Learn to tell visual stories and document a place or community with one of Australia’s pre-eminent Documentary Photographers. This course includes practical techniques for candid street photography and a more intimate posed style. Prerequisites: Camera Skills and Creative Skills (or equivalent).

Discover your inner photographer. This course is for anyone with an interest in, and appreciation of the beauty and raw immediacy of the genre of documentary photography. In its broadest sense every photograph is a document. It is a means of documenting and recording the world in which we live. Documentary photography is at the coalface of our everyday life. Be it in a war zone or in the very street we live. It is a mirror on ourselves, our families and our communities.

Snowy Mountain Muster
© Lisa Zanderigo

This course is designed to encourage and guide students to build on Film or Digital SLR technical skills and to understand the psychology of informally photographing people. Learn subjective vs. objective observation in the photographic portrayal of cultures.

This course is for SLR cameras only. This course is not for Compact Digital Camera users (manual or automatic).

If you want to learn Documentary Photography in Sydney, then this course is for you.

Need:

• Camera Skills or equivalent as well as
• Creative Skills or equivalent and a
• Film or Digital SLR Camera

Next:

• Lighting For Photography
• Photoshop For Photographers I
• Specialist Courses such as Photojournalism, Portraiture or Landscape

Agenda

During this course the intention it that the following topics will be covered, but not necessarily in the order given. Due to the variable nature of Adult Education classes, parts of the curriculum may be adapted to suit the needs of the class.

• The masters – Atget to Koudelka
• Documentary Story Telling
• Coming up with ideas/projects
• Working with available light vs. flash
• Traditional portraiture vs. environmental portraiture
• Compositional skills to give images more impact
• Black and white vs. colour
• Building relationships
• How to approach people
• Telling a story – sequencing and editing
• Contemporary documentary photographers – Salgado to Trent Parke
• Documentary styles – street photography, snapshot aesthetic, social documentary
• Ways to show your work – exhibitions, books, magazines, online portfolios etc
• One or two practical shoots

Objectives

The intended Learning Outcomes for this course are as follows.

By the end of the course students will have:

• Learned how to incorporate available light, shade and texture in their images
• Learned how to approach strangers and gain their permission to photograph them
• Improved their compositional skills to give their images more impact
• A better knowledge of when to work in colour and when to work in black and white
• Learned how to choose the appropriate style of portraiture to tell the story
• Gained feedback on their work from the tutor and fellow students
• Gained an understanding of how the photographic image portrays and communicates cultural identity.

Other Information

If using a Film SLR you will need to purchase your own film for the practical exercises and have them processed and printed at a lab. Digital SLR users will need to pay for printing their images only.

For the practical shoots you will need to bring your own camera, lenses, batteries, tripods and if you’re using a film camera, at least one roll of film. The safety and security of your equipment when on the street is your responsibility.

PLS NOTE: All classes need a minimum number of students to go ahead. If your course does not have enough students it will be cancelled and you will be informed. Courses are usually cancelled, when necessary, 2 working days prior to the scheduled start date.***Please be aware that you may be informed of a cancellation &/or change via SMS or E-mail.