10460 - Photography History and Technique

Learning outcomes

This course aims to provide the tools to stimulate a more careful and sensitive reading of the landscape around us, through an analysis of the theoretical and practical aspects of photography. Photography is a method to look and to discover new possibilities of perception and an instrument of territorial investigation and "search on places".

Course contents

The History and Technique of Photography course aims to explore the theoretical and practical aspects of photography through the study of photographers, cultural movements and its relationship with other forms of artistic and expressive language. Particular attention will be given to the theme of landscape, following a trajectory from the earliest pictorial representations to current approaches to contemporary landscape in photography.

Through theoretical lectures, practical exercises and collective reviews, the main aspects of photographic language will be addressed, with particular attention to the relationship between observation, framing, light, space and time.

The workshop activities will focus on developing a collective photographic research project on the city of Cesena, conceived as an opportunity to experiment with different ways of reading urban space and to construct a shared representation of its transformations, characteristics and the relationships between architecture, public space and landscape.

Readings/Bibliography

Required readings for the examination:

Cotton Charlotte, La fotografia come arte contemporanea, Einaudi, Milano 2010

Recommended readings for the course:

Adams Robert, La bellezza in fotografia. Saggi in difesa dei valori tradizionali, Bollati Boringhieri, Milano 1995

Parr Martin, Badger Gerry, Photobook: a history, Vol.1, Vol.2, Vol. 3, Phaidon, Milano

Shore Stephen, Lezioni di fotografia, Phaidon, Milano 2009

Szarkowsky John, L'occhio della fotografia, Five continents Edition, Milano 2007

Additional readings:

Costantini Paolo, Chiaramonte Giovanni (a cura di), Luigi Ghirri, Niente di antico sotto il sole, Quodlibet, Macerata 2021

Shore Stephen, Modern Instances: The Craft of Photography, MACK, 2021

Shore Stephen, The Mental Image, MACK, 2026

Valtorta Roberta, Scritti 1983-2024. La fotografia e il paesaggio, Electa, Milano, 2025

Zannier Italo, Architettura e fotografia, Gius. Laterza & Figli S.p.a., Bari 1991

Teaching methods

During the History and Technique of Photography course, slides and films will be shown, alternating between theoretical lectures, presentations of photographers and photographic projects, practical exercises, field trips and collective reviews of the work.

The activities will be organised around a photographic research project on the city of Cesena, developed through moments of discussion and exchange aimed at constructing a shared reading of the urban context.

Assessment methods

The final examination will consist of a discussion of the photographic work developed during the laboratory and an assessment of the knowledge acquired throughout the course. The assessment will take into account participation in the activities, the quality of the photographic research, the ability to observe and interpret the assigned theme, the coherence of the project, and knowledge of the theoretical references and authors presented during the course.

For the examination, students must present a book in A5 format, containing a sequence of approximately 15–20 images that tells the story of the project developed during the academic year on the city of Cesena.

The final grade will be based on the assigned exercise and the discussion of the theoretical texts and topics covered during the course. Each of the criteria listed below will be awarded between 0 and 6 points.

Assessment criteria:

• narrative coherence of the photographic book;
• composition of the photographic book;
• ability to independently organise the photographic sequences;
• knowledge and discussion of the topics covered during the course;
• presentation skills and knowledge of the assigned theoretical texts.

AI can be a useful tool to support individual study through further exploration, summaries and self-assessment activities. With regard to the assessment of learning, a limited, declared and non-substantive use of AI is permitted for support activities (summaries, reformulations). Substantive use of AI to complete parts of the assessment is not permitted.

Students with specific learning disorders (SLD) or temporary or permanent disabilities are advised to contact the relevant University office in good time (https://site.unibo.it/studenti-con-disabilita-e-dsa/it ). The office will propose any necessary adjustments to the students concerned, which must in any case be submitted at least 15 days in advance to the instructor for approval. The instructor will assess their appropriateness, also in relation to the learning objectives of the course

Teaching tools

Teaching materials presented during the course—including texts, images, videos, and presentations—will be made available in digital format.
Students will also have access to books, exhibition catalogues, and photographic publications provided by the Photography Laboratory.

The equipment provided by the school — cameras, scanners, pinhole cameras, etc. — may be used by students under the supervision of the professor.

Office hours

See the website of Massimo Sordi