Portrait Workshop by
Paolo Verzone

Paolo Verzone

Paolo Verzone is an internationally renowned photographer with over 30 years experience in photography. A member of the VU’ agency, Verzone has worked for some of the world’s most prestigious publications, including National Geographic, Time, Vanity Fair and Le Monde. His distinctive style combines meticulous attention to detail with an uncanny ability to capture the essence of his subjects, whether it be breathtaking landscapes, striking portraits or scenes from everyday life.

Scuola della Luce

Scuola della Luce is a creative space that focuses on the study, use and artistic experimentation of light. It offers a platform to learn about lighting techniques and visual narrative-making first-hand from international professionals in the field. SL uses light as a meeting point to think about art, photography and representation.
Founded by photographer Paolo Verzone and artist Jordi Bernadó, SL has become a tight-knit international community formed by photographers, visual artists, filmmakers, thinkers and writers, all of them united by one common thread: light.
Scuola della Luce believes in collaborative processes of creation. It organises workshops, conferences, exhibitions and multidisciplinary programmes. The activities are conducted by internationally acclaimed photographers, artists and authors, all of whom are part of the SL community.
This allows SL to offer first-class learning experiences across the most diverse fields of creation —photographic technique, critical thinking, curatorial skills, story-telling, visual languages. The diversity and excellence of all collaborators gives SL a rigorous interdisciplinary focus.

Workshop Objectives

During these intensive days, we’ll thoroughly explore various types of lighting—natural, artificial, flash, and cinematic. We’ll analyze their unique qualities, creative potential, and technical applications, followed by practical sessions where you’ll put into practice what you’ve learned.
Together, we’ll focus on creating:

• Environmental portraits using exclusively natural light.
• Portraits using artificial lighting techniques.
• Portraits combining natural and artificial light sources, such as flash and cinematic lighting.
• Lighting techniques to enhance landscapes and architecture.
• Creative lighting approaches in reportage photography.
• Experimentation with unconventional lighting techniques.

Additionally, we’ll delve deeply into studying the subject and understanding the significance of body positioning in environmental portraiture, aiming to produce images full of personality and intensity.

Included in the workshop:

• Transportation to and from the Camucia-Cortona train station
• Internal transportation for the journey
• Bed and breakfast at the Hotel San Michele
• Aperitifs and dinners
• Passes to the Cortona On The Move International Photography Festival for all days of the festival, July 19-25 inclusive
• Free admission to the Cortona municipal swimming pool every day from July 19-25 inclusive

Workshop Program

Day 1 – Saturday, July 19th: Welcome to Cortona

• • Afternoon: Meet at Camucia-Cortona train station.
  • Arrive in Cortona and check into Hotel San Michele.
  • Welcome and introduction to the workshop with Paolo Verzone.
  • Photography walk through the historic center of Cortona to discover the Cortona On The Move Festival.
  • Welcome aperitif and dinner.
  • Possibility to attend the final evening of the Cortona On The Move International Photography Festival.

Day 2 – Sunday, July 20:

• • • Breakfast at the hotel.
    • Morning: Mixed and natural light shooting in the streets and alleys of Cortona and participation in the activities of the Cortona On The Move festival.
    • Free lunch and return to the hotel for a lecture.
    • Afternoon: Medici Family Tour: photo opportunity through the alleys to discover the Medici in Cortona. The guided tour winds through the squares and alleys of Cortona, inside the MAEC Etruscan Museum of Cortona and ends at the Santa Maria Novella Perfumery, which still preserves the perfume that Caterina de’ Medici created for her wedding. The photo shoot will take place during the tour, taking advantage of the indoor and outdoor locations, using mixed light.
    • Dinner and viewing of the photos taken during the day.

Day 3 – Monday, July 21:

• • • Breakfast at hotel.
    • Morning: Photography with light equipment to take photos and environmental portraits with the forest as a backdrop during a guided truffle hunt.
    • Lunch in the woods and return to the hotel.
    • Afternoon: review of the photographs with the photographer and lecture.
    • Aperitif and dinner with truffle tasting at Taverna Pane e Vino in the center of Cortona.

Day 4 – Tuesday, July 22nd:

• • • Early morning: short sunrise walk from the hotel to the Parterre Mountains, Cortona’s public park, to photograph in the early morning light.
    • Return to hotel for breakfast.
    • Visit to the Il Canaio winery to take photographs inside the winery and outside in the vineyards, with the opportunity to taste new vintages directly from the aging barrels.
      The relationship between inside and outside from a photographic point of view will be discussed.
    • Lunch together to taste the winery’s wines paired with important dishes of Tuscan cuisine.
    • Return to the hotel to meet the photographer.
    • Convival dinner.

Day 5 – Wednesday, July 23:

• • • Breakfast at the hotel.
    • Morning: Excursion to Monte San Savino to visit the Morettini Oil Museum, a sensory journey through the flavors of Tuscany.
      With the photographer, you will learn the techniques of indoor and portrait photography with mixed and artificial light, during a tasting experience where the tasting of extra virgin olive oil is preceded by a technical demonstration for an unmissable opportunity to learn about the properties of oil directly at the places of production.
    • Lunch and return to the hotel.
    • Afternoon: return to the hotel and meeting with the photographer.
    • Excursion on foot through the characteristic streets of Cortona to the Eremo delle Celle, where St. Francis of Assisi stopped, a place of peace and mystical atmosphere, ideal for photographic inspiration and inner reflection.
    • Return for a relaxing aperitif.
    • Dinner at the Osteria del Teatro in Cortona.

Day 6 – Thursday, July 24

• • • Breakfast at the hotel
    • Photo session in the neoclassical style of the 19th century Teatro Signorelli, where some of the dancers and choreographers of the Associazione Sosta Palmizi, one of the most prestigious contemporary dance companies in Italy, directed by Giorgio Rossi and Raffaella Giordano, will pose for us.
    • Free lunch and return to the hotel to view the photos.
    • Guided tour of the exhibitions at the Cortona On The Move Festival, followed by a walk to the Girifalco Fortress for an exclusive sunset and night photo session.
    • Aperitif and dinner at the Fortezza del Girifalco.

Day 7 – Friday, July 25

• • Breakfast at the hotel.
  • Closing of the workshop with Paolo Verzone and farewell.

Costi

The cost of the workshop is €2,700 per person including VAT.
Accompanying person: 1.800€ VAT included.

Early bird 5% for registration before April 30, 2025.

The workshop will take place if and only if a minimum of 7 participants is reached within 20th May.
The group is limited to 12 participants.

For registration and more information please contact: info@otmcompany.it

Terms and conditions

We reserve the right to cancel this event when we do not reach the minimum number of participants.
If you decide to cancel for any reason, and notify us within 30th April, we will reimburse all fees. After that time frame OTM Company and Scuola della Luce will not make any refund.

Every participant has to bring their own equipment (camera, lenses, tripod and laptop).

Booking

To make a reservation please send an email to info@cortonaonthemove.com
The reservation will only be confirmed once the transfer has been made.