Workshop: Book Editing

Contemporary photographers seem to be in a revolutionary moment of communication. Everything is fast, everyone wants to have visibility. Quality looks less important than quantity and likes are the selling factor. Despite all this fast Internet oriented self-promotion, printed production has never been so popular as a sort act able to freeze an image and make it timeless.

Why do photographers want to have their own books in this era? Why are so many self-published editions being produced? What is important to know about the production of a photobook? Which are the steps to follow?

The workshop will answer these questions, giving the participants the tools to better understand the world of photo-publishing.

The workshop is structured within three basic steps:

EDITING - essential starting point that shapes every photographic work, from a large pool of images participants will be guided into the selection and sequence process finalized to the creation of a photo book.

BOOK DESIGN - What kind of printed matter suits better to your photo project? Starting from this question the participants will examine different possibilities regarding: design, typography, paper, binding, printing and production strategies (publishing houses, self-publish, crowdfunding).

PRODUCTION – The aim is to finish the workshop with a rough printed publication. Producing a dummy will be particularly helpful to understand the importance of profiles, creation of proper files, post-production of the images, but also to understand the process of passing from a screen to a piece of paper.

Terms of enrollment

Submit your digital portfolio:

• Complete name, nationality, address, email, website
• CV and short description of the submitted work
• A selection of images (jpg or pdf), min 10 max 20. Screen-resolution +/- 1200px wide. 
• Videos are accepted as well (link or wetransfer)

Deadline for the application: 5^th of May, 2022

Please send your application to the following email address: formation@cna.etat.lu

Applications under portfolio submission. The selection will be held by: Nicolas Polli and CNA

No age limit.

About Nicolas Polli

Nicolas Polli is a Swiss photographer and graphic designer currently based in Lausanne, where he’s working for ECAL (Ecole Cantonal d’Art de Lausanne). In 2012 he co-founded YET Magazine with Salvatore Vitale, a photographic magazine recognized internationally. For his most recent photographic work Ferox the Forgotten Archives he as been selected for Image Book Award, Kassel Book Award, Unseen Book Award, Luma Foundation Book Award and Aperture First book Award. In 2016 he has been selected for the Prix de la Relève photographique by Pro Helvetia and in 2018 he won the Swiss Design Award.

As a Freelancer, Nicolas works mostly on artist books with publishers such Edition Patrick Frey, SPBH, Skinnerboox, Gwinzegal, Overlapse, RVB Books, l’Artiere and for different photo festival.

In 2018 he founded the publishing house CIAO Press.