It has long been said that photographers are not great editors of their own work; our emotional connection to the photographs we create colors our insights and decision making. While there is a lot of truth to this theory, there are ways we can learn to work with others and be more objective editors of our photographs. Michelle’s four-day workshop delves into the careful consideration of existing work we bring to Santa Fe and teaches us to hone our editing eye. The next step is to sequence our best images for the strongest possible presentation. It is important to state upfront: this is not a workshop to make new images.

We begin by exploring significant bodies of work in the history of photography and examine how the photographers, editors and designers successfully developed these into sequenced works for publication. Santa Fe is home to a vibrant and influential photographic community, and we will visit Photo-Eye and Twin Palms Publishers to glean firsthand the different approaches and philosophies that go into the design and publishing of various books. We discuss and act on editing methods, with considerable time spent on sequencing. Through this intensive focus on editing and sequencing you learn to see new components of your work, how to effectively collaborate, and how to improve the presentation of your work to others.

We also discuss the generation of a concept, considerations on whether or not to use text, the presentation of your work for publication, slideshow or exhibition, understanding your subject and genre, and how editing and sequencing can influence and enhance the content of your work.

Working in teams, as well as individually on projects, our final goal is tightly conceived, edited and sequenced series of your own work.