Documentary Photography: Guidelines & Techniques (Jan 7-Feb 4)

Dates: January 7 - February 4, 2025

Meetings: Tuesdays, 6:30 PM to 9:30 PM CST (5 sessions)

Location: Houston Center for Photography

Cost: $480 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)

Instructor: Natan Dvir

Skill Level: Intermediate

Documenting the human experience is a fascinating, multifaceted, and sometimes challenging or intimidating genre. This photographic field lies at the crossroads of authenticity, sensitivity, and creative storytelling. In this course, students are introduced to important technical, professional, and practical aspects of documentary photography while considering stories they might want to work on. Explore different approaches and ethical considerations to photographing people, learn to evaluate and research potential stories, review main storytelling and visual strategies, discuss how to gain the access you need, and be better prepared to technically adjust to situations and environments you need or want to photograph. Students will develop their artistic background and creative skills through lectures, class discussions, personal assignments, and photo critiques. The work of leading contemporary photographers will be reviewed and discussed.

Objectives:

• Get comfortable photographing people in public and private spaces

• Optimize your camera settings for changing environments 

• Discuss important ethical considerations in the field of documentary photography 

• Develop your visual background by drawing inspiration from leading photographers

• Understand the key ingredients of powerful/impactful imagery 

• Get a perspective of the full process of creating a documentary project

• Assess ideas for projects and research preferred themes

• Develop your portfolio while exploring this exciting genre

Prerequisites:

Photography I or being comfortable using your camera in Manual mode. Having some experience with editing and/or processing images is a plus.

Course Prep:

For the first class, students need to send a selection of 8-10 pictures representing their photographic portfolio and interests. Submission instructions will be emailed before the start of the course.