Paper Cameras Study Pack

A deck of cards for critically studying photographs, written, designed, and hand-assembled by Katie Giritlian. 

Paper Cameras Study Pack is a set of cards for critically studying photographs and articulating the relationships that make, and are made by, our images. Grounded in community-driven imaging practices and anti-imperial studies, the cards translate a myriad of photography theories into scaffolded prompts printed as tactile viewfinders. Invited to closely study one photograph at a time, participants can use these cards to develop observation-based inquiries, and practice discerning documentary practices rooted in care and divested from exploitation.

[ update photos once prototype finalized ]

1 Physical Deck

• 21 printed cards
• 2 instructional booklets
  
• carried together in a 4 x 6” case
• 1 card deck can comfortably be shared between 1-2 participants
• Purchase of 1 card deck comes with 15% discount on advising sessions
• [ might make deck sliding scale ]

Group Order

Want to share the cards with a group? Let us know what you need, and we can figure something out! 

Offerings

[ might make deck sliding scale ]

[ now that i’ve added the kraft paper background, I thnk I like this panel more!! ]

The cards are intended to be used in a myriad of learning environments, from the classroom setting to the dispersed schools we make inside of our own communities:

• photo studio classes—the cards can be brought to adult photography classes to facilitate critiques, help learners articulate personal intentions for their photo practices, and offer a tactile tool to hold themselves and each other accountable to agreed intentions.

• photo history, ethnography, and visual studies classes—the cards can be applied to college and/or graduate curriculums to help learners access difficult conversations about power and visuality.

• photo-journalism classes—the cards can be used to analyze case studies for training practitioners to identify care-centered approaches to documentation and unlearn exploitative tendencies in the industry. 

• one’s artistic practice—practitioners can use the cards at their own pace, to reflect on their photographic processes.

• archives and libraries—the cards can activate image collections through public workshops and programs.

• liberatory study—organizers can use the cards to study movement archives and identify strategies for self-determined documentation that they want to carry into present practices.

• around the kitchen table—families and loved ones can use the cards to read the weekend paper and improvise DIY media literacy games.

[ create instructional video once prototype confirmed AND embed here ] 

[ add specs: add somewhere any deck can be used between 1 - 2 people / handmade!!  ]

[ NOTE: I have removed rate per KJR feedback but wondering if a starting rate should be listed somewhere? ]

[ NOTE: I am thinking of free offerings, like study halls, but not yet going to put that on site ] 

Rehearse the Cards

Imagine you are studying the photograph on this page; click-and-drag each card, and see what the captions illuminate for you.

[ confirm if using this photo/ add citation ]