Day: Wednesday or Saturday Duration: 7 hours (1 to 3 people max. per course). Levels: All levels. Prerequisites: Have basic technical knowledge (see note). Description: "Making photography" is not just about taking photographs with a camera in hand. "Making photography" is learning to look; especially at images, your own and those of others. "Making photography" is knowing how to use the images you have taken well. The courses I offer follow this program. I call the first part of the classes "warm-ups". Just like in sports, we stretch our muscles before going on the field, before going to take photographs we should stretch our eyes. For this, each class begins with two hours of observation exercises and discussions on two masterpieces in the history of photography: American Photographs by Walker Evans and The Americans by Robert Frank. How do they compose their images? How do they organize them in sequence? It is a dive into the eyes of these fascinating photographers that I offer you. After a complimentary lunch break, we move on to the second part of the day: a specially designed outdoor course to put into practice what we saw in the morning and much more. We will do different exercises to improve your vision and your photographs. Finally, we will dedicate some time at the end of the day to look at and discuss your images. IMPORTANT NOTE: 1) Technical learning of photography is not part of the course program. It is therefore important that you know how to use the basic techniques of your camera (shutter speed, depth of field). All devices are accepted except phones and tablets. 2) In case of very bad weather we may postpone the course. Two formulas are offered: Photography Course: Composition Course to learn how to better compose your photographs. In the morning warm-ups, we will try to understand how Walker Evans and Robert Frank compose their images; thanks to these two photographers, a great diversity of compositions are offered to our eyes. Once your eye is sharper, we can start shooting outdoors in the afternoon. The locations are chosen for their diversity of possibilities in order to improve your compositions. On the program: architecture, streets, landscapes, nature, abstractions, portraits, scenes. We reserve about an hour at the end of the day to comment on your images. 10am-12pm Warm-ups 12:00-13:00 Lunch break 1 p.m.-4 p.m. Photography tour (mainly Parc de Saint-Cloud) 4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. Discussion and critique of images Objectives of the day: - Have knowledge of two essential works in the history of photography*; - Better understand the composition style of Walker Evans and Robert Frank; - Know how to read image compositions of very diverse nature; - Improve the compositions of your shots; - Get out of your usual shooting habits; - Adapt to different contexts and situations (different spaces, exterior, interior, different lights, different temporality); - Better judge the qualities and defects of your photographs. *At the end of the day an email will be sent to you with additional documentation to explore these two works in more depth. Photography Course: Series/Sequence Course to learn how to better use your photographs. How do you build a series (or sequence) of photographs? In the morning warm-ups we will look at what makes Walker Evans and Robert Frank so brilliant when it comes to editing images. Their two books are gold mines of lessons for photographers, both simple and complex, we will discover different ways of approaching the sequence. The afternoon course, different from the Composition Course, is designed to find material to tell stories in photographs. The last part of the day will be longer than that of the Composition Course since we will build a small sequence with the images taken during the day. 10am-12pm Warm-ups 12:00-13:00 Lunch break 1 p.m.-3:30 p.m. Photography tour (including numerous stages from the 15th arrondissement to Saint-Cloud) 3:30 p.m.-5 p.m. Image editing Objectives of the day: - Have knowledge of two essential works in the history of photography*; - Better understand the editing style of Walker Evans and Robert Frank's books; - Know how to watch and analyze sequences of very diverse nature; Think about the sequence before and during the shooting / Know how to improvise during the shooting. - Adapt to different contexts and situations (different spaces, exterior, interior, different lights, different temporalities); - Build a short series with the photographs of the day**. *At the end of the day an email will be sent to you with additional documentation to explore these two works in more depth. **It is better to have a personal laptop. Otherwise, I will always take my own.