Upcoming course: TDB

Support Group for
Lazy Photographers

What happens if you put a limited amount of people in a closed space, force them to be anonymous, take away their ability to click on a like button and compel them to ask “why to” more often than “how to”? In the past 5 years what has happened was delirious, challenging, revealing but also beautiful.

Although in the course of the 3 months we will occasionally provide tutorials, links and guidance on specific topics, this is not an online class, in which you are an empty vessel waiting to be filled with knowledge. What we will do is a little different: the weekly assignments are designed to serve as a prompt. You will explore them, according to your skill level, the time at your disposal or your whim.
The assignments will focus on examining the photographic language: some will target the grammar (the technical side) while others will be about pushing your creativity and let loose a little. Over the course of 12 weeks you will:
  • Develop skills to better examine and understand photography as a language
  • Test your ability to understand a brief and respond to it
  • Learn to present your images for critique and improve your capacity to give useful feedback
  • Let go of perfectionisms and discover the value of sharing your work in progress with fellow lazy photographers
  • Develop a finished photo series
  • Have fun
The lab includes weekly peer-reviewed assignments, recorded video feedbacks, and community discussion forums.
There is also going to be individual mentoring from Sara on the personal project.

Forum

You will get access to a password protected forum, where you’ll be able to share and discuss your work.
If this is your first time, you will be asked to pick a nickname that cannot be traced back to you and refrain from sharing your portfolio. This has proven to be a key to produce interesting work and pushing boundaries: no one can judge you, if they don’t know who you are.
Different people will use the forum differently and we encourage you to respect that: some might be more sociable than others and not everybody finds it easy to express themselves in written form (also English might not be everyone’s first language: it sure isn’t mine).

The forums are not heavily moderated, meaning that if you have issues with something someone wrote, you’ll be encouraged to try and communicate with them to figure things out, you will be also asked to try and understand what others are trying to say and not assume that a discussion is necessarily about winning. On the other hand, if what you say hurts other people, I’ll assume you’ll be able to take responsibility of your impact.
So far, we have always been able to create a pleasant environment and I have never had to ban anyone (but I will if I have to, and no refund will be given). That said, the Support Group for Lazy Photographers isn’t a democracy: think of it more like a monarchy in which the ruler is old, confused and spends his days eating muffins. People live and proliferate without the king having that much influence on their daily lives.

FAQs

1

12 weeks. The first assignment will be posted in the forum on September 2nd 2022

2

Not really.
We have had professional photographers working side by side with people who had gotten their first camera a week before the start.
Every assignment is designed so that you should be able to complete it (and be challenged) regardless of your skill level.
The only thing that you should be at least a bit comfortable with is resizing your images and communicating with other people via the Internet in written form: if you’re just starting to use a computer right now it might be a little harder and frustrating to participate (not impossible, but definitely harder).
There isn’t a minimum amount of gear required and you won’t be asked to buy new stuff. We have had people complete every assignment with their cameraphone, in the past. If you’re planning to use analog techniques, keep in mind that you’ll have to be able to magically make your photo digital to be able to share them.
The whole thing is going to happen in English, but if you are reading this you should be fine.

3

To make things easier, we’ll be using English as a bridge between different languages. To make things fair, I will refuse to communicate with you in Italian even if we both speaks this language.

4

Yes!
For about three months I’ll be checking the forums nearly every day and actively participating in the discussions. I will not give individual feedbacks on each photo for the weekly assignments, because that would take all of my time and raise the price for the whole thing, but you will have individual mentoring for your personal project.
You will be encouraged to use your fellow lazy photographers (and help them in return) as much as possible and I will probably call you out if you’re trying to have validation from me for the sake of validation: the main goal is to give you the tools to work without needing other people’s permission

5

I’m using the name “lab” rather than “class” because I would like to detach myself from the idea of a traditional “course” in which I give you content and you consume it on the couch while stuffing your face with chips and believe you’re becoming a photographer because the lady in the monitor told you so.
Everyone will work at their own pace, you will cohabit and interact, there will be no “different classes”. You will learn from those who know more than you and, by sharing your process, you will teach those who know less.
Most of all, you will see how having more refined technical skills isn’t the only thing that counts and you’ll find out that those who know little might be of great help for you.

6

I try to keep this fairly small, which means there’s going to be 30 spots available.
But I might decide to lower the number if I realize that the group forming would benefit from being smaller.

7

Yes and no: I will never tell you if your photo is “good” or “beautiful”, but every week you will receive a score based on your ability to turn in your assignment on time and stick to the brief.
This will function as a compass, for you, because if your perception is that no one understands your genius but you end the lab with a 10%, maybe you might want to consider putting a little more effort

8

You will have access to the Lazy Photographers Forums on August 26th 2022: this will give you a full week to look around, introduce yourself and get ready to work.
Access to the forums will be granted until all video feedback on the personal projects have been delivered and a little more (we expect to keep the forum running until the end of the year, to give people time to tie up loose ends and complete assignments if they wish to do so)

9

You will be eligible for a full refund until two weeks after your payment date. You cannot receive a refund once the Support Group for Lazy Photographers is started (after August 26th 2022)
To request a refund, e-mail info@papermoustache.com from the address you used to subscribe and we will proceed to give you a full refund if the request is issued within two weeks of your payment date.
After that time we can put you in touch with someone who might be interested in taking your place, if that person exists at the time of your request.

About

My name is Sara Lando and I’ve been a professional photographer for over 15 years.
You can se my personal work on my website and my commercial portfolio on Papermoustache’s website

I have been teaching internationally to students of all ages, skills and walks of life but my role in the Support Group for Lazy Photographer is to facilitate your learning while also getting out of the way and ensure that you independently develop the skills you need to improve as a photographer.

As a member of the Board of the Italian Association of Professional Photographers Tau Visual I am interested in promoting accessibility and diversity in the field of photography, with special attention to informed consent and the responsibility that the photographer holds towards their subjects.

I believe in sharing informations, in taking responsibility for one’s own education, in valuing honesty without losing sight of kindness.
If you’re curious about me you can find what I share here