Art Documentation Photography Intensive with Mario Gallucci

Learn from Mario Gallucci, a Portland-based photographer whose work has been published in Artforum, ARTnews, ArtMaze, Art Papers, Chronicle Books, Cultured Magazine, GQ, Juxtapoz, Rolling Stone, Surface Magazine, and US Airways Magazine.

This three-day professional intensive is designed for photographers, artists, and arts workers looking to strengthen their skills in artwork and exhibition documentation. Through hands-on shooting, technical demonstrations, post-production sessions, and individual consultation, participants will work through the full documentation process, from approaching challenging lighting and exhibition conditions to editing, delivery, and professional practice.

The intensive begins at The Luminary, where participants will photograph exhibitions and individual artworks, experiment with lighting strategies for difficult objects and surfaces, and work through post-production and color management with Mario.

The program culminates with an on-site documentation workshop at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, where participants will apply these techniques in a new institutional setting and learn about the technical, aesthetic, and practical considerations involved in producing documentation for galleries and museums.

Participants will leave with practical experience in:

• Exhibition, artwork, and architectural documentation
• Lighting reflective, dimensional, and difficult-to-photograph work
• Color management, Lightroom, masking, compositing, and efficient post-production
• Building a professional capture-to-delivery workflow
• Pricing, contracts, licensing, client communication, and running a freelance documentation practice

Intermediate to advanced experience is recommended. Participants are encouraged to bring their own camera equipment and a laptop for editing. Enrollment is intentionally limited to allow for hands-on instruction and individual feedback.

Full 3-Day Intensive: $500

Luminary Member + Invited Participant Rate: $350
Current Luminary members receive a special 30% discounted rate for the full intensive.

Two full scholarships are available. To request a scholarship seat, email [email protected]. No formal application is required.

A limited number of individual workshop registrations are also available, beginning at $125 for members and $175 for the general public. The Monday capstone at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation is available only to full-intensive participants.

Info: Hands-on documentation in the gallery with Mario.
Topics:
Installation and exhibition views
Individual artworks and details
Site-specific and large-scale work
Perspective and architectural distortion
Mixed natural and artificial light
Building an effective shot list
Working efficiently on location

Info: A technical workshop focused on challenging documentation scenarios. Setup in Luminary black box space. With wall and seamless paper setups.
Topics:
Paintings and two-dimensional work
Glass, glare, and reflective surfaces
Sculpture and dimensional work
Supplemental lighting for a space with bad existing lighting
Color accuracy and white balance
Large-scale artworks
Reproduction photography vs. installation documentation
Essential equipment and lighting setups

Info: Participants meet offsite for a quick session of image capture. Then regroup at The Luminary for a session on editing those files and other files shot on Saturday.
Topics:
Ingest and file organization
Lightroom workflow
Selection and editing
Perspective correction
Color correction and consistency
Masking techniques for smoothing difficult lighting
Simple compositing
Export settings
File naming and archiving
Client delivery
Creating a faster capture-to-delivery workflow

Info: Meet 1-on-1 with Mario for a portfolio review, questions about photography and running your own freelance art documentation business. A limited number of 45 minute sessions for portfolio review, technical troubleshooting, pricing questions, or individual professional guidance.
Topics:
Pricing and estimating
Scoping a documentation job
Questions to ask clients before a shoot
Contracts, licensing, and usage
Deliverables and revisions
Equipment and assistant costs
Communicating with artists, galleries, and institutions
Building repeat clients and a documentation portfolio

Info: Meet 1-on-1 with Mario for a portfolio review, questions about photography and running your own freelance art documentation business. A limited number of 45 minute sessions for portfolio review, technical troubleshooting, pricing questions, or individual professional guidance.

Info: Meet with Mona Sabau, the Pulitzer Arts Foundation’s Director of Marketing and Communications. The group photographs on-site as they learn the specifics of what the Foundation’s preferences are for final images of their shows and space. This workshop provides face to face meetings with Mona, familiarity with the building and galleries of the Pulitzer, and guidance from Mario on the technical aspects of shooting in the space. Bring your own gear or follow along as Mario shoots tethered in the space.
Topics:
Architectural considerations vs artwork considerations
Working with natural skylight and window light mixed with warm gallery light
Minimizing artwork distortion
Focus stacking as a strategy for all artwork to be in focus
Subject and range masking
Bracketing and HDRs
Image rights for certain artworks and how to shoot them in context

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