| Finding the Words: Writing About Your Work (Online)

Enhance your photographic practice by developing powerful written statements to accompany your work, leaving a lasting impression on galleries, curators, critics, and your audience.

Note: This Class will be held in a live, online format using the Zoom platform. 
We will meet Saturdays & Sundays, Sep 16, 17 & 23, 24  from 10am-1pm ET.

Producing a strong photographic body of work is a tremendous accomplishment, but without strong writing and editing skills, photographers may face difficulty connecting with galleries, curators, critics, or even their own website visitors. In this fun and informative workshop, students will use creative writing techniques to enhance their professional practice and explore their photographic vision. Not your typical “how to” writing workshop, this class will focus on the development of written statements as unique as the images they will accompany.

Each student will hone their writing and editing skills to complete an artist statement, project statement(s), and a narrative biography. These writings will be the culmination of creative writing prompts, in-class critiques, and one-on-one editing. We will discuss the many ways that writing can enhance your photographic career, both practically and creatively. Discussion topics include the role of criticism, turning words into pictures, identifying your audience, and the importance of captions and titles. All writing will be short form. No previous writing experience is necessary. Students are encouraged to bring samples of their photography portfolios.

We will start with an online meeting from 10am to 1pm where we will get to know each other a little, discuss the purpose of writing about your art, and do in-class writing exercises. The afternoon will be spent writing, with a review of student writing and class discussion the following morning from 10am to 1pm. The instructor will be available for one-on-one meetings in the afternoon. In between weekend sessions, students will have several small assignments to keep them engaged with the writing process without overwhelming their otherwise busy lives. The second weekend will also have two morning Zoom sessions from 10am to 1pm where we will fine-tune student writing.