The Self-Published Photobook with Karen Davis (Online)

In this six-session online workshop, you will be guided through your photobook’s conception, creation, and completion via a print-on-demand (POD) self-publishing platform. 

In preparation, you should have an idea or subject for your photobook and gather a selection of jpg images you envision including. To begin, we will examine a book’s structure and examples of classic and contemporary photobooks. Through weekly presentations, discussion of each project, and assignments, you will work to refine your idea (the why, what, and who); edit and sequence images; identify/compose text; and make decisions about how the text and photographs will work together. You will also decide layout, design, typography, and book features: format, size, binding, and paper.  We will review other options for getting one’s book into print. An annotated hot-link bibliography will be provided to extend research into most topics.

The final class will be scheduled after everyone has received their book from the printer—usually in two weeks. This will allow you to present your new photobook and discuss expectations and results.  Last, we will end by celebrating everyone’s significant accomplishments.

Dates: Oct 16, 23, 30 / Nov 13, 20 / Dec 11 (Final class with printed book).

Type of Class: Virtual / Online, six session.

Day & Times: Wednesdays, 5:00pm – 7:30 pm, ET.  

Participants: Maximum is eight.  

Course Fee: Members $545 / Non-Members $595 (non-member fee includes a one year membership to the Griffin Museum, a $75 value).

Level: Intermediate to Advanced.

About the Instructor:

Karen Davis is a teacher, curator, and photographer. From 2009-2024, she was co-owner/director of Davis Orton Gallery, Hudson, NY, where she exhibited photography, mixed media, and photobooks of regional, national, and international artists. She has been an invited reviewer of portfolios for the New England Portfolio Reviews (NEPR), Photolucida in Portland, OR, FotoFest in Houston, TX, and Critical Mass (online/Photolucida).

 Since 2015, she has taught online for the Griffin Museum of Photography: “The Self-Published Photobook Workshop” and “Portfolio Development and Marketing Your Fine Art Photography.” Previously, Karen taught “Photography Atelier,” a portfolio development course at the Griffin Museum, Radcliffe Institute, and Lesley University, and co-taught “Making Art in Two Languages: Word and Image” at Radcliffe Institute, New England School of Art and Design, Lesley Seminars, and Tufts eXCollege.

Karen’s photographs are in the collections of CPW, Kingston NY, the Lishui Museum of Photography (China), and the Houghton Rare Books Library, Harvard University. They can be seen at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA). Her photobook, “Still Stepping: A Family Portrait” (2020), was featured in the photoblogs What Will You Remember?, Lenscratch, and Elizabeth Avedon’s Journal. Blurb selected her photobook, “The McCann Family,” as a “Staff Pick.”