Perspectives

NOW WHAT: Strategies for Mid-Career Photographers

with Aline Smithson

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!

Sign-up for the Newsletter:

Course Description

Over two chilly evenings in February, cozy-up online with Aline Smithson as she advises mid-career photographers in developing new career strategies in the ever shifting photography landscape, as traditional paths to success seem to be in constant flux. For over 25 years, Aline, has been considering the photographer’s journey—for herself and others. As an artist and educator, she is a thoughtful observer of how one navigates the photographic waters and understands the importance of a photographer taking charge of their career and not waiting for things to happen. 

Over four engaging hours, Aline shares a host of ideas on how an artist presents themselves and their work and ideas for opportunities that may not have been considered. She provides concrete and out-of-the-box ideas for moving your work forward while sharing from her own experience, her knowledge of the photography world through 18 years of working on Lenscratch, and from examples set by others. 

This online program consists of presentation material, group discussions, Q&A, as well as a short assignment to be given at the end of the first evening. This is a great opportunity to reconsider who you are as a photographic artist, to understand the broader photographic landscape, and to get your questions answered. Knowing who we are as artists, why we are compelled to make work, and where we want that work to go are important considerations. We hope you can join us!

Additional Information

WHO SHOULD ATTEND:
All are welcome
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
about
Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson is an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and editor based in Los Angeles, California. Her practice examines the archetypal foundations of the creative impulse and she uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. She received a BA in Art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under artists such as William Wegman, Allen Rupersburg, and Charles Garabedian. After a career as a New York Fashion Editor working alongside some the greats of fashion photography, Aline returned to Los Angeles and her own artistic practice. 

She has exhibited widely including over 40 solo shows at institutions such as the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the Shanghai, Lishui, and Pingyqo Festivals in China, The Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, the Center of Fine Art Photography in Colorado, the Tagomago Gallery in Barcelona and Paris, and the Arnika Dawkins Gallery in Atlanta. In addition, her work is held in a number of public collections and her photographs have been featured in numerous publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, PDN (cover), the PDN Photo Annual, Communication Arts Photo Annual, Harper’s, Eyemazing, Soura, Visura, Shots, Pozytyw, and Silvershotz magazines. 

Aline is the Founder and Editor- in-Chief of Lenscratch, a daily journal on photography. In 2012, Smithson received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community and also received the prestigious Excellence in Teaching Award from CENTER. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for the Critical Mass Top 50. 

In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her first significant monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. In 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned her to a series of portraits for the Faces of Our Planet Exhibition. In the Fall of 2018 and again in 2019, her work was selected as a finalist in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. In 2019, Kris Graves Projects commissioned her to create the book LOST II: Los Angeles that is now sold out. Peanut Press Publishing released her monograph, Fugue State in Fall of 2021, also sold out. Her books are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, among others. In 2022, Aline was honored as a Hassleblad Heroine. With the exception of her cell phone, she only uses film. 

Get to know Aline in our Inspiration Series video »

Instagram: @alinesmithson

You May Also Like

Land as Collaborator: Remixing Digital Prints in the Landscape

with Anna Rotty

April 28 – May 2, 2025
– Summer Season

The Desert Landscape

with Carlan Tapp

July 21 – 25, 2025
– Summer Season

iPhone Artistry: New Approaches and Techniques for Mobile Photography

with Dan Burkholder

July 14 – 18, 2025
– Summer Season

Fine Art in the Sky

with Kristi Odom

July 14 – 18, 2025
– Summer Season

The Creative Composite

with Julieanne Kost

July 7 – 11, 2025
– Summer Season

Mixed Media and the New Mexico Landscape

with Elena Dorfman

June 30 – July 4, 2025
– Summer Season

The Western Portrait

with Michael Clark

June 30 – July 4, 2025

Moving into Motion: The Art of Video

with Kristi Odom

May 7 – 28, 2025

The Art of Abstract Photography: A Creative Retreat in Santa Fe

with Renee Lynn, Stephanie Johnson, Richard Martin, and Guests

May 20 – 23, 2025

Botanicals and Sustainable Photographic Practice

with Anne Eder

May 1 – 4, 2025

Brand Storytelling for Photographers

with Benjo Arwas

April 25 – 27, 2025

The Magic of Polaroid: Live from New York City

with Jari Poulin

May 15 – 18, 2025