What we’re about
Hello, welcome to this community!
My name is Flavio Bosi. I am a Street Photographer and Street Photography teacher. I am a tour leader for Light and Land Photography Tours.
You may ask: what does street photography have to do with documentary? The skills developed in street photography are fundamental for elevating your documentary project to the next level. It develops your reflexes and eye for composition, to learn to work in different environments and simplify busy images, to look for that candid moment that can tell so much more about your subject. My aim with this group is to create and engaging, active and entertaining way to learn about documentary photography, to practice it and to meet like minded people, to enjoy their company and conversation and make new friends.
Who would participate in the Meetups? If you want to spend a few hours learning and enjoying the experience, this is the right place! If you want to hang out with fellow photographers, this is the place! If you want to shoot some documentary photography and get better at it, this is the…ok, you got the gist of it!
I will be leading mini workshops for beginner and intermediate level photographers, but advanced photographers are definitely welcome! The workshops will normally be 2 hours long and will cover a single topic regarding techniques, camera settings, how to shoot in a documentary style, what to shoot and why, how to put together a project and all the questions you need answered. At the end of the session we might gather around a pint and have some banter and socialise.
The Meetups will have different formats:
Mini workshop
Styles, specific techniques, framing and composition, what to shoot, how to make an image compelling, etc.
Expert workshops
Occasionally there will be a guest expert in a specific style or a renown or recognised photographer to lead the workshop.
Author themed sessions
We will pick one of the greats (or not so renown but still great) and analyse their work, then go out and try to imitate them to learn!
Critique sessions: this is a really delicate one, but if there is something that taught me the most in the shortest time is having my work critiqued! So there will be critique sessions in which you bring up to five of your best (or not!) pictures or a small project and hear what me and other advanced/expert photographers have to say about them. It may hurt at times but constructive critique will take you to the next level.
After each Meetup it would be great if the participants shared some of their work on the Tap on The Shoulder WhatsApp group so we can see the results of their efforts, help with constructive critique and see other people’s work to learn from them, their successes and mistakes!
As it says on the tin, the main theme of this group is Documentary Photography.
Projects in documentary photography concentrate on a narrative and are not based only on award winning shots, but also have those shots that act as connective tissue and complete the story, so when we create a documentary essay we have to have a plan in mind and go and get the shots to tell a visual story. This is the challenge and the beauty of this craft.
If you read the whole thing, congratulations! Now come to one of the Meetups and join the community!
You can find some of my work on my own website, www.47-degree.com, and my Instagram handle @flaviobosi.
