Alec Soth: Photographic Storytelling

Learn about your tutor's background and early artistic development, including how a search for creative expression led him to the medium of photography, as well as jobs he worked in previous to his artistic career.

This lesson covers a range of topics, from the limitations and possibilities of the photographic medium to the language of images. Soth speaks about his approach to photography and long-term projects, the importance of digging into the history of photography, and more.

This lesson, Soth shares his sources of inspiration, from sculpture to poetry. He gives an insight into who and what has influenced his practice and describes the importance of looking to other disciplines when making photographic art.

Soth describes his experiences and milestones in the development of his artistic practice, from early projects - successful and otherwise - and his technical evolution, to the first ambitious project that preceded his seminal work, Sleeping by the Mississippi.

In this lesson, your tutor discusses the evolution of his breakthrough project Sleeping by the Mississippi, which culminated in the landmark monograph that propelled him to international recognition.

NIAGARA, Soth's sophomore project, represented a new challenge in the photographer's career. He shares his experience of creating a new major project following the success of Sleeping by the Mississippi, which brought a new level of scrutiny and expectation.

Soth presents Broken Manual, a project which explores the desire to disappear. Telling the story of people who crave an escape from their lives and civilization, it represents a departure from the pure documentary approach that Soth was known for, moving instead toward a more conceptual, fragmentary approach to narrative storytelling.

Songbook, Alec's fourth major monograph, began as a series of newsprint publications - the LBM Dispatches - created with the writer Brad Zellar. This body of work saw Soth draw on his early years as a local press photographer, working in black-and-white with flash.

This lesson focuses on Soth's most recent project, I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating. A lyrical exploration of the limitations of photographic representation, this project was produced after a twelve-month period of re-thinking his creative process, particularly surrounding portraiture.

This lesson explores a variety of topics on the theme of building narrative photographic projects, from ideas and research, to venturing out into the world to make the work. Soth explains how to work with personal impulses and weave real-life elements together to construct a story.

In the first of three case studies, we follow Soth as he navigates an arranged portrait scenario with a famed local fisherman, Dick 'The Griz'.

In this case study, we witness how a serendipitous encounter by a lake can result in unexpected yet effective outcomes.

In our final case study, Soth takes us to a County Fair in search of subjects. Through observing a variety of photographic approaches, we learn different ways to capture scenes and subjects in a chaotic environment.

Why photograph people? In this lesson, Soth shares an insight into why he makes photographs of people, how he selects subjects, and the challenges and rewards of portraiture.

In this lesson, we learn how Soth approaches editing and sequencing, two vital components of photography. Soth also reflects on the work he has made during the three case studies, considering the successes, the failures and everything in-between.

During this lesson, Soth walks us through the evolution of his seminal photobook, Sleeping by the Mississippi, from spiral-bound book maquette to published monograph. Soth also shares insights into his second published project, NIAGARA.

In this second lesson covering photobooks, Soth speaks about Broken Manual, Songbook and I Know How Furiously Your Heart Is Beating. Soth also shares insights into self-publishing and the importance of making objects.

Soth shares his experience with his projects’ outputs outside of books, including methods of producing and sequencing prints for exhibitions, and curating social media feeds and navigating engagement with others.

In our final lesson, Soth shares advice on topics including: assertiveness when shooting, flexibility in artistic style, how to manage preconceived visual ideas, adapting to mistakes, and securing funding to sustain your practice.