WORKSHOP DESCRIPTION

Do you know how to listen to your photographs—including how they talk to one another—in order to select and sequence your work? Learn the challenging art of editing and sequencing your photographs in this three-day intensive workshop at the Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photography Center in Oaxaca, Mexico. This workshop is open to photography students, to serious amateurs, as well as to more advanced photographers, who may be working on a long-term project or book.

Your workshop teachers are photographer Alex Webb and poet and photographer Rebecca Norris Webb, a creative couple who often edit and sequence their work together for magazines, exhibitions, as well as for the 20 books they’ve published together and apart, including their recent collaborative books, Waves (Radius, 2022), Brooklyn: The City Within (Aperture, 2019), Slant Rhymes (La Fabrica, 2017) and Violet Isle: Photographs from Cuba (Radius, 2nd ed., May 2018), and their monographs La Calle (Alex) and Night Calls (Radius, 2021) and My Dakota (Rebecca).

The Webbs will begin this intensive workshop by looking at a series of unedited photographs from each participant, which could be from a trip you’ve taken or an event (such as a wedding, parade, or festival)—or, for more advanced photographers, perhaps from an assignment or commission, or photographs from a long-term project, that you hope will be an exhibition and a book one day. Over this intensive weekend workshop, the Webbs will tailor two individual editing assignments for each participant.

Besides editing each day, there will also be a series of presentations and a group editing exercise. We will also touch on a variety of topics, including the process of selecting and sequencing your photographs intuitively; the practical realities of the magazine and art worlds; the difference between images in a book and images on the wall; the relationship between text and images in a series; how to select a title for your series or project; how to sequence a portfolio or website for a variety of audiences (for instance, for a magazine editor or a museum curator or a book publisher); an introduction to being on press with a book; how to work with a designer on a book; and how long-term projects can evolve into books and exhibitions. There will also be a chance for each participant to have an individual meeting with Alex and Rebecca.

This workshop will be open to anyone 18 or older, including university photography students, passionate amateur photographers, and seasoned professional photojournalists or fine art photographers, anyone who would like to learn more about how to select and sequence their photographs for a variety of purposes, including for a website, for a portfolio to present to a magazine or to a museum, for an exhibition layout, or for a book dummy to present to a potential publisher.

SUGGESTED ACCOMMODATION:

There are plenty of hotels and Airbnb options in Oaxaca. We recommend you to stay at a hotel located in downtown Oaxaca within walking distance of the Manuel Alvarez Bravo Photographic Center (Manuel Bravo 104, Ruta Independencia, Centro) where the workshop will be held.

Upon acceptance, we will share a list of recommended hotels. We encourage participants to contact them directly and make reservations promptly, as securing accommodations is the responsibility of each participant.

You should plan to arrive in Oaxaca on Friday February 16 during the day, as the first activity is on Saturday February 17 at 10 am. Plan on leaving any time on Tuesday February 20 or later, as the last activity is a farewell dinner the evening of Monday, February 19.

COVID PROTOCOL

As in most places in the world, there is a risk of contracting Covid-19 during the workshop in Oaxaca. We strongly recommend participants to keep up to date with current Covid-19 information and boosters.

At La Luz Workshops, we strive to make the best possible decisions to minimize the spread of COVID among participants, instructors, staff, and the local organizations and communities we collaborate with.

We will honor the local customs and regulations in the location that workshop takes place, and we ask workshop participants to do the same. This means that our protocols differ from the CDC guidelines or other countries’ regulations and social norms. 

— While masking or proof of vaccination will not be required at this time, this policy is subject to change.

— If a participant test positive right before or during the workshop, they will not be able to participate in any group activities.

— We know that attending a workshop abroad is an investment in time and resources, and we want everyone to be able to accomplish this safely. We recommend participants to be Covid aware during their trip and their stay in Oaxaca. 

— We strongly recommend that all participants purchase Trip-Cancellation/Interruption Insurance that covers workshop expenses and non-refundable travel costs.

— We also recommend the purchase of international medical insurance for the duration of the workshop.