PHOTOGRAPHY
with Florence Tétier, Nicolas Coulomb
"Le Mâle" - 30th anniversary In 2025, "Le Mâle" will celebrate its 30th anniversary. With this in mind, students have been working on the brand's fragrance. Reflections on masculinity and different representations of the body in 2025.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Maxime Guyon
OBI: Object Brochure Investigation More than just a store, OBI has become an integral part of local history. This Renens landmark also maintains a close link with ECAL, serving as a landmark and source of inspiration for its students. In fact, there is an architectural filiation between the two: Jean Tschumi's son, Bernard Tschumi, is the architect who designed the ECAL's renovation. This generational dialogue further strengthens OBI's place in students' visual and creative imaginations. OBI embodies the spirit of “Do It Yourself” (DIY), a concept that emerged in 1968 under the impetus of Stewart Brand, founder of the Whole Earth Catalog, an alternative publication born of his exploration under 200 micrograms of LSD. The DIY movement advocated an alternative lifestyle and resistance to hyper-consumption. Today, this philosophy is far removed from that embodied by OBI, considered to be a mass-market store. This paradox will be the focus of this semester's project. Since DIY has been structured around a publication, students will come full circle by producing an OBI-inspired edition of their own.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Matthieu Gafsou
This year's “Documentary Practices” course is devoted to a territory that is very close to us and, in a way for most of us, very far away: the countryside. For a city-dweller, the countryside is an out-of-town territory where you can go for a walk, where there are farmers, fields and forests. Recent votes in Switzerland testify to a considerable widening of the gap between town and country: the far right would be the place of rurality, while the left would be urban. This territory is not only topologically different from the city, but also seems to be inhabited by people whose lifestyles and thinking are at odds with the city. The reality, however, is obviously more complex and resists such simplification.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Thomas Rousset
The aim of this workshop is to explore the boundary between docu-fiction and magic realism in photography, using the architecture and spaces of the ECAL as a narrative framework. Both approaches are rooted in reality, but differ in the way they inject fiction.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Nikolas Venturakis
Athens, the cradle of Western civilization and the vibrant capital of Greece, offers a unique blend of ancient history and modernity.Taking advantage of the Summer University program, second-year Bachelor of Photography students had the opportunity to explore this mythical city and collaborate with photographer Nikolas Venturakis. Amidst ancient ruins, lively neighborhoods, and Mediterranean landscapes, the students were able to develop a rich photographic language. This immersion in the heart of the city, where the ancient meets the contemporary, allowed them to deepen their artistic vision while enjoying the local cultural vibrancy. The cobbled streets, bustling markets, and golden hues of the Athenian sunset served as the backdrop for a unique photographic project, capturing the soul and energy of this timeless metropolis.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Tamara Janes
The students task is to create their own story, storyline, narrative or sequences based on the existing given images. Using their personal interests, imagination and ideas they link the images together. They can continue the plot of the images, do in-depth research, write fictional stories or tell stories based on personal experiences. The students had the freedom to photograph, generate or film.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Charlotte Krieger
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the creation and management of a complex photographic project involving sets, characters and lighting. The theme is free.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Anoush Abrar
Beauty shot The week-long Medium format digital workshop is both an introduction to shooting equipment and dedicated software. Students worked in groups to produce portrait images.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Calypso Mahieu
Waliking in Renens A collaborative project in which students were asked to choose a local shop in Renens and to create a documentary project combining images of still life, architecture and portraits.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Orsola Valenti
Hors-champ “Showing by hiding, revealing by stealing": for a political practice of the audiovisual image. The main aim of the course is to raise awareness of the political dimension of the audiovisual gesture and give students the tools to distinguish the cinematographic image from the media image. Whereas the latter - flattened, emptied and therefore interchangeable - overwhelms its receptor, rendering it powerless, the cinematographic image liberates emotion and critical reflection. In this way, it goes beyond the supposedly faithful representation of reality.
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Giliane Cachin
As part of the course given by Giliane Cachin, 1st year students are required to produce an edition by examining the different axes that make it up. The course offers a study of various grid systems and the fundamentals of micro-typography. During the semester, students will look for the best way to structure and arrange the content they have chosen (or which has been assigned to them, depending on the semester's data). Some essential rules to know in terms of printing and bindings will be reviewed at the end of the semester, in order to bring the conceptualized object to life.
GRAPHIC DESIGN
MEDIA & INTERACTION DESIGN
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Charlotte Krieger, Jean-Vincent Simonet, Florian Pittet (Sigmasix), Vincent Jacquier, Julien Gurtner, Matthieu Minguet, Cédric Duchêne, EPFL+ECAL Lab, Giacomo Bastianelli
For a week, the first-year visual communications students worked on an installation consisting of 15 screens, accompanied by a 360° sound system developed by EPFL+ECAL Lab. This chandelier, five metres in diameter and suspended from a height of three metres, served as a support for their experiments. Using music specially composed and spatialised for the occasion, the students explored the dynamics of sound both visually and in movement.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Natacha Lesueur
Seduce, they said Based on projects developed around the theme of seduction, students develop a personal, in-depth project over the whole semester.
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Matthieu Gafsou
The workshop week 4x5 is both an introduction to the 4x5 technical camera and a way to kickstart a photographic project. Students experience the process of analog shooting, from development to large format printing. This intense week is highly technical, but also focused on developing a photographic language, allowing for a better understanding of the fundamental workings of photography.
FOUNDATION YEAR
with Younès Klouche
Sélection de projets de semestre
FOUNDATION YEAR
with Daniela Droz, Tonatiuh Ambrosetti
Exercice 1: Travail de nature morte et portrait, entre le studio et l'extérieur Exercice 2: Série narrative
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Elizaveta Porodina
For this workshop, Elizaveta Porodina asked the students to explore the theme "AFTERHUMAN". This theme opens up perspectives for capturing futuristic landscapes, representing the potential fusion of technology and humanity. Think about visually depicting the coexistence of artificial intelligence, cybernetics or biotechnology with natural elements. Experiment with innovative techniques to convey a sense of evolution or transcendence. This exploration invites photographers to creatively interpret and visually narrate a future beyond conventional human experience.
FOUNDATION YEAR
with Nicolas Haeni
Une exposition par les étudiant·e·s en Année Propédeutique – option Photographie de l’ECAL/Ecole cantonale d’art de Lausanne Sous la direction du photographe Nicolas Haeni, les étudiant·e·s invitent à se questionner sur la symbolique de l’eau. Depuis la nuit des temps, cet or bleu intrigue et inspire, laissant naître des interprétations qui, encore aujourd’hui, et peut-être même plus que jamais, habitent la littérature, les arts visuels ou encore les arts vivants. Partant de la citation de l’astrophysicien Hubert Reeves « À l’échelle cosmique, l’eau liquide est plus rare que l’or », les jeunes photographes proposent leur vision personnelle et individuelle, en explorant différents domaines de la photographie : nature morte, portrait, architecture ou mise en scène. Photos © ECAL/Marvin Merkel
PHOTOGRAPHY
with Anoush Abrar
For this week's "sitter" theme, first-year photography students were asked to imagine a medium-format analog portrait. The term "sitter" was historically used in photography to designate the person posing for a portrait. This use dates back to the early days of photography, when long exposure times were necessary and subjects had to remain motionless for extended periods. The term reflected the idea that the person had to sit or hold a pose for the duration of the exposure. Now, as photography technology has evolved and exposure times have become shorter, the term "model" or "subject" has become more commonly used, reflecting a wider range of poses and activities beyond simply sitting.