On October 18 from 11:30 AM to 3:30 PM at Toplocentrala, there will be a photo workshop for children aged 12 to 17, led by photographer Mihaela Vacheva.
Spaces are limited, and advance registration via this form is required.

In this hands-on 3-hour seminar, young photographers will learn how to create portraits that go beyond smiles and poses. