| Photography & Visual Authorship

Unlock the power of your photography, mastering form, meaning, and your voice with McNair Evans.

This workshop is designed for advanced photographers who are striving to push their image-making to a new level of intentionality and complexity. Although this course is geared towards fine art or personal work, photographers of all disciplines will gain experience and insight to strengthen their images.

Over the course of five intensive days, we will study visual language, share exercises, and each create a small photographic project in order to exercise and further develop our artistic voices. The mid-day portion of each day (10am–3pm) is reserved for studying the process and principles of design as they relate to photography and providing feedback on each other’s images. During this time we will do daily design and visual analysis exercises to help us articulate our artistic purpose and better understand our creative decisions. Optional one-on-one review sessions shared meals, and post-dinner sessions will allow for increased participant dialogue and extended work review.

All participants will be expected to fulfill written assignments in journal format as well as dedicate approximately 3-4 hours each day to create new photographs that correlate with the course work of that day. The focus or theme of each participant’s photographs will be expected to be consistent for the entire workshop. This single theme will culminate in a small exercise or portfolio that illuminates the participant’s visual development throughout the workshop duration.

Each class session will approximately include:

1. Course Content & Exercises – 1.5 hour
2. Participant Presentations – 3 hours
3. Optional Shared Lunches and Dinners for ongoing discussions
4. Optional Post-Dinner sessions for external work review, printing, and ongoing discussions.

Outline & Agenda:

Day 01 

1. Participant & Workshop Introductions
2. Course Content: Looking vs. Seeing, Design Process, and Constructive Critique
3. Course Exercises: Mission, Vision, Purpose, and Project Exercises
4. Instructor + Participant Introductory Presentation(s): Career Overviews
5. Asynchronous Assignment: Complete journal entries (2) and begin photographing project

Day 02 

1. Participant Feedback: Assignment Debrief(s)
2. Course Content: Mental Modeling and Photographic Expression
3. Course Exercises: Defining Perception and Influence Analysis
4. Participant Presentations: Each Participant’s Journal and Photographic Progress
5. Asynchronous Assignment: Complete journal entries (2) and continue photographing project

Day 03 

1. Participant Feedback: Assignment / Workshop Debrief(s)
2. Course Content: Design Elements and Visual Grammar
3. Course Exercises: Line, Shape, Depth, Value, and Color
4. Participant Presentations: Each Participant’s Journal and Photographic Progress
5. Asynchronous Assignment: Complete journal entries (2) and continue photographing project

Day 04

1. Participant Feedback: Assignment / Workshop Debrief(s)
2. Course Content: Design Principles and Visual Literacy
3. Course Exercises: Unity, Focal Point, Scale, Balance, and Rhythm
4. Participant Presentations: Each Participant’s Journal and Photographic Progress
5. Asynchronous Assignment: Complete journal entries (2) and continue photographing project

Day 05

1. Participant Feedback: Assignment / Workshop Debrief(s)
2. Course Content: Maintaining Visual Practice
3. Participant Presentations: Final Project Presentations

Major Learning Outcomes: 

1. Participants will learn the relationship between subject and form, and develop new skills for analyzing and understanding photographs.
2. Participants will learn how to use self-reflection and visual authorship to connect their personal pictures to wider cultural, political, and social meanings. 
3. Participants will learn ways to strengthen their photography visually and refine their photographic voice.

Course Requirements: 

1. Proposed Timeline: 5 meetings (5 hours per), One-on-One meetings, Shared Meals
2. Required Technology: Personal DSLR or Mirrorless digital camera, Personal computer with access to high-speed internet and pre-established photographic workflow (Image Processing to Digital Printing), External Hard Drive/Thumb Drive for image transfers
3. Required Materials: Small notebook or journal ($2.00 – $6.00 USD) and/or alternative analogue journal process, printer paper/lab access for three 8×10 in. images per workshop meeting + additional 5 optional prints (20 total prints per participant)