This course explores contemporary practices of portrait photography, examining its history and discourse on representations of race, gender, class, and sexuality. We look at the complexities of portraiture in terms of skill sets and processes, aesthetics and styles, ideology and identity, while engaging with such dualities as private/public, professional/amateur, and traditional/innovative. At a time when pictures are being produced and disseminated in unprecedented proliferation, we look into the pursuit of constructing meaning beyond pose and persona. This is an intermediate course in photography, with an ongoing emphasis on operating manual camera settings (focus, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, color temp/ white balance). Students continue to work with Lightroom as a file management system, are introduced to Photoshop, and focus on the importance of photo editing/selection and sequencing.
4 units · Letter (ABCD/NP) · GER: WAY-CE
This course explores contemporary practices of portrait photography, examining its history and discourse on representations of race, gender, class, and sexuality. We look at the complexities of portraiture in terms of skill sets and processes, aesthetics and styles, ideology and identity, while engaging with such dualities as private/public, professional/amateur, and traditional/innovative. At a time when pictures are being produced and disseminated in unprecedented proliferation, we look into the pursuit of constructing meaning beyond pose and persona. This is an intermediate course in photography, with an ongoing emphasis on operating manual camera settings (focus, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, color temp/ white balance). Students continue to work with Lightroom as a file management system, are introduced to Photoshop, and focus on the importance of photo editing/selection and sequencing.
Offered in Winter 2026 at Stanford University.