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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.
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan
COLOR PHOTOGRAPHY From April 15 to 18, 2027

VASANTHA YOGANANTHAN

Color as a Language
Festival Workshop
Sale price€1.490,00 Finance my workshop

In Venice, color is everywhere. In the shifting reflections of the lagoon, on façades weathered by time, in the unique light that constantly transforms the landscape. A city where colors seem to drift, echo one another, and change with the passing hours. An ideal setting for exploring our relationship with color in photography.

What Is Color Photography?

At first glance, color seems to bring photography closer to reality. Unlike a painter, a photographer does not freely choose the colors that make up an image. Instead, they work with the colors the world offers them.

Yet color is never a simple record of what is visible. It guides the eye, creates tension, reveals connections, and evokes emotion. It can transform an ordinary scene into a visual experience, shifting an image from description to interpretation.

This workshop invites participants to explore color as a true photographic language. Can color become a compositional principle? How does it shape perception, attention, and memory? At what point does it stop describing the world and begin creating meaning?

Through the analysis of photographic works and hands-on shooting sessions in the streets of Venice, we will examine how photographers use color to construct a visual perspective. The goal is not simply to photograph the colors of Venice, but to learn how to think, compose, and tell stories through color.

 

Bio

Self-taught photographer Vasantha Yogananthan was born in 1985 in Grenoble, France, to a French mother and a Sri Lankan father.

For more than fifteen years, he has developed a body of work rooted in long-term immersion, using photography as a space of transformation rather than a simple recording tool. Situated at the intersection of documentary and fiction, his practice explores the persistence of ancient narratives, their transmission across generations, and the ways they continue to shape contemporary landscapes and forms of representation.

From 2013 to 2021, he developed A Myth of Two Souls, a seven-chapter project inspired by the Ramayana. Through this work, he notably experimented with hand-painted photography, opening a broader reflection on color, its materiality, and its influence on the way images are perceived. A Myth of Two Souls was exhibited at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London (2023), Pier 24 Photography in San Francisco (2024), and the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam (2025).

In 2022, he produced Mystery Street, a series focused on childhood in New Orleans, as part of the Fondation d'entreprise Hermès Immersion Award. The work was exhibited at the Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson in Paris and the International Center of Photography in New York in 2023.

Since 2020, Yogananthan has been pursuing a new long-term project in Provence. The first series to emerge from this research, Le Passé composé, was presented in a solo exhibition at the 2024 Rencontres d'Arles, at the Cloître Saint-Trophime.

Vasantha Yogananthan's work has received international recognition and has been widely exhibited around the world. His photographs are now part of major public and institutional collections across Europe and the United States.

Pedagogical learning

  • Understand color as a photographic language in its own right
  • Develop the ability to use color as a compositional tool
  • Explore the influence of color on attention, emotion, and visual storytelling
  • Build a personal approach to color through observation, analysis, and photographic practice

Skills targeted

  • Using color as a compositional and narrative tool
  • Developing visual awareness of color, light, and their interactions
  • Creating mood and meaning through color relationships
  • Building a personal approach to color photography

Target audience

This workshop is open to all. It welcomes photographers of every level — from enthusiastic amateurs to established professionals — who wish to explore color as a creative and narrative language rather than a simple record of reality.

No prior specialisation in color photography is required, only curiosity and a desire to look more closely. It is especially suited to those who want to move beyond simply capturing the colors of a scene and learn to compose, think and tell stories through color, developing a more personal and intentional way of seeing.

Prerequisites

  • Autonomous use of a digital camera
  • A digital camera with batteries and charger
  • Lenses of your choice
  • Sufficient memory cards
  • An external hard drive or USB key with enough free space
  • A personal laptop with charger and editing software you are comfortable using
  • Shooting in RAW is recommended, to preserve the maximum amount of color information
  • Comfortable walking shoes for the daily shooting sessions across Venice
WHAT'S INCLUDED
  • The complete workshop, from Thursday, April 15 to Sunday, April 18, 2027
  • 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

Morning

  • Arrival of participants before noon and time to settle into the workshop environment

Afternoon

  • Welcome and introduction to the workshop, with a first immersion into Vasantha's approach to color
  • A 60–90 minute presentation of Vasantha's work and his use of color — from documentary and fiction to hand-painted photography — followed by a Q&A
  • Opening discussion: what is color photography? Color as a language rather than a simple record of reality
  • A first photographic exploration on the island to begin seeing and thinking in color
Day 2

Morning

  • Analysis of photographic works, examining how photographers use color to build composition, tension and emotion
  • Key principles of color: relationships, palette, and the interaction of color with light

Afternoon

  • First shooting session in the streets of Venice, using color as a compositional principle — façades, reflections, and the changing light of the lagoon
  • Individual guidance from Vasantha as each participant begins to develop their own direction
Day 3

Morning

  • Continued fieldwork across Venice, exploring color and narrative, and creating mood and meaning through color relationships
  • Working with the shifting light throughout the day

Afternoon

  • Editing and image selection, learning to read one's own images through color
  • Personal support from Vasantha to shape each participant's individual approach to color
Day 4

Morning

  • Collective presentation of the work produced, encouraging thoughtful critique, exchange and reflection on each participant's evolving color language

Afternoon

  • Conclusion of the workshop

Please note that this program is subject to adjustments by the artist to best serve the needs and direction of the workshop.
Evaluation methods
  • Continuous assessment through daily individual feedback and group discussions
  • Final presentation of each participant's work during the collective screening
  • End-of-session evaluation and self-assessment form to measure satisfaction and learning outcomes
  • Access to a shared alumni group for post-workshop dialogue and creative exchange
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

Duration & location

San Servolo - 4 Days
Vasantha Yogananthan
Vasantha Yogananthan Sale price€1.490,00