Magnum Photos - Bieke Depoorter: Chance Encounters

The relationships that Bieke Depoorter establishes with her subjects are key to her approach to her work, and at the foundation of her artistic practice. Accidental encounters are often the starting point for projects: some of them leading to relationships which are years long. The ways these interactions naturally develop dictate the nature of Depoorter’s work. In our third on-demand course, Depoorter delves into her philosophy on working with people — one that is rooted in the idea of being “a person first, photographer second” — while also exploring the complexities that come with this approach.

Through a curriculum of 17 lessons, Depoorter shares how she builds trust with her subjects in a short space of time, allowing her to create intimate portraits of near-strangers. Drawing on her main bodies of work, she explores the benefits and complexities of photographic relationships. In this course, discover how to develop and maintain momentum while working on long-term projects. Learn with Depoorter now and gain advice on the editing process, sequencing your images, and the considerations around presenting your work in both photobooks and exhibitions.

What you'll learn
Finding photographic projects
Depoorter shares her approach to developing long-term projects, embracing accidental encounters and the “side paths” that lead to projects

Collaborative portraiture
Understand the benefits and the challenges of collaborative approaches to portraiture, and hear from one of Depoorter's long-term collaborators, Agata

Build trust and relationships
Discover how the Magnum photographer builds trust with her subjects, allowing her to create intimate and atmospheric portraits of near-strangers

Embracing limitations
Depoorter discusses the narrative limitations of photography as well as the genre’s technical limits, and how to embrace such challenges

Solving the puzzle
Receive advice on editing a project, and learn the strategies that can be used to help work out a difficult process that Depoorter likens to solving a "puzzle"

Presenting your work
Watch an in-depth exploration of Depoorter's celebrated photobooks, from the original dummies to the final publications, and gain advice on presenting your work in exhibitions

More info - https://www.magnumphotos.com/learn/course/bieke-depoorter-chance-encounters/