Course Syllabus

Photo Documentary and Discovery

Semester & Location:	Spring 2025 - DIS Stockholm
Type & Credits:	Elective - 3 credits
Major Disciplines:	Communications, Photography, Visual Arts, Art History
Faculty Members:	Anna Simonsson (current students please use the Canvas Inbox)
Time & Place:	Tuesdays 11:40-14:35, Classroom 1D-509

 

Course Description

Use your camera as a passport for opening doors in Sweden and as your tool to explore and understand the cultures, people, and places you encounter.  The knowledge you gain in doing this will give you a steady base to feel comfortable and more confident as a photographer when traveling in Sweden and abroad.

In this course, you learn to research and tell your individual story through photography. Utilizing workshops and excursions outside the classroom, you develop the skills to dive into different environments and use your camera as a medium for understanding both yourself and the people you take photos of and you will also get familiar with how to tell your story through photographs.

Study abroad often serves as a way to widen your horizon and understanding of the world. It is a way to take you out of your comfort zone both artistically and as a person. Photography is also a way to deepen your study abroad experience. Rather than creating photographs as mementos, you will take pictures that are unique to your stay in Stockholm but still refer back to your life in general. You will learn what makes a picture interesting and how to create images that are beyond your typical beautiful sunset shot. You will be encouraged to view your new environment – not through the lens of an outsider viewing a novelty, but to give viewers special access into your Swedish world.

This course combines assignments in practicing photography, studio critique, and research for a photographic project. At the end of the semester, your project will be exhibited at DIS in the end-of-semester showcase. While the artistic practice is almost entirely self-directed, you will participate in regular critiques in order to gain a deeper understanding of your own photographs, as well as those of your colleagues. Using the basic tools of photography – a camera, a lot of effort and practice, and a deepened knowledge about light – you will learn to discuss your work responsibly and concisely. Critiques focus on intentionality and embedded meaning, while studying some of the most important photographers.

Learning Objectives

• You will practice how to choose photos from a larger set in order to create and pinpoint the story you want to tell with your photographs.
• You will understand how to tell a story with photographs and understand how light, composition, colors, and the way you take the photos affect the story.
• You will engage in the language of photographic critique – both of your own work and that of your fellows – and practice to thoughtfully describe the meaning of a photograph. 
• You will work your way to find a personal artistic statement and a personal style on how taking pictures and telling a story.
• You will develop a new sensitivity to looking at the world through the lens of a camera. 

Faculty

Anna Simonsson is a freelance photojournalist and photo editor with 20 years in the business. Her photos has been published in most of Swedens biggest newspapers. She has won awards for her photojournalism. Anna has also taught at Nordens Fotoskola in Stockholm.

Readings

Søren Pagter “The Essential image”

Field Studies

This course is partially built on more field studies and learning outside the classroom! But there will also be a number of classes held in the classroom, for example when we give each other feedback on given assignments or when we go through a new field of photographic learning.

During field studies and classes outside classroom, we will engage in workshops like photo analysis and on more practical training where we can teach tips and tricks out in the field, we will also visit museums for inspiring exhibitions. 

Guest Lecturers

Each semester includes classes held by different guest teachers. Which these are varies from year to year. But so far the course has had guest teachers such as:

Thomas Karlsson. Thomas is an experienced photographer with Swedens biggest newspaper, Dagens Nyheter, as working place. 

Pieter ten Hoopen. Pieter is a multi-award winning photographer both nationally and internationally and one of Sweden's most successful photographers.

Hannah Modigh. Hannah has received awards from Swedish arts grants committee several times, been chosen Artist of the year 2009 by Beat magazine, awarded first prize Magnum Photography Awards, portrait and much more.

Daniel Nilsson. Daniel has been internationally multi-awarded for his photos and he has covered several olympic games, world cups, paralympics, champions league finals and other major sports events around the world.

Ylva Sundgren. Ylva is one of Stockholm's most hired photographers and is famous for her use of flash in portraits and documentary photos. She has been awarded in Swedish Picture of the year and her photos has been published in several books throughout the years.

Approach to Teaching

As much as I want you to open up and show your individual fears, feelings, and expectations, me as teacher also open up on a professional level and share parts of my photographic journey that includes photographic mistakes, failures and successes. Because being open is an important skill for photographers to have when contacting people that you would like to photograph, we will maintain this level of being open and I want you all to feel that the classroom is a safe space. View the classroom as a place where you can be yourselves and dare to make mistakes.

Expectations of Students

I want you to feel comfortable enough to dare to make photographic mistake, sharing your thoughts and experiences in photographing while at the same time giving the photographic assignment your best effort. I understand that all students have different backgrounds and experiences in photography, therefore will have different levels of results. I expect that students will work hard, try their best, be creative and have fun while doing it. That is what I reward.

It is also of importance to deliver the assignments in time. Failure in holding deadline will result in a 10 points reduction in the grading of the specific assignment. If you have difficulties holding the deadline for any reason (severe sickness, accident etc) please let me know and I could postpone the deadline, but the reason for it has to be good. For example forgetting the deadline or missing it due to travelling isn't enough.

You have to take own responsibility in delivering the assignments on time following the instructions that comes to every assignment.

Evaluation

In class, we will work with the result of the assignments. We will go through the photos taken on assignments, give critique in a way that you as a student grow as a photographer and person. Students will also comment on each other’s work, it is of importance that everyone engage in the feedback to help each other to grow as photographers. Note that feedback in class won't be given at every assignment. You will also get individual feedback on Canvas from Anna.

A lot of the evaluation is based on how much effort is put into the assignments. I reward hard work over talent and I want students to feel comfortable to try new photographic styles so that at the end of the semester the student will have started to found the way to their photographic style or way of storytelling.

For example:

Presentation - Your photographer presentation in front of the class

Final portfolio - Your work with the final project and showcase.

Artist statement - How you work with more "artistic" assignments in Österlen

Attendance at all class sessions is mandatory. Two unexcused absences will warrant a reduced letter grade. Three unexcused absences will result in failure. 

In order to be eligible for a passing grade in the class, all work must be submitted. 

NOTE: Students are expected to bring their own camera, preferably a DSLR that is capable of shooting in a fully manual mode. The students also have to be able to upload photos on their laptop. 

Grading

Assignment	Percent
Assignments	50%
Presentations	10%
Midterm	5%
Final Portfolio	15%
Artist Statement	20%

Assignments

Some examples:

Photographer presentation: how you have worked with research, with your group and the presentation in class

Final portfolio: your work and engagement with final showcase. How you combine your photos from Österlen and "your place" in Stockholm 

Documentary assignment: Photograph, document a person, and try to come as close as you can both "mentally" and with your camera.

 

Academic Regulations  

Please make sure to read the Academic Regulations on the DIS website. There you will find regulations on: 

• Course Enrollment and Grading  
• Academic Expectations and Honor Code 

 

DIS - Study Abroad in Scandinavia - www.DISabroad.org