Photography Educator: Aline Smithson

Photography Educator: Aline Smithson by Elizabeth StoneSeptember 13, 2024

©Aline Smithson, Lake Meditations, 2022

Welcome to Photography Educator, a new monthly series on Lenscratch. Once a month, we celebrate a dedicated photography teacher by sharing their insights, strategies and excellence in inspiring students of all ages.

To kick off this new series, it is only fitting that we celebrate Lenscratch’s founder, Aline Smithson. Aline has been teaching photography for over two decades and has inspired thousands of students to look more broadly and ask deeper questions, helping them to perfect their craft. Over and over I hear about Aline’s unflappable support of her students and the greater photography community. Aline has had a profound impact on how her students see the world, develop important personal projects and grow. In their words,

Aline is as insightful as she is generous. She shares her deep knowledge and hard-won experience while perfectly curating personal guidance and encouragement for each of her students with wit and grace. There is no wonder why she has such a devoted following for which I am grateful to be included.

Tracy L Chandler tracylchandler.com

Before the pandemic I was the director of the Photographic Galleries at Orange Coast College. It was hard to get artists to notice our space. That all changed when I met Aline Smithson. When we showed her work, she came with a whole show and other artists to show right behind her. Her presence on stage in the lecture hall had our students engaged and wanting to know more. It was as if Aline lifted up the back of the tent and encouraged all of us to run away with the circus.

Take it from an emerging, submerging and now re-emerging artist. Aline is a model educator and artist. In her voice and in between every line of instruction, I hear, “I did it. You can too. Now let’s look inside of ourselves”.

John Hesketh www.johnhesketh.com

My first encounter with Aline was during a three-part series she taught at the Los Angeles Center of Photography, and through that experience and every subsequent class or talk, I understood her extraordinary impact on the photographic community. Aline’s selflessness in sharing her extensive knowledge and skill across multiple roles—educator, artist, mentor, editor, and advocate—truly sets her apart. Her ability to uplift others and inspire, offering guidance and friendship that empowers students to reach their full potential and realize their vision, is a testament to her talent and generosity. Aline’s commitment to fostering community within the photographic world is unparalleled. Her life exemplifies the profound impact one can have when leading with heart, purpose, and a relentless commitment to elevating others.

Jennifer Pritchard www.jenniferpritchardstudio.com

Aline is extremely well-organized and provides participants with a wealth of information. She is also very adept at seeing the direction photographers’ work is taking and helping them take it to the next level. Aline is one of the most generous people I’ve met in the photographic community and constantly shares opportunities and insights with those she’s worked with in the past. She also creates an incredible sense of community in her workshops and retreats and in both cases I have come away with lifelong friendships.

Lynne Buchanan www.lynnebuchanan.com

©Aline Smithson, Lake Nocturne, 2023

I was curious about Aline’s background as an instructor and how she balances her life as artist, editor and teacher. As ever, she thoughtfully responded to my questions with wit and candor.

ES: How and why did you get into teaching?

AS: I never thought I would teach. My mother and sister were teachers, but I was focused on other pursuits. When I started seriously focusing on photography, I took a few classes, but mostly I spent hours in the darkroom learning my craft while my kids were in school. After several years of working in isolation, I saw an opportunity to show my work to Julia Dean and the photo editor of the Los Angeles Times. I had been working a lot with the toy camera and I got great feedback on my work. About a month later, Julia reached out to me to see if I would be interested in teaching a toy camera class. I said no, but she insisted and said she would teach alongside me.

ES: What are your challenges with teaching?

AS: My biggest challenge was a crippling fear of public speaking. I was terrified to stand in front of people and…speak! I signed up for a Fear of Public Speaking class at UCLA and when I arrived and realized I would have to speak, so I got up and walked out and never went back. Eventually I conquered my fear, but it took work!

ES: What keeps you teaching?

AS: I loved sharing my insights about the journey and I began meeting the most remarkable people in my classes. I worked hard to build a fine art photography community in Los Angeles and began increasing my circle of photography friends. I created a series of classes that took a photographer from beginner to significant image maker, and many photographers studied with me for a number of years. I created crit groups, threw parties, and established a Facebook Group. I loved how connected we all became in Los Angeles and how supportive we are of each other. I’m proud of all the amazing achievements that have come out of the community – books, museum shows, gallery representation, and awards.

ES: Has your personal work been affected by your teaching experience? How?

