| Contemporary Approaches to Documentary Practice

Explore and engage in contemporary documentary photography with award-winning photographer, Craig Easton.

This five-day workshop will examine the role of photography in contemporary documentary practice and introduce students to a broad range of approaches using a mix of lectures, practical work, group discussions and critiques.

Students will come with some grounding in visual storytelling and will be expected to make new, self-directed work during the week for discussion within the group. Topics covered will include: research, making connections, building trust, collaboration, ethics, audiences and outcomes. A short task will be set on day one to get students out in the street making work and then, with support and collaboration from the teaching assistant and the rest of the group, each student will devise, research and shoot a short documentary photo essay in the local area. Some preliminary research and planning before you arrive would be wise and the instructor will be in touch prior to the start of the course.

Further sessions will examine where contemporary documentary practice sits within the history of photography; the importance of visual storytelling and its preservation in museum archives; the use of audio, text and collaborative approaches.

Students will leave with a broad understanding of the history of documentary photography, a strong sense of its continued importance, and a clear view of how to expand their approaches and take their own work forward in a meaningful way.

Students should bring their laptops and editing software that they are comfortable working with.

All images copyright Craig Easton.