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. It 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.

Photography workshops are a great way to invite people into engaging with photography either for the first time, or as a means to further develop existing skills and can be designed according to each group’s requirements depending on location, time, resources and existing technical and creative abilities. 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.

Approach

Regardless of practical factors, workshops are a time to invite one another into a space for creativity and expression, a chance to share encouragement and embrace the idea of playing, experimenting and learning through doing.

Participants will be invited to discuss their theoretical approach to making pictures as well as suggest skills that they would like to explore within the sessions and given the tools and theoretical approach to further their understanding of their particular areas of interest.

Within each session there will be time to reflect and consider the images that have been taken, asking which photographs they 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. 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, cyanotype sun print kits, 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 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.

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

Teaching

Unit Lead - BA Photojournalism - Bournemouth University - 2024 -

Working within the university’s highly regarded media department to lead the level 5 photojournalism unit alongside a photography technician. An option for journalism, photography and sports journalism students, I led students through the history of photojournalism, the legal and ethical requirements of a photojournalist and the development and creation of and eight section portfolio supported by written news stories, captions and a supporting essay. Students were expected to generate their own stories in order to cover portfolio categories such as ‘News Feature’, ‘Character Study’, ‘Weather’, and ‘Low Light’ and marked according to their technical approach and journalistic rigour.

Photography Workshops

Group K - Nearest Truth - Athens, Greece - 2023

Working alongside photographers Raymond Meeks and Federico Clavarino, leading a group of 20 photographers to investigate the city in order to shoot, design and print a book within 6 days. In taking care of the design and layout of the book, the resulting publication is a facsimile of the original 1970s Japanese folio of the same name and includes 122 pages of work.

“Most of us spend our entire lives avoiding the inconvenient edges of things, places, and other people. Edges are implied at the end of things familiar. They create definitions, both good and bad. This workshop will be devoted to confronting the seams of things, the borders between two finite propositions, and their in-between points of convergence. The remit is simple: find, interfere, observe, and document any edge between two parallel possibilities. There are no limitations, just intentions.”

Stem&Green - Flower Farm - 2023 -

An annual workshop on the beautiful flower farm near Winchester, inviting anyone from novice to professional to engage with photographing the flowers and natural surroundings. We explore basic exposure and camera theory through photographing staged arrangements before heading out into the flower field to to photograph flowers and plants and floralscapes. There is space for group discussion and feedback, as well as bespoke support depending upon the needs of each individual. Plus lots of tea and cake.

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 - Perins School, Alresford - 2019

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 - 2014 - 2024

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.