentary boot camp’, lasting 2 full days, which will equip you with the know-how, inspiration and motivation to embark on a substantial documentary project. The object of the workshop is not necessarily to produce great pictures during the weekend, but to discuss and ‘test’ your project idea with your peers, developing and refining it into a concept you can work on for the next 12 months.
The theme for the project is ‘Mind the Gap’. This is an over-arching theme which you will personalise and develop to make it ‘yours’. London is a city of contrasts: rich, poor, the haves, the have-nots, cultural differences, happiness, anger, celebration, misery, colour, greyness, humour, sobriety, hedonism, restraint . . . and so on.
The project theme is designed to be an exercise in social documentary photography. We will work together to create your own narrative on this theme, using the concept of the ‘gap’ to explore contrast or division. How you interpret the theme is up to you: for example, you embed serious social messages into your images - alternatively you could adopt a more playful street photography approach. Whichever direction you take, you’ll get lots of help and support in developing your story into an achievable and workable narrative.
The workshop is the starting point: we will then work together to develop your own interpretation of this theme, working towards creating a distinctive body of work with a personal perspective.
Key learning points:
Learn how to conceive, develop and tell a story using images.
Take a documentary project from concept to completing, aiming to produce a book or zine.
Understand the development of a story using the ‘narrative arc’.
Understand the principal working practices of a documentary photographer.
Learn how to curate, edit, sequence and publish a body of work in the form of a book or zine.
Core elements of the project:
A series of coursework exercises to complete prior to the workshop
2-day workshop in London
Working on your own (in London or in a city of your choice) to add to the body of work
Zoom conference call with Brian after 6 months
Production of your book or zine – ideally during the 12 months following the initial workshop
For many street photographers, the documentary perspective is the missing piece of their jigsaw. This workshop will bring a strong narrative element to your work, bridging the gap between initial concept and finished project; you will spend time developing your visual language, your photographic identity, practical, technical and conceptual skills and the expertise required to compete a substantial street / documentary photography project. We will use London as the canvas for the first part of the project; you will then be encouraged to continue to work on the project, working on their own, either in London or in a city / town of your choice.