"The future of photography is bright": Canon collabs with university for visual storytelling workshop

Last week the Canon Young People Programme hosted a three-day workshop for local students at Norwich University of the Arts, at four local schools in the British University's new Bank Plain building.

The workshop saw over 100 local students in attendance from City College Norwich & Taverham High School, Ormiston Victory and Sewell Park Academy between the ages of 13 and 18.

Canon Ambassador, cinematographer and journalist Elisa Iannacone was on hand to lead the sessions, which focused on the environment and sustainability. Students used the United Nations' Sustainability Development Goal 13 ‘Climate Action’ as a brief with which to get creative, using photography to tell a story and create powerful images about sustainability with a deep meaning.

Elisa provided examples of how the students could photograph waste and recycling materials, providing a strong emphasis on the power of creative storytelling and how creators’ perspectives are instilled in their work.

Among other subjects, the hot topic of AI was discussed, highlighting the importance of fact-checking and ‘real versus constructed’ narratives within journalism and the media.

Elisa also left the students with the understanding that storytelling with photography is a powerful medium for raising awareness, fostering meaningful dialog and triggering change. This shone through the work that the groups produced for the final exhibition – a demonstration of having found their ‘photographic voice’ to effect change given the current global climate of information overload, political instability and proliferation of social media.

"Our world is going through so many changes and as photographers, our storytelling enables people to view the world through our lens," Elisa said.

"Spending time with this group of students has been so rewarding, helping to frame their perspectives, build their confidence and igniting their passion for creative storytelling. I’ve been blown away by the quality of work they produced. The future of photography is bright indeed."

Far from just being a camera company, Canon embarks on a lot of work like this with schools and communities. "We’ve been working with Canon for a number of years through our Beyond the Frame initiative, and it’s been fantastic to have collaborated with the team on this," said James Smith, photography course leader at Norwich University of the Arts.

"The Canon Young People Programme has enabled us to engage with schools in our local community in a completely different way; through the power of imagery. It’s been phenomenal to watch the students grow in confidence throughout the day and see the standard of both the creative thought and storytelling that went into their final pieces."

The impact of this work on the youth can't be overstated. "It’s been a brilliant opportunity for the students," added Kate Green, art and photography teacher at Sewell Park Academy.

"I've been pleasantly surprised to see students who are rather quiet within the classroom environment really come out of their shells and get hands-on with the project. Seeing them volunteer to take the shots or be the mannequin has been a really heartwarming experience."

Visit here for more about the Canon Young People Programme .

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