The Proper Distance: A discussion about photobooks and the choices they are

Why are we all so obsessed with photobooks? This seminar invites photographers and enthusiasts to explore the photobook as a creative medium and a narrative device. Together we will delve into the vast possibilities of the photobook format, reflecting on variables such as size, paper types, binding, as well as intimacy, immersion, and distance. Does your book ask viewers to sit down? Do your images call for closeness, or should they be large enough to be looked at from afar? What is the meaning of white space, and how can we use it to our advantage? Why choose a type of binding over another? What about the colour temperature of the paper? Not to mention the cover – we’re told not to judge a book by it, yet it carries a substantial role. 

Through conversation, practical examples, and analysis of existing works, this seminar will unpack how editing, sequencing, and design cooperate to create photobooks that function as autonomous art forms.

What you will learn:

1) Seeing photobooks as more than a simple display of a photographic project, but as an autonomous art form.

2) Learning how design choices shape and affect the relationship between a viewer and a book.

3) Inspiration and methodology to unlock new possibilities for creative development in photobook-making.