From Field to Final Edit: Crafting a Long Term Project

A practical walkthrough of how long term stories evolve from first capture to final edit through structure, sequencing, and intention.

Introduction:

This workshop explores how to turn a long term photo story into a clear, cohesive narrative. Photographer and photojournalist Anush Babajanyan shares insights from her own projects and offers practical guidance on editing and sequencing. Most of the time focuses on participants and their work. This includes individual feedback, group discussion, and space for questions on process, storytelling, and building a lasting photographic vision.

Description:

This three hour workshop with photojournalist Anush Babajanyan focuses on shaping long term projects into strong, coherent stories. First, Anush will give a lecture that draws on two decades of experience in documentary and visual storytelling. She will guide participants from early idea and fieldwork to editing and final presentation. Additionally, she will share concrete examples from her own projects.

Next, the workshop shifts directly to participants and their work. Anush will guide the group through practical exercises in editing and sequencing. Always, the goal is to clarify the story and strengthen its emotional centre. Through a mix of individual feedback and group discussion, participants learn to articulate intent. They will recognise the key images in a project and make deliberate editorial choices that move the narrative forward.

Finally, the session brings these elements together and helps each photographer define realistic next steps. The workshop provides practical tools, clear methods, and renewed motivation to continue working on a long term story. It is open to photographers at all levels. However, it best serves those who have an ongoing project and want to push it to the next stage.

Modules:

Module 1: Behind the Story: Lecture and Discussion
In the first module Anush shares insight from her long experience with extended visual projects. She takes participants behind the scenes of selected works. Here, she shows how ideas evolve, how access and time deepen a narrative, and how decisions shape the final story. This session combines lecture, visual examples, and open questions. Participants can connect these ideas to their own practice.

Module 2: Sequencing and Editing Participants Projects
The second module focuses fully on participants projects. Working together, the group explores editing and sequencing: how to build rhythm, create tension, and guide a viewer through a body of work. Anush offers direct feedback while the group reviews and rearranges images. They look for structure and emotional clarity. By the end of this module, each participant will understand more clearly where their project stands and which steps can strengthen the narrative.

Suitable for:

Intermediate, Advanced, Professional

What Should Students Bring?

Please bring your long term photographic project either as small work prints or as a digital selection on a laptop. If you work digitally, organise your images in software that allows easy sequencing and rearranging, such as Adobe Lightroom Classic, Photo Mechanic, or a similar programme. In addition, bring a notebook and pen for making notes during feedback and discussion. Most importantly, arrive with an open mind and a readiness to share and talk about your project within a supportive group setting.

Closing notes:

This workshop gives photographers a focused environment to look honestly at their long term projects and move them forward with purpose. By combining lecture, guided editing, and collaborative discussion, Anush helps participants gain distance from their work. Yet, they still stay close to its emotional core. Attendees leave with clearer editorial direction, a stronger sense of narrative structure, and practical steps they can apply immediately to their ongoing stories.