AS: My personal work has not been affected by my teaching, other than perhaps elevated articulation of the work. If anything, teaching has impacted how much time I have for my practice. I tend to work in spurts, fitting in art making between my other obligations of teaching, editing Lenscratch, and juroring.

ES: Did you have an influential photography mentor or teacher? What was their biggest impact on you?

AS: Unfortunately no. I’ve never had a mentor. I am a very tough self-critic and reading and writing about photographers has taught me a lot.

ES: What is your vision for the future of photography education?

AS: The pandemic shifted a lot of things in photographic education. Zoom brought teaching into our living rooms, more photographers picked up the mantle and began teaching techniques they have mastered. Every organization and photo center began expanding their workshop offerings. More photographers considered attending MFA programs. Many university educators are also now teaching workshops. All of this expanded our learning. But we need to consider what comes after photographic education. There are so many photographers seeking the same awards, exhibitions, and opportunities. Teaching positions that afford an educator a decent income are far and few between. Recent graduates can’t participate in many opportunities due to cost restrictions. Almost every photographer has an arsenal of images—50-100 framed prints that are hidden under beds or in closets. The pandemic forced a number of galleries to close. Trying to figure out that part of the journey is not easy.

ES: If you could sit down and have a conversation with any photographer dead or alive who would it be?

AS: Sophie Calle and John Baldessari. I am drawn to conceptual approaches and both artists have a sense of humor, draw from personal experiences, and shape the photograph in unique ways. Sophie Calle is simply brilliant and a great example that we can make art of out anything.

ES: What were the different ways that you approach teaching, from traditional classroom style, to mentoring, to facilitating(etc). Do you favor any approach over the others? Do you feel any approach was more beneficial than the others?

AS: I teach in person and on zoom, and also do a lot of private mentoring. I love the one-on-one experience with a photographer. As an educator, it’s critical that the participants feel seen…and inspired. Many workshop instructors teach how to make work similar to their own techniques, but that has never been my methodology. Fine Art Photography projects are personal and the possibilities for shaping ideas and images are so unique and varied. Writing and editing Lenscratch for 18 years has given me a broad understanding of the contemporary art market and I share a lot of that in my classes. I love seeing light bulbs go off and then an explosion of creativity. I spend a lot of time researching and preparing my presentations, and as with all educators, the hours of prep work go unseen and uncompensated.

ES: And finally, a favorite photography book?

AS: It would have to be Amani Willet’s Disappearance of Joseph Plummer. First, I love the publisher, Overlapse, but also appreciate how every page is a unique approach to telling a story. The book has inspired me in many ways. Since it is now sold out, I carry it with me to workshops, so I won’t lose it.

ES: Thank you Aline for all that you so selflessly do in building community for students of all ages.

For this article, I thought it would be interesting to share some of Aline’s early work and some of her recent photographs to illustrate her trajectory as a creative and influential artist. These next seven black and white images are from the start of her photography career.

As an artist, I try to look for or create moments that are at once familiar, yet unexpected. The odd juxtapositions that we find in life are worth exploring, whether it is with humor, compassion, or by simply taking the time to see them. I have been greatly influenced by the Japanese concept of celebrating a singular object. I tend to isolate subject matter and look for complexity in simple images, providing an opportunity for telling a story in which all is not what it appears to be. The poignancy of childhood, aging, relationships, family, and moments of introspection or contemplation continue to draw my interest. I want to create pictures that evoke a universal memory.

I work with four cameras: a twin lens Rolleiflex, a Hasselblad, the Diana plastic camera, and the Holga plastic camera. The first two provide clarity and formality; the latter two provide spontaneity and simplicity. All are characteristics I would apply to myself. – Aline Smithson

©Aline Smithson, Tess, from Paradise, 2004

©Aline Smithson, Little Feet, from Paradise, 2003

©Aline Smithson, Not There Yet, 1998

©Aline Smithson, Skipping Stones, 2002

©Aline Smithson, Hotel Fiorita, 2008

©Aline Smithson, Inquiring Minds, 2004

©Aline Smithson, Henry with a Cigar, 1998

©Aline Smithson, Sandra, from Underover, 2020

©Aline Smithson, Arrangement in Green and Black #3, Portrait of the Photographer’s Mother,, Hand Painted Silver Gelatin Print, 2005

©Aline Smithson, Fur, Hand Painted Silver Gelatin Print, 2005

About Aline Smithson

Aline Smithson presently teaches at the Los Angeles Center of Photography, Maine Media Workshops, Santa Fe Workshops, Nobechi Creative, Griffin Museum of Photography, International Center of Photography and Anderson Ranch (2025). She has worked with many other institutions including the Center for Fine Art Photography, the Colorado Photographic Art Center, Center for Photographic Arts, Filter Photo and the Atlanta Photography Group. Her awards are many and include the prestigious CENTER Excellence in Teaching Award (2014), Honorable Mention in CENTER’s Excellence in Teaching Award (2012), Nominated for CENTER’s Excellence in Teaching Award 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and in 2022 she was nominated by the Lucie Awards as Educator of the Year. In 2023 The Los Angeles Center of Photography established the Aline Smithson Next Generation Award for emerging female photographers, a testament to her generosity and dedication to the medium.

Excellence in teaching is not Aline’s only skill. She is an interdisciplinary artist, filmmaker and editor based in Los Angeles, California. Her practice examines the archetypal foundations of the creative impulse and she uses humor and pathos to explore the performative potential of photography. She received a BA in art from the University of California at Santa Barbara and was accepted into the College of Creative Studies, studying under significant California artists. After a decade-long career as a New York Fashion Editor, Smithson returned to Los Angeles and to her own artistic practice.

She has exhibited widely including over 50 solo shows at institutions such as the Griffin Museum of Photography, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art, the San Jose Art Museum, the Shanghai, Lishui, and Pingyqo Festivals in China, The Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, the Center of Fine Art Photography in Colorado, the Tagomago Gallery in Barcelona and Paris, and the Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe. In addition, her work is held in a number of significant public collections and her photographs have been featured in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, PDN, Communication Arts, Eyemazing, Real Simple, Los Angeles Magazine, Musee Magazine, Shots, Harpers and Silvershotz magazines.

In 2007, Smithson founded LENSCRATCH, a photography journal that celebrates a different contemporary photographer each day. She has been the Gallery Editor for Light Leaks Magazine, a contributing writer for Diffusion, Don’t Take Pictures, Lucida, and F Stop Magazines, written book reviews for photo-eye, and has provided the forewords for artist’s books by Tom Chambers, Meg Griffiths, Flash Forward 12, Micheal Honegger, Nancy Baron, and others. Smithson has curated and jurored exhibitions for numerous galleries, organizations, and on-line magazines, including Review Santa Fe, Critical Mass, Flash Forward, and the Griffin Museum. In addition, she is a reviewer and educator at many photo festivals across the United States.

In 2012, Smithson received the Rising Star Award through the Griffin Museum of Photography for her contributions to the photographic community. In 2014 and 2019, Smithson’s work was selected for Critical Mass Top 50.

In 2015, the Magenta Foundation published her retrospective monograph, Self & Others: Portrait as Autobiography. In 2016, the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum commissioned Smithson to create a series of portraits for the upcoming Faces of Our Planet Exhibition. In 2018 and 2019, Smithson was a finalist in the Taylor Wessing Photographic Portrait Prize and exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. She was commissioned to create the book, LOST: Los Angeles for Kris Graves Projects which now sold out. Peanut Press released her monograph, Fugue State, in Fall 2021. Her books are in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, the Getty Museum, the Los Angeles Contemporary Art Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, London, the Metropolitan Museum, the Guggenheim, among others.

Her work is held in a number of significant public collections and her photographs have been featured in publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, PDN, Communication Arts, Eyemazing, Real Simple, Los Angeles Magazine and Musee Magazine. Smithson was honored as a 2022 Hasselblad Heroine. With the exception on her iPhone, she only shoots film.

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Elizabeth Stone is a Montana-based visual artist exploring potent themes of memory and time deeply rooted within the ambiguity of photography. Stone’s work has been exhibited and is held in collections including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX, Center for Creative Photography, Tucson, AZ, Cassilhaus, Chapel Hill, NC, Candela Collection, Richmond, VA, Archive 192, NYC, NY, Nevada Museum of Art Special Collections Library, Reno, NV. Fellowships include Cassilhaus, Ucross Foundation, Jentel Arts, the National Park Service and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts through the Montana Fellowship award from the LEAW Foundation (2019). Recent awards include the Arthur Griffin Award (2024), the inaugural Critical Mass Archive 192 Award (2023) and the Photolucida Critical Mass Top 50 (2022). Process drives Stone’s work as she continues to push and pull at the edge of what defines and how we see the photograph.
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Tags: Aline Smithson, Photo Educators