Un workshop intensivo di due giorni pensato per aiutare i fotografi a individuare un’area di interesse chiara e a sviluppare una narrazione fotografica coerente.
I partecipanti esploreranno come le idee possano evolvere in progetti strutturati nel tempo, come le fotografie generino significato e come la struttura narrativa operi sia sul piano creativo sia su quello professionale.
Il percorso si basa su alcuni concetti chiave tratti dal lavoro di John Angerson e mira a valorizzare la chiarezza d’intenti, la responsabilità personale e l’impegno verso progetti a lungo termine.
John Angerson è un fotografo inglese il cui lavoro indaga il cambiamento sociale nella vita contemporanea. Ha iniziato la sua carriera negli anni Novanta documentando l’Europa orientale nel periodo successivo alla Guerra Fredda, sviluppando nel tempo una pratica incentrata su progetti che analizzano come le comunità si formano, resistono e si trasformano.
John insegna in diverse università del Regno Unito e svolge incarichi editoriali e commerciali. Tra i suoi clienti recenti figurano The New York Times, The Sunday Times Magazine, Der Spiegel, Rolling Stone, El País.
- Sviluppare uno Storytelling.
- Workshop con John Angerson
- Costo: €220
- Early birds: €195, entro il 1 marzo ‘26
- Lingua: inglese
- Massimo 12 partecipanti
- Luogo: Yes We Scan, Via Lodovico il Moro 57, Milano
- Info e iscrizioni: info@yeswescan.it
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Workshop Overview
This intensive two-day workshop is designed to help photographers identify a clear area of interest and develop a coherent photographic narrative. Participants will explore how ideas become sustained bodies of work, how photographs generate meaning, and how narrative structure operates both creatively and professionally. The workshop culminates in a PechaKucha presentation of each participant’s project, supported by peer-to-peer critique and professional feedback. The workshop draws on key ideas from the work of John Angerson and aims to emphasize clarity of intention, personal responsibility, and commitment to long-term projects.
Core Questions for Building a Photographic Project
Participants will continuously test their ideas against the following framework:
- Is it visual? Can the idea be expressed primarily through images rather than explanation or text?
- Is it practical? Can the work realistically be made within available time, access, skills, and resources?
- Is it a subject I know enough about (or can learn enough about)? Does the photographer have proximity, trust, or lived experience with the subject?
- Is it interesting to others? Does the work move beyond the purely personal and connect to wider human, social, or cultural concerns?
- Is it sustainable (environmentally and financially)? Can the project be maintained responsibly over time without harm, burnout, or unrealistic cost?
Key Reading Context.
Throughout the two days we will keep coming back to a small number of ideas. These act as guideposts rather than rules.
- “Photography is not about the thing photographed. It is about how that thing looks photographed.” This reminds us that photography is an act of interpretation. Two people can photograph the same subject and say completely different things. What matters is how you see, not just what you point the camera at.
- “The serious photographer is a person with a project.” Strong work usually comes from staying with an idea over time. A project gives direction, focus, and purpose — it moves you beyond collecting single, disconnected images.
- “You don’t find projects; you decide on them.” Projects don’t magically appear. Choosing a subject is an active decision and a responsibility. This means taking ownership of why you are making the work and why these subject matters to you.
- “Pictures should be edited ruthlessly.” Editing is where meaning is shaped. Strong narratives are built as much by what you leave out as by what you include. Learning to let go of weaker images is a key part of becoming a confident storyteller.
The Photo Essay: Key Narrative Elements
Participants will be introduced to the classic structure of a photographic essay:
- Establishing Shot Sets the scene. Provides context, location, or atmosphere.
- Portraits Introduces key characters or subjects. Builds connection and empathy.
- Relationships Shows interaction between people, or between people and their environment.
- Close Detail Offers intimacy and texture. Often overlooked but essential for depth.
- The ‘Middle Eight’ John has borrowed this from music terminology in this context it refers to images that don’t fit neatly into categories but act as visual punctuation, metaphors, or moments of pause. These images often elevate a narrative emotionally or conceptually.
