Master Program
“The act of photographing itself is easy. The creation of
the photographic image is the difficult task.” – Dimitri Stefanov
MASTER PROGRAM IN PHOTOGRAPHY
Lecturer
Dimitri Stefanov and guest speakers
Duration
8 montsh • 64 classes
Semesters
2 semesters
Start
October 2022
Program description
The Master Program is an intensive 8-month course aimed at advanced photographers and focused on building the photographer’s original vision and expand their visual culture. The training aspires to improve the photographer’s ability to create and develop long-term photographic projects Participants will gain the necessary knowledge to help them improve as authors. The course is led by Dimitri Stefanov. The course will also involve foreign guest lecturers who will share their years of professional experience in different genres of photography. The curriculum will follow methodology imposed by the Academy, education based on theory and practice.
THEORY
During the first semester we will explore the history of documentary photography and visual journalism, the specifics of both genres, and the challenges of creating long-term documentary projects. Class discussions will be encouraged, as well as constructive criticism.
PRACTICE
Second semester is devoted to working on an individual photographic project, its development, and analysis by Bulgarian and foreign specialists in the field. The program also includes classes specifically dedicated to the participants’ career development as documentary photographers, as well as the realization of their photography (publications, competitions, grants, agencies, photo books, exhibitions, festivals, etc.).
FINAL PROJECT
To acquire and improve their skills as a documentary photographer, each participant will work on a long-term photographic project throughout the training. To successfully complete the program, the participants have to present their final project for evaluation in front of an esteemed jury.
schedule and pricing
Schedule
2 classes a week
Groups
Limited to 10 participants
Diploma
After presenting a final project
Application
By submitting a portfolio
What will you learn?
Documentary photography is a genre that encompasses all photographic works that seek to reflect events related not only to existence, but also to man as a historical entity. To do so, the genre requires a set of skills and knowledge that goes far beyond simply pointing a camera and snapping a photograph. When creating documentary photography, we need to answer several questions related to what we want to show and the result we want to achieve. The process of creating a documentary piece is usually much longer than that of a photojournalistic piece.
The fine line that distinguishes the two genres is that photojournalism pursues immediacy, while documentary photography depicts reality at a slower pace. Long-term projects seek to tell stories and leave a legacy. A document that bears witness to a subject through a broader narrative than that found in a single image.
Photojournalism, on the other hand, is about informing the viewer as accurately and quickly as possible about events of social importance. Because of the search for truth, photojournalism is expected to be honest and sincere. Although documentary photography and photojournalism differ, in essence the two genres are the foundation of photographic storytelling. The photographer’s approach on a subject is important to better understand the the they want to narrate through their camera.
The Academy’s credibility attests that the Master Program will provide exclusive content and a one-of-a-kind training methodology. Under the guidance of Dimitri Stefanov, each participant will build upon themselves as visual storytellers. Also, the BECA community will continue to support their journey as photographers after the program ends. Let’s grow together!
We learn to tell meaningful stories, to address social issues, to present interpersonal ideas, concepts and messages through the language of photography.
“The Academy taught me to stop taking pictures and start photographing. To be brave in my work and to stand up for it. To look not only for the light, the color, the texture, but also for the emotion and the feeling. What I love about it is that it’s not just a theory, I actually had the opportunity to learn it in practice.”
– Lora Stavreva, student at the Master Program in Photography
