Online

How to Talk and Write About Your Work

with Jean Miele

Online registration for this program has closed. To check availability, find out about future dates, or if you would like further information, please call 505-983-1400 ext. 111. Also, get the SFW E-Newsletter for updates!

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Course Description

Do you get stuck when people ask you what kind of photography you do? Does the prospect of writing an artist statement fill you with dread? In this online workshop with Jean “Gino” Miele you learn to describe your work in a direct and meaningful way.

As you discover how to avoid the twin pitfalls of literal and technical description, as well as the dreaded “artspeak,” you begin to understand the critical difference between a superficial description of what your photographs depict (what they’re of) and the more subtle—and infinitely more interesting—reasons you have for making them (what they’re about).

We focus on recognizing the underlying themes in your work, separate and distinct from the subject. Conversations, exercises, and portfolio reviews help each participant determine and express what genuinely matters to them. The goal isn’t creating a single piece of writing; it’s training yourself to talk and write about your work powerfully and effectively.

Participants complete the workshop confident in what to say (and not say) when presenting a portfolio, with a body of writing that forms a foundation for artist statements and other documents, plus an array of great responses to the question, “What do you photograph?”

As you deepen your understanding of your own work, you learn to engage people as dynamically with your words as you do with your pictures.

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:

Open to photographers interested in this unique program.

Policies:

View Withdrawal and Transfer Policies for online programs.

For the convenience of participants, recordings of each class session are posted privately for one month after the end of each session. Santa Fe Workshops takes the recordings down after one month to protect the intellectual property of our instructors.

Categories
One-of-a-Kind, Professional Development, Writers Lab
about
Jean Miele

Jean “Gino” Miele’s photographs explore the borderlands between fiction and reality, and reflect his lifelong interest in perception, spirituality, and mysticism. His images remind us that moments of perfection are possible, and that we create our own reality. He believes every photograph is an act of transformation, and that the photographs we make tell us more about ourselves than about what was in front of the lens.

Gino’s photographs have appeared in thousands of publications. His artwork has been exhibited internationally and acquired by collectors worldwide. Gino has taught at Santa Fe Workshops since 2003. His primary goals are to demystify digital technique and empower students to realize their own photographic vision.

Website: jeanmiele.com

Instagram: @jean_miele

How to Talk and Write About Your Work

January 20 – February 6, 2025

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