Creating a Self-Published Photobook with Karen Davis (Online)

In this workshop, you will be guided through the conception, creation, and completion of your photobook (via a print-on-demand (POD) self-publishing platform.) You will also receive information on other options for publishing your book.

In preparing for this course, you will determine the subject of your photobook and identify some of the images you expect to include and possible text.

To begin, we will examine a book’s structure and see examples of classic and contemporary photobooks. Through presentations, discussions, critiques, and assignments, you will work to refine your idea/subject, edit and sequence images, and select/compose any accompanying text.  We will look at examples of layout, design, typography, how text and images can work together, and book features, including format, size, binding, and paper—all in the service of creating your photobook. An annotated hot-link bibliography is provided to extend research into most topics.

The final class will be held after everyone has received their photobook from the printer (two to three weeks later). This class will include photobook presentations, discussion of expectations and results, and your experience working with POD. We will end by celebrating your significant achievement.

Dates: April 1, 8, 15, 29, May 6 with Class 6 tentatively May 27. There’s an intentional gap between class 3 and 4 because there is a lot for students to accomplish during that two-week interval.

Type of Class: Virtual / Online, six session.

Day & Times: Tuesdays, 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.”