2023 Summer Workshops
This workshop is part of our Social Justice Week.
Making a photographic portrait is an intimate endeavor, requiring both photographer and subject to work together to create a compelling image. The best portraits are often as much a reflection of the maker as they are of the subject. In this workshop, participants will investigate their motivations for making portraits, strengthen their skills working with people, and engage deeply with issues in contemporary photography.
Through critiques, presentations of classic and contemporary portrait photographers, demonstrations, and the daily creation of new photographs, we will investigate the elements that make a compelling portrait, including composition, lighting, subject, pose, gesture, and environment. We will focus in depth on strategies for working with subjects, including strangers, family, friends, and the self, gaining insight into methods for making emotionally resonant, visually dynamic photographs.
We will photograph digitally and will edit and print using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. While these elements require foundational technical knowledge, the workshop will focus primarily on the emotional and conceptual elements of portrait photography. At the conclusion of our week together, participants will have gained skills for making compelling portraits as well as meaningful insight into their own photographic practice.
As part of your materials fee, you will be given ten sheets of photo paper for making prints. Additional sheets may be purchased from the Work Center for $1 per sheet.
Biography
Jess T. Dugan is an artist whose work explores issues of identity through photographic portraiture. Their work has been widely exhibited and is in the permanent collections of over 40 museums throughout the United States. They are the recipient of a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, an ICP Infinity Award, and were selected by the Obama White House as an LGBT Artist Champion of Change.