The Grammar of Photography

The Grammar Sequence

The Grammar Sequence provides a visual foundation for anyone wanting to become a better photographer. Based on my experience teaching in various BFA and MFA programs, the goal of these classes is to provide a similar type of learning experience to non-degree students of photography. The classes will serve as rigorous and comprehensive preparation for anyone wanting to enter the field, as well as offering a framework for all those who wish a deeper understanding of the problems and opportunities posed by the medium of photography. Integral to the structure of the courses is a recurring aspect: ideas from prior classes are revisited in later classes and given a new context, expanding and extending the original idea. This approach facilitates making connections and deepening our understanding of the potential richness of experience every time we make or look at a photograph.

Grammar 1 focuses on the decisions we make as we take a picture. The class introduces the idea that how we see and how the camera sees are two different things. A large part of taking better photographs has to do with acknowledging that difference.

Grammar 2 examines how the decisions we make when taking a picture express something not just about the subject but about the photographer as well. What is consistent in how we see? Is that consistency a result of choice or of habit? If Grammar 1 introduces the photographer’s vocabulary, Grammar 2 serves as an overview of photography’s elements of style.

Grammar 3 expands on key ideas about structure and depicting space from Grammar 1 and 2 and begins a discussion of both intent and reception in interpreting images. What do photographers believe is possible to achieve through photography? How are a photographer’s values and motivations expressed in a photograph? We will also take a deeper look at the significance of detail in conveying narrative and consider the way in which time is the most important aspect in portraiture.

Grammar 4 centers on the creative process, an analysis of beauty, and investigates how images themselves interact. How do we keep our process as photographers open and active? What is the role of beauty in photography? How do groups of images, whether on the wall, in a book or on a website, provide a context for their perception and interpretation?

Grammar 5 explores a shift in photography beginning in the 1960’s which favored seeing photography as a vehicle for self-expression or a method of exploring private rather than public concerns. In Grammar 5, we’ll look at the impact of camera, process, choice of subject, and the photographer’s attitude on making images more specific to the individual.

Grammar 6 looks at photographs presented in book form. Photographs are typically presented as groups, rather than individual images. Groups create a context for meaning to emerge. We'll consider the book not as a collection of photographs, but as an entity designed by the photographer to guide and give meaning to the viewing experience. The photographer's book is an art form in itself, one which can offer an experience very different from viewing the same images on a gallery wall.

Grammar 7 is a history of photography which surveys aesthetic movements and technical innovation in the context of answering the “big questions” regarding the medium of photography. What could a photograph look like? What should it look like and why? What have been the connections and influences among photography and other media? How did photography gain acceptance as an art and what challenges did it need to overcome to do so?

Grammar 8 has two functions. One is to examine how your work made in the previous classes fits together. What should you build upon? What to discard? The second goal is to get better at speaking and writing about photographs. We will explore the types of statements that can be made about images, the role of intuition and imagination in writing, completing the class with a finished portfolio and accompanying artist’s statement.  The artist’s statement is a succinct expression of your intentions and goals for your project. An effective statement will pique curiosity about your project and provide its initial frame. While a good statement will not elevate poor work, good work can be sabotaged by a poorly written statement.

Grammar 9 is about understanding and building context. No one works in a vacuum. An artist or photographer works on problems that many others have addressed in the past. What is your connection to that history? What do you accept or reject from what has gone before? How have others working in a similar vein defined their issues? How have their successes and failures shaped your approach? Grammar 8 and 9 are intended as finishing stages, meaning by this point you are likely to have a body of work near completion and need practice and guidance with respect to writing and talking about it. The words surrounding our work impact how it is viewed and received – it is important not to let those words be an afterthought.

Grammar 10 is a review of Grammars 1-9. I’ll emphasize the key concepts of Grammar 1 in Class 1, the key ideas of Grammar 2 in Class 2, and so forth. The class will serve to review the curriculum, facilitate connections among concepts presented over time, and offer a new perspective on topics that have been presented previously. The second half of class will be the usual feedback of the week’s shooting.

Grammar Seminar: Lectures and readings enhance or expand upon topics from prior courses. Students are working on long-term projects and receive regular feedback each week. Enrollment in the Seminar Class is capped at 8 participants.