Acclaimed award-winning international photographers and industry experts from across the globe will lead a diverse range of education and training workshops in the visual arts for all skill levels at the sixth edition of Xposure International Photography Festival, held from February 9-15 at Expo Centre Sharjah.

Organised by Sharjah Government Media Bureau (SGMB), Xposure 2022 features a comprehensive agenda of training and educational programmes targeting distinct categories of juniors, beginners, intermediate and advanced level photography enthusiasts. The intense, hands-on workshops aim to nurture emerging talent in the region, share knowledge and expertise, and build on the technical skills of amateurs and professionals to design more visually engaging photographs.

The complete agenda of training and educational programmes at Xposure 2022 also includes Portfolio Reviews and Focus Group sessions led by leading industry experts and some of the world’s best photographers. To know more and to register for any of these sessions, please visit xposure.ae.

Focal Length Explained

Professional photography coach Mike Browne will explore the characteristics of different focal lengths and how to use them to dramatically improve the impact of any image. Learn where to focus and why you sometimes cannot control depth of field, regardless of the aperture used.

Studio Lighting for E-commerce & Commercial Portraits

Focusing on simple lighting techniques for e-commerce fashion and for creative commercial portraits, this four-hour workshop led by Colin Hawkins, is an opportunity to enhance photographic skills in studio lighting techniques for photographing models and people in a studio environment.

Photo Mechanics

David Newton demystifies the art of photography with a back-to-basics approach that is ideal for complete beginners and those with some experience. The session covers exposure, camera settings, autofocus settings and the basics of composition to set a solid foundation in the art form.

Magical Mystery of Light

Mike Browne’s session will focus on light and its qualities, and how it can make or break an image no matter how well composed or beautiful the subject is. The session – targeting those new to photography and more experienced photographers – also explores how to see light and capture it with a camera.

 How to shoot a Personal Project

Chris Coe, who conducts courses, workshops, and photo tours internationally, will delve into every aspect of shooting a project – from devising the original concept and tackling different photographic styles through to planning and shooting to enhance and improve images and the visual story.

Light the World

Learn about the role of flash in being able to sculpt and shape images with David Newton who will cover both the basics and more advance techniques on using flash both indoors and outdoors on location and impart lessons on mixing flash with ambient light on location where things constantly change.

Photo Alchemy

This workshop is about transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary. Mike Browne offers insights into five main camera controls and the art of combining them with technical know-how in creative ways to capture stimulating images that hold a viewer’s attention and sparks appreciation.

Moments in Time

Two-time Pulitzer Prize-winner Muhammed Muheisen takes participants on a journey of ethics in photography, detailing how to approach people without invading their privacy. The session focuses on credibility and integrity and explores ways of telling a story by being a part of it.

Choreography of Composition

To see something different, a photographer must think different, see and shoot different. Mike Browne’s tips and techniques will bring a whole new dimension to image-making as he discusses aspects of good composition that makes the difference between a boring photo and a brilliant one.

Introduction to Time Blending Techniques

Travel photographer Elia Locardi will impart the techniques encapsulating more than a single moment into a single photograph by sharing his entire blending workflow from in-the-field shooting tips to post-processing using Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop.

Studio Product Photography

This 4-hour workshop gives a hands-on opportunity to enhance photographic skills in simple lighting and photography techniques essential for shooting products in a studio environment for publishing on the web or other promotional material.

The Storytelling Process

The aim of the master class is to encourage recipients to produce a new body of work, to navigate the tension between truth and interpretation, to develop a personal storytelling process, and to explore strategies for creating effective visual stories.

The Skill of Picture Editing

The fundamentals of editing process when choosing an image to publish, exhibit, sell or display is the focus of this insightful session that teaches the skill of editing and selecting photographs for different uses. The interactive workshop will include a group image critique and a practical editing session.

Advanced Astrophotography

Focused on Wide Field nightscapes and deep skies, this advanced-level workshop offers a professional insight into creating breathtaking photos of the night skies and covers everything from planning the shoot, capturing and composing images, and the use of advanced post-processing techniques.

Mastering The Art & Craft of Travel Photography

Chris Coe offers lessons on working with different subjects and in different lights to create powerful visual travel stories, and details planning a trip/shoot to image selection, including shooting in the best light, composing images for the wow factor, and editing images for different uses.

Creative Framing

From learning lens choice to positioning, and camera height all affect the look of the final image.This workshop offers compositional guidelines with tips on how, when and why to break them too.

Challenging Composition & Light in Landscape Photography

This Daniel Kordan masterclass offers lessons on composition and light in landscape photography, and explores the art of taking vertical panoramic images, shooting in challenging light conditions, and planning for light and seasonal conditions in landscape photography.

The Art of Creating Visual Lyrics

This two-day intensive workshop led by street photographer Vineet Vohra, includes shooting in the streets and theoretical sessions in class that share essential insights about street photography; the dos and don’ts, different aspects in composition and common mistakes made while composing.

Learn Black & White Fine Art Photography

Sajin, a self-taught B&W photographer will unveil the process of creating fine art photography from pre-visualising images through effective post-processing techniques using substantial tools in Photoshop. The two-day workshop will explore creative techniques, angles, and photographic vision.

Slicing Time with Beno Saradzic

Beno Saradzic, a Fujifilm X Photographer and experienced time-lapse cinematography professional, will delve into the mysteries and intricacies of this field as he demystifies the art, the science, and the host of tools behind the craft, backed by his wealth of real-world production experiences.

Creative Bubbles

This demonstration workshop offers instructions on how to capture macro images of soap bubbles. Participants will see everything from making the bubble mixture to setting up the workspace and configuring the camera and lighting for the best results.

Ask the Experts

Mike Brown and David Newton, who have a wealth of knowledge about all sorts of aspects of photography and across a wide range of genres, will answer questions from participants in an open discussion format that is open to everyone at any level.

How to produce a long-term Photo Project

Diego Ibarra Sánchez aims to encourage participants to produce a new body of work, to navigate the tension between truth and interpretation, to develop a personal storytelling process, and to explore strategies for creating effective visual stories to raise questions.

Taking Wildlife Portraits

MogensTrolle, who has worked with and photographed wildlife for over two decades and on all seven continents, will share his experiences in the field to give participants useful tools that they can apply when photographing wild mammals, with the focus on taking engaging portraits.

Impactful Images – Simple Editing Tips for Powerful Results

This workshop is a demonstration of using some of the latest editing tools to get the most out of raw files while maintaining the highest quality possible to create impactful images.

Getting started with Video

Learn the basic building blocks to video with an in-depth look at the basics of video production – settings, key terminology and how to build a storyboard. Participants will engage in the creation of a simple music video from beginning to end and do a very brief, simple edit of the content captured.