The Healing Lens: Self (Jan 30-Feb 7)

Dates: January 30 - February 7, 2027

Meetings: Saturday, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM CST (2 sessions)

Location: Houston Center for Photography

Cost: $395 (HCP members can receive a 10% discount)

Instructor: Erin Neve

Skill Level: Intermediate

Photography can offer a safe and honest space to explore our inner world, confront emotional wounds, and approach our personal experiences with courage, honesty, and compassion. In this intermediate course, students will turn the camera toward the Self, not simply to document, but to inquire, explore, reflect, and seek deeper understanding.

Across four sessions (two  days with morning and afternoon sessions), students will examine four guiding questions: Who are we? Who do we perform? Who do we hide? Who are we becoming? Through self-portraiture, constructed imagery, metaphor, and explorations of the shadow and alter ego, participants will develop personal photographic responses to these questions, supported by reflective exercises between sessions.

The course concludes with a structured group critique and the creation of a sequenced set of images reflecting each student's exploration. No prior experience with self-portraiture is required, only a working camera, an open mind, and a willingness to be curious and embrace the grey spaces within us.

Objectives:

• Produce a sequenced set of 6–10 images exploring the Self, its emotional landscape, and how it is presented in your life

• Acquire practical techniques for photographing yourself, including focus, framing, and lighting

• Explore the balance between personal disclosure and creative construction, using photography as a language for self-expression

• Use metaphor and substitution, including objects, shadows, gestures, environments, performance, composites, and collage, to create meaningful images

• Identify recurring themes and patterns in your own practice through reflective exercises and incorporate them into your image-making

• Examine photographic self-representation and its relationship to themes of identity, vulnerability, and healing

• Give and receive constructive feedback through group discussions and critiques

• Write a short artist statement articulating the concepts and intentions behind your work

Prerequisites: 

Photography I or being comfortable using your DSLR or mirrorless camera in Manual mode. Students must be comfortable using basic lighting — natural or artificial. Having experience with editing and/or processing images is a plus.

Course Prep: 

Students should bring to the first class: 

• The Courage to explore your inner world and make photographs to share with class

• A basic understanding of the technical aspects of photography

• A working camera (highly encouraged - digital camera with manual settings)

• A tripod (any size)