What Makes a Photographic Project

What Makes a Photographic Project

What Makes a Photographic Project
September 23, 2025 7:30 pm
Philippa James

In partnership with PhotoOxford, we are delighted to welcome photographer Philippa James to OPS.

Philippa is an award winning documentary and portrait photographer based in Oxford. Her acclaimed project 100 Women of Oxford, originally inspired by Photo Oxford’s theme of “Truth,” has been exhibited widely and published as a photobook.

Known for her honest, community focused storytelling, Philippa is a recipient of the Portrait of Humanity Award, the LensCulture Emerging Talent Award and has recently featured in the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize at the National Portrait Gallery.

In this talk, Philippa will present work from 100 Women and explore the question; what makes a photographic project? She will share the full journey;  how a simple idea developed into a major body of work, the challenges of photographing strangers, the creative obstacles she faced and the realities behind the scenes. Drawing from her recently completed MA, Philippa will offer insights into building trust with subjects, sustaining long-form work, and how photographic projects grow and change over time.

The session offers practical inspiration for anyone looking to begin a creative project and attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how to develop their own photographic work – from finding an idea to shaping it into something meaningful.