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Si vous residez en France, il est désormais possible de profiter de vos droits à la formation professionnelle pour participer à un workshop Venezia Photo. Selon votre statut, deux dispositifs existent pour vous accompagner dans le financement partiel ou total de votre workshop à Venise.
Paul Rousteau
Paul Rousteau
Paul Rousteau
Paul Rousteau
Paul Rousteau
From April 15 to 18, 2027

PAUL ROUSTEAU

Photography and Illusion: Developing Your Own Way of Seeing
Immersive photography workshop in Venice with Paul Rousteau
Festival Workshop
Sale price€1.490,00 Finance my workshop

"Venice is a theatre of light and reflections in constant transformation — a city where water, sky and stone merge into a living image. Nowhere else does the boundary between reality and illusion seem to dissolve so naturally. Its timeless atmosphere, mirror-like canals and golden light make it an ideal laboratory for experimenting with perception and the act of seeing.

For me, Venice is not only a photographic subject: it is a field of experimentation, a place where one can discover one's own way of seeing."

— Paul Rousteau

This four-day immersive workshop in Venice, led by Paul Rousteau, combines intensive photographic practice, group discussions and creative exploration.

Participants will be encouraged to produce extensively, experiment freely and embrace trial and error in order to open new creative directions. Filters, mirrors, colored materials, reflections, transparencies and spontaneous interventions will be approached as tools for exploration, helping participants transform reality and question their own ways of seeing.

The goal is not to reproduce a particular aesthetic but to develop a personal vision. Through shooting sessions, group discussions, image reviews and individual guidance, each participant will be encouraged to identify the themes, forms and intuitions that are specific to their own practice.

Throughout the workshop, participants will build a substantial body of photographic material through landscape, portraiture, everyday observation or any direction that feels meaningful to them. This material will serve as the foundation for an editing and reflection process aimed at developing the first stages of a personal photographic series.

Rather than being treated only as a subject to document, Venice will become a field of experimentation — a catalyst helping each participant discover their own way of seeing and gradually develop a distinctive photographic voice.

Bio

Born in France in 1985, Paul Rousteau explores the limits of photography and perception. Through optical illusions, visual distortions and photographic experiments, his work questions our relationship to reality and imagination.

At the crossroads of photography, painting and abstraction, his images have been published and exhibited by The New York Times, Hermès, Louis Vuitton, M Le Monde, Vogue, the Mucem and the Louvre.

Pedagogical learning

  • Explore new ways of seeing and photographing through perception, illusion and the transformation of reality.
  • Develop a personal photographic vision through experimentation.
  • Use filters, mirrors and other creative tools as instruments for visual research.
  • Produce a large body of images in order to explore multiple creative directions.
  • Identify the themes, forms and intuitions that support a personal artistic practice.
  • Develop a visual research method that can be applied to future projects.
  • Build the foundations of a personal photographic series through the experiments carried out during the workshop.
  • Learn how to select, edit and present a coherent body of images.

Skills targeted

  • Conceive and develop a personal photographic project.
  • Use alternative and experimental tools to enrich one's practice.
  • Develop strategies for visual research and experimentation.
  • Adapt one's gaze to a specific environment and to the unique light of Venice.
  • Build a personal visual language at the intersection of photography, painting and imagination.
  • Construct a coherent visual narrative from a body of images.
  • Analyze, edit and present photographic work in an artistic or professional context.
  • Present and discuss artistic choices during the final group presentation.

Target audience

Professional photographers, visual artists, authors and advanced amateurs wishing to develop their eye, renew their practice or deepen their personal approach.

The workshop is intended for participants who want to experiment, produce intensively and begin structuring a personal photographic series.

All levels are welcome, provided participants are autonomous with their equipment.

Prerequisites

  • Autonomous practice of digital photography is required.
  • Participants must bring at least one camera suited to artistic photographic practice: bridge camera, mirrorless camera, DSLR, advanced compact camera or more advanced equipment. Smartphones are also accepted and may be used during the workshop if necessary.
  • Personal equipment is required: camera, lenses, memory cards, hard drives and a laptop equipped with software for viewing, selecting and editing images. A laptop is recommended in order to review, select and edit the images produced during the workshop.
  • Please make sure that all your equipment is fully functional and that you are autonomous in its use, as the workshop is not dedicated to technical training on cameras or software.
  • Participants are also encouraged to bring 3 to 5 personal objects or filters: mirrors, plexiglass, colored papers, fabrics, broken lenses, transparent objects or any other materials that may feed their visual experiments.
  • Full participation is required throughout the workshop, including outdoor shooting sessions.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
  • The complete workshop: from Thursday, April 15, 2027 at 2:30 p.m. to Sunday, April 18, 2027 at 1 p.m.
  • 3 breakfasts, 3 dinners, 2 cocktails
  • Access to the closing evening
  • Any equipment loans
  • Access to any tourist sites or places of interest planned as part of the workshop
WHAT'S NOT INCLUDED
  • Return transport to Venice and San Servolo
  • Accommodation: rooms are available on site in San Servolo; otherwise you will need to arrange your own accommodation in Venice
  • Lunch is on your own: there is a cafeteria in San Servolo
  • Vaporettos and other water taxis outside the excursions scheduled as part of the workshop
  • All insurance cover for lost or stolen luggage, delayed or cancelled transport, theft or breakage of equipment during the workshop
Detailed program
Day 1

Welcome and group introduction. Presentation of Paul Rousteau’s approach, participant portfolios and goals. Creation of handmade filters and first experiments. Visit to Le Stanze della Fotografia (Mapplethorpe). Group welcoming dinner on San Servolo.

Day 2

Early-morning photo session in Venice, followed by exploration of filters and editing processes on the island, mixing manual and digital interventions. Informal encounters and book signing over an aperitif; group dinner.

Day 3

Sunrise shoot in Venice, group discussion on images and direction. Afternoon devoted to experimentation and post-production, pushing boundaries between painting, photography, and abstraction. Sunset shoot on the Zattere promenade.

Day 4

Final edit, selection and sequencing. Collective screening and feedback to close the workshop.

Please note that this program is subject to adjustments by the artists to best serve the needs and direction of the workshop.
Evaluation methods
  • Private end-of-course interview and feedback
  • Continuous evaluation of the personal photographic series throughout the workshop
  • Group and individual oral evaluation at the end of the course
After the training

Participants’ work may be featured through Venezia Photo’s communication channels (newsletter, website, social media).
A private online group will allow participants to stay connected, share projects, and continue discussions beyond the workshop.
ACCESSIBILITY

All efforts are made to accommodate participants with disabilities. Please contact us in advance for adaptation of conditions.

Language of instructor

English or French

Duration & location

San Servolo - 4 Days
Paul Rousteau
Paul Rousteau Sale price€1.490,00