Foto8’s  programme of seminars for photographers puts you in front of  industry leaders who share their experience and production tehniques in specific areas of photography, such as creating a photo book, editing stories, or selling your work.

With a mix of speakers, several important aspects are covered, and attendees are limited to a small number to keep the event as intimate and informal as possible. All participants are able to receive direct feedback on their work from the prominent industry professionals involved.

FORMAT

Foto8 Seminars are limited to 30 participants only, in order to create an informal setting in which questions and discussion are encouraged. Each seminar will feature four prominent speakers who will talk for approximately one hour each, leaving plenty of time at the end of each presentation for questions. Towards the end of the day, participants will be broken up into groups chaired by each of the speakers and given the opportunity to show and speak about their work, followed by group feedback.

The cost of each seminar is £140 which includes all sessions and the group crit session as well as lunch, beverages throughout the day and a drinks reception in the evening. Foto8 members and current students can receive the discounted fee of £120 for these seminars.

Fours spaces on each seminar are now available to students at the specially reduced rate of just £70. Foto8 is grateful for the generous support of Blurb Books whose commitment to accessible resources for photographers has made this possible.

PAST FOTO8 SEMINARS

DIFFERENT CONTEXTS
Fast-paced changes in the industry mean photographers have to adapt their practices and work to suit a variety of different audiences. Listen to industry experts revealing how this could be a great opportunity for a cross-fertilisation of styles and methodologies, as well as learning how to get the most from your photographs. Speakers Mishka Henner, Gideon Mendel, Ewen Spencer and Zoe Whishaw discussed their ventures into film and multimedia, collaborations with other artists, photographers and NGOs and being able to successfully situate yourself in a commercial realm, in order to fund personal work. 

NEW DOCUMENTARY PRACTISE
Documentary Photography is being redefined almost daily. Its increasing acceptance in the world’s most prestigious art galleries and museums is testament to this change. Is the overriding interest in the aesthetic anything other than a sophisticated marketing strategy or does it have a crucial role in the nature of witnessing? What’s more important: authorship or the story? Speakers included: Simon Baker, Polly Braden, Raphael Dallaporta and Geert van Kesteren.

MAKING IT HAPPEN
A seminar designed to help photographers make it to the next stage in their photographic career by looking at models for self-funding, print sales, publishing and curating. Participants were also able to present a body of work to one of the speakers to receive feedback. Speakers included Rob Hornstra, Laura Noble, Judah Passow and Bas Vroege.

A STORY IS BORN I and II
For photographers just starting out on a major body of work or to those still searching for their next direction of focus. The seminar deliberated over different approaches to selecting a subject, researching and shooting a story, ways of editing and, of course, where a story should go and how to make it work for you. Featured speakers were Neil Burgess, David Hurn, Olivia Arthur, Joakim Eskildsen and Simon Norfolk.

After the huge popularity of the first ‘A story was born’ Seminar, Foto8 ran the workshop again, this time with speakers Simon Roberts, Nick Galvin, Seamus Murphy, Dewi Lewis and Seba Kurtis.

FROM DUMMY TO GENIUS
A seminar for those on the verge of publishing their first book, looking at the numerous aspects of publishing including, amoung other things, presenting a dummy project to publishers, editing and sequencing, creating a narrative with design, the best use of words, differing print and production methods, finding a publisher and distribution. The seminar also gave the participants a unique opportunity to network and exchange ideas with some of the best minds in the contemporary publishing world such as Gerry Badger, Joachim Schmid, Chris Steele-Perkins, David Gray and Andreas Koller.

FROM STILL TO MOVING
In March Foto8, in collaboration with The Rory Peck trust, presented a seminar focusing on different aspects of contemporary filmmaking. The day was hosted by five industry professionals (Zed Nelson, James Brabazon, Guy Grandjean, Guilhem Alandry and Oli Harbottle) and explored themes such as concept, style, character, narrative, sound, audience and distribution whilst examining the creative and editorial challenges faced by photographers working with moving image.

TESTIMONIES FROM PAST PARTICIPANTS

“I enjoyed it very much and came away feeling that there are things I can do to push things forward for myself.” – Kerry

“It was indeed inspirational and packed full of really clear advice and info. It felt like a lot of the ‘mystery’ had been set aside! … A really good, informative, inspirational, helpful, sociable, enjoyable day.  Thank you!” – Rosie

“It was a really inspiring day. I thought the 4 speakers were all very good and came from diverse backgrounds… The group crit was also a great idea and I got some good feedback on my work.” – Kirsty

“The seminar was extremely useful… [it] helped to allay some of the fear of flying into this rapidly changing marketplace.” – Carol S.

“I liked the seminar very much… they were all very inspiring.” – Hella G.

“It was an incredibly stimulating 36 hours… What impressed me most was the expertise and diversity of the speakers.” – Miriam N.

“This was an excellent seminar organised by Foto8… Overall, I came away inspired. Inspired to start a new project. Inspired to create a book.” – Dean O.

“Being able to listen and talk to such amazing people was extremely inspiring for me.” – Joanna O.

“The seminar was really stimulating, thought-provoking and I was made to feel very welcome.” – Jonathan S.