RLFR 13
Creative Portraiture in the Darkroom Winter 2023

In this course, we will revisit the boundaries between self-portraiture and portraiture. Working in pairs, students will both practice being a model and a photographer: they will pose as a model for their classmates and assist a classmate in creating a self-portrait. In addition, using as a point of departure Hippolyte Bayard’s photograph Self-Portrait as a Drowned Man, one of the first self-portraits in the history of photography, students will learn how to use the view camera (the large format camera used during the invention of photography in 1839 and still in use today). We will also study the characteristics of film photography, specifically, light, chemicals, sensitive media, and negative and use them as tools to make creative portraits in the darkroom. By the end of the course, students will have learned to shoot with a 4 x 5 view camera and have practiced with manipulations in the darkroom in order to create unique portraits. Each student will exhibit their work as a triptych in an exhibition. Be aware that this class requires an average of 10 weekly lab or studio hours outside of regular classes.