Photography is a beautiful democratic medium through which anyone can creatively express themselves. It is a wonderful way to centre ourselves, to approach our surroundings and each other mindfully, allowing us to find ways to connect our exterior and interior worlds. 

Workshops are a great way to invite people into engaging with photography for the first time, or as a means to further develop existing skills and can be designed according to the requirements and expectations of the commissioning body or participants. They can be spread across a number of weeks or last just half a day and can take place in a location that suits your needs, within the premises where you usually gather or perhaps a local woodland, coastline, or in a town centre.

Workshop Format

Workshops begin with a short gathering, a chance to collectively ground ourselves, to share encouragement and invite one another into a space for creativity and expression. We will have the chance to draw inspiration from a series of photobooks, selected according to the group requirements, learning about a variety of possibilities that the camera offers, both technically and artistically.

We will be able to begin exploring photography and using the cameras through a series of activations. These will invite the participants to engage with their surroundings whilst providing a set of creative constraints within which participants are invited to create. These are not designed as a means of restriction but to enable and channel the focus of each session. At this stage, there is no right or wrong way to take a picture, it is about learning to use the camera as a means of expression.

From here, we can encourage greater technical and creative literacy as a means to match the hopes for each image with the reality of what is captured with the camera. There is no requirement to succeed, but plenty of space to learn, grow and feel encouraged through guided support, trial, error and experimentation.

At the end of each session, there will be time to reflect and consider the images that have been taken, asking which photographs we are drawn to and why, with the invitation to share images with the group. This could be an image that they are particularly proud of, something which has surprised them, or which expresses something that they haven’t ever been able to put into words, inviting us to consider the poetics of the images, asking what they might tell us about ourselves

Reviewing images together is a wonderful way to stimulate group discussion and encourage openness, a chance to share, affirm, inspire and learn from one another.

Group Work

Photography does not have to be an individual act, there are many ways in which groups can come together to create. Much of my strongest artistic and professional work has been made through collaborations with photographers and participants. In particular, we can create space for taking portraits together in groups or pairs. Participants are invited to decide on location, lighting, angles and camera settings as a means to try and capture an image of the person that they each see in one another. It is an opportunity for teamwork, requiring group problem solving, active listening and creative decision making.

Additional Needs

For those with additional needs, photography is an ideal way to encourage creativity. With a camera set to auto it’s possible for anyone to explore and make pictures in their immediate surroundings, giving them a voice to express themselves.

We are also able to run sessions without the requirement for cameras, using existing imagery, family albums or local archive photographs.

Every participant will be offered bespoke support, guidance and affirmation.

Workshop Outcomes

Workshops and projects generate varied and engaging work, which can be shared in a variety of ways such as a bespoke publication, a set of prints/postcards or an exhibition in an agreed location. I have experience in each of these areas and will be able to guide you through what will be most suitable for the group as well as help deliver the final outcomes.

It is worth bearing in mind that depending on the group sometimes it is helpful (or even necessary) to have a preconceived outcome for the sessions. For others it may be better to create without the pressure or expectation of an outcome and to review the material that has been created at the end of the workshops to consider whether an exhibition or publication might be possible.

Practicalities

I have a valid DBS check and public liability insurance. Requirements for cameras and equipment will be established according to the needs of each group.

In Conclusion

Photography can sometimes feel like it’s shrouded in technical mystery, but with some simple guidance and inspiration it can become a way to document and engage with the world, from the most beautiful moments through to the most emotionally challenging.

Taking photographs is a chance to explore new places, to create and express without the need for words. It invites us to learn more about one another, giving us the means to tell our own stories and grant others a chance to tell theirs, allowing us to see the world from the perspective of others.

To discuss collaborating on a photography workshop, please get in touch: simonj.bray@gmail.com

Socially Engaged Workshops

Youth Group Photography Workshops - East Manchester — 2022

Throughout the summer of 2022, young people living in East Manchester were invited by photographer Simon Bray to explore a variety of themes such as family, hopes and fears, documenting their daily lives and communities amidst the redevelopment of their area. Established alongside 5 youth groups, Simon led the young people and their youth leaders to consider their place and emotional responses to their community, utilising a range of digital and film cameras used both during weekly sessions and in their own time. The results show a complex range of experiences, ranging from play and friendship, the rapidly changing environments in which they live and the elements of their community which haven't been cared for as they should.  A selection of the images were exhibited at The Whitworth and The National Football Museum in Manchester in Autumn 2022. 

“Simon is a fantastic workshop facilitator, working well with different, challenging young people across East Manchester.

He developed great rapport with the different groups, and his honest curiosity and inquisitive approach allowed young people to express themselves, develop their skills and grow in confidence about how they saw the world.

His skills as a photographer enabled young people to capture images they didn’t think they would and we see the impact of these workshops on their photos today.”

Chris Macintosh, Youth Work Manager at YPAC Manchester

Open Eye Gallery / HMP Thorn Cross / Novus - Photographer in Residence — 2021

Working with a group of men at HMP Thorn Cross to encourage their understanding of photography as a means of expression. Over 8 sessions, exploring the poetics of photography, portraiture, location based image making and taking pictures as part of a family day at Open Eye Gallery. The direct outcome of the project was an exhibition of the work made by the men at Open Eye Gallery, which some of them were able to attend and see in person, as well as a permanent display at HMP Thorn Cross.

“The highlight of my prison sentence. I don't think it's an exaggeration to say it's changed my life.”

Prisoner C 

"It was a pleasure to work with Simon on our socially engaged commission with Novus and men from HMP Thorn Cross. He demonstrated a great sensitivity and creativity with those we worked with and from a commissioners point of you I wouldn't hesitate to work with him again!"

Liz Wewiora - Project Lead, Open Eye Gallery

Picturing Poetry

A collaboration between students at Perins School and photographer Simon Bray.

To celebrate the 200th anniversary of John Keats’ poem ‘To Autumn’, written after walking through Winchester’s Water Meadows, Head of English at Perins School, Mr. Barber, invited students to collaborate with photographer Simon Bray on a project for National Poetry Day 2019. Using Keats’ ‘To Autumn’ as inspiration, the students wrote new poems exploring their understanding of ‘Home’. Simon then ran workshops with the students to inspire a collection of supporting photographs that are presented alongside the student’s work.

An exhibition of the poems and photographs was held at The Arc (Winchester Discovery Centre) to celebrate National Poetry Day.

“The chance to collaborate with Simon, a professional photographic artist, has given the pupils a chance to express themselves with greater depth and sophistication.”

    Mr. Barber, Head of English, Perins School

Socially Engaged Projects

Loved&Lost

Loved&Lost invites participants to explore their experience of loss through restaging a family photograph and recording an interview. It has been presented in galleries across the UK and featured on The One Show and BBC Breakfast TV, reaching an audience of over 10 million people. In 2020, Simon was commissioned by The Guardian to make a series of stories with participants who lost family members due to the coronavirus pandemic. Each story is told through portrait photography, interview and photofilms. In 2019, Simon’s successful kickstarter campaign resulted in the first project book, Loved&Lost - Volume 1, which features 5 stories from the project.

“The contrast between the person now gone and the permanence of the setting is what makes the images so arresting.”

The Guardian

“It was an intentional way of reflecting, which is really healthy. It’s important to take time to think about him, but when do you do that? Going through this process has been really good for that.”

James - Loved&Lost participant

Creative Producer

Manchester International Festival - Jerwood Fellowship — 2019

Working as part of Manchester International Festival’s talent development team to facilitate the 5 artists selected for the Jerwood Fellowship 2019. Helping to facilitate their engagement with one of the MIF19’s many commissions from internationally renowned artists. Arranging and running of meetings with artists of varying disciplines (rapper/producer, classical composer, film director, choreographer and digital artist) throughout the fellowship to establish key learnings from their engagement with the festival and their selected commissions. Organising and leading a workshop event, hosted within one of the MIF gallery spaces at Manchester Art Gallery to share their learnings experiences with other artists from across Greater Manchester.

Martin Parr - ‘Return to Manchester’ - Manchester Art Gallery - Creative Producer — 2018

A portrait of Manchester, shot over four visits to the city spread across six months. Establishing a working relationship with internationally renowned photographer, Martin Parr, arranging his daily schedules and coordinating access for shoots at institutions and events such as BBC Media City, Manchester United FC, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, Manchester University, Graphene Institute, Manchester Central Mosque, Pride and Irish Festival alongside locations such as local markets and community exercise classes. Working closely with Senior Curator, Natasha Howes, to ensure a considered and broad reflection of Manchester, alongside the integrity and interests of the artist. The exhibition ran from Nov 18 to Apr 19, welcoming over quarter of a million visitors, and included a producer’s tour. 

“One of the best creative producers I’ve ever worked with”

Martin Parr 

Biography

Simon Bray is a photographer based in the south of England who utilises image, text and audio to explore notions of loss, identity, time and place. His work has been shown at The Southbank Centre, Manchester International Festival, The Whitworth, Open Eye Gallery. Brighton Photo Biennial, and featured by The Guardian, British Journal of Photography and BBC In Pictures. He works as a commercial and editorial photographer for a range of international publications and businesses.

His latest book, ‘Dear Kairos’, recently won the FE+SK Book Award 2023. Made during Nearest Truth workshops on the streets of Athens, the book explores the Ancient Greek notions of time, inviting the viewer to consider the linear Kronos and the more serendipitous Kairos. The book was recently shortlisted for the Arles des Rencontres Prix du Livre 2023.

His project Loved&Lost invites participants to explore their experience of grief through restaging a family photograph and recording an interview. The project reached an audience of over 10 million people through multiple features on BBC TV, press coverage and exhibitions across the UK, including at The Southbank Centre, Weston Park Museum, Sheffield, Manchester Cathedral and The Nutshell, Winchester.

He has recently been running photography workshops with a variety of participants, ranging from prisoners at HMP Thorn Cross and young people in East Manchester, culminating in exhibitions at Open Eye Gallery and The Whitworth, and with John Hansard Gallery and The Prince’s Trust in Southampton. He has also aided the running of workshops in Athens, Greece with Raymond Meeks and Federico Clavarino through Nearest Truth.

Simon also works as a photobook designer for Nearest Truth Editions, with the first four titles in production ready for Paris Photo this November.

In 2021, Simon had the privilege of photographing Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for Manchester Cathedral.

Simon has previously worked as creative producer with Martin Parr, Manchester Art Gallery and MIF.