| Portraiture and the Circumferences of Self

Join Richard Renaldi for an immersive experience where you'll explore the complexities of self-expression through portraiture, engaging in practical exercises and discussions to refine your skills and deepen your understanding of the craft.

This workshop will place a strong emphasis on the making of photographic portraits with a focus on environmental portraits and self-portraiture. Students will create imagery that will focus on themselves and the circumferences of people around them including (when possible) colleagues, family, friends, and strangers. We will cover the construction and aesthetics of what makes an engaging portrait; including background, lighting, directing, and casting. We will also explore the figure/ground relationship, the use of creative perspectives, and the decisive acuity required for spontaneous portraiture. The workshop’s main objective is to provide students with a technical and conceptual fluency that they may apply within their own practice.

Students will be encouraged to break through their own internal boundaries and those between themselves and their subjects as they work throughout the week. There will be an emphasis on exploring broad issues regarding self-representation, especially relating to intimacy, psychology, identity, and sensuality. Participants will also be required to engage with the world outside of their comfort zone and create portraits through interactions with strangers with an eye towards addressing difficult themes, emotional content, and imbalances in the world.

We begin with a discussion of students’ portfolios, during which each student receives personalized feedback and exercises for improvement. We study and discuss the precedent of successful portrait and self-portrait photographers, deconstructing varied examples to further our own work.  Students will be given an assignment in advance of the first day of class as well as daily portrait assignments that convey an original point of view. We will spend part of one class in the field making portraits at an agreed upon location. Students will also be required to create a small, strong portfolio of portraits made throughout the week, learn to edit and sequence that work, and finish with a final review on the last day of class. Students are encouraged to photograph digitally to allow ample time for review.

All images copyright Richard Renaldi.