How Photographs Become Stories

Vocabulary for Visual Storytelling

A photographer begins the conversation. The viewers finish it.

When does a photograph stop documenting objects and start constructing a story?

That’s the whole question. Two sessions to answer it.

Session One. We take apart one photograph, built specifically for this workshop, piece by piece. A handful of ordinary objects. A few of them strange. One of them a little unsettling. You’ll learn to separate what you see from what you think it means, and how objects, light, and placement turn into a sentence.

Then you build your own. Two weeks. One or two objects that mean something to you. Whatever else it takes to tell the story. One thing you couldn’t say out loud.

Session Two. We read each other’s work the same way. Observation first. Interpretation second. Then you tell us what you meant. The gap between the two is where it gets interesting.

This isn’t a class about gear or settings. It’s about construction, not capture. The decisions that make a photograph mean something before the camera ever comes out.

• Two live virtual sessions, about three hours each, two weeks apart
• A written critique of your work from me before Session Two
• Dates: Tuesdays, December 1st & 15th (6:00 PM – 9:00 PM) (Chicago Time)
• Tuition: $325

Come curious. Leave unable to look at an object the same way again.

Alan Shapiro
Madman | Photographer | Educator | Creative Instigator