Four intense days allowing the participants to get started on the accomplishment of a series or to deepen an already initiated project. The explored themes will be chosen individually according to each persons wishes and to the opportunities of the city, but also in regards of the consultations with Matthieu Gafsou. The explored tracks will be deliberately broad, open to experimentation, reflection and research.

Following the first steps, the course will largely be about the question of the photographic language. It will be about becoming familiar with constructing a discourse by articulating the images between them, creating dialogues and ruptures. The challenge will be, by successive trial and error, to find and affirm a point of view, relatively precise, fair but also keeping a subjective and open dimension.

It is also the rythm of the stories that will be questioned, in particular by the creation of images with different typologies. A grammar will be built up trough the editing and shooting sessions, which will lead to a coherent set of photographs, both in terms of content and quality. The last day of the course, a selection will be exhibited.


MATTHIEU GAFSOU 

Born in 1981 in Aubonne, Switzerland.

Lives and works in Lausanne, Switzerland.

After his Master degree in cinema, literature and philosophy, Matthieu Gafsou studied at the School of Photography of Vevey. Since 2006, he has contributed to many exhibitions, he has published six books and has gotten numerous awards.

With « Only God Can Judge Me », he had his own exhibition at the Musée de l’Élysée in 2014. During the 2018 Rencontres d’Arles edition, his work about Augmented Humanity « H+ », was one of most noted exhibitions. Since 2012, he has been teaching at ECAL and is a member of the MAPS agency since its creation in 2017.

CONTENT
- Introduction to photography as a profession
- One-to-one interview and definition of a photographic project
- Analysis of the participant's earlier work and assessment of his/her level
- Daily photography sessions- Individual and group analysis of the previous day's work
- Selection of photos with a view to creating a series- Discussion of possible outlets

BRING:
- A selection of around 30 images attesting to your practice (preferably on paper/format of your choice)
- Your camera, charger and cables
- 2 or 3 memory cards- A Mac
-compatible hard drive or your computer if you wish

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
- Number of participants: 6 to 12
- Begins: 10:00 a.m. on Monday
- Ends: 7:00 p.m. on Friday
- Location: historic center near the Arles arena, it followed by an exhibition until 9:30 pm 
GOALS
- Learn the various steps involved in creating a photo series
- Develop a point of view based on a selection of photographs

LANGUAGE
Depends on the audience. A translation could be provide by an assistant if needed.

TEACHING METHOD
- Taught by an instructor and an assistant

EQUIPMENT
- Mac computers
- A photo library (app. 500 references)
- Various kinds of lighting systems, studio accessories, tripod, etc.

EVALUATION
- Private end-of-course interview and evaluation
- The instructor continuously evaluates the personal series
- Oral end-of-course evaluation

FORMALISATION AT THE END OF THE COURSE
- End-of-course certificate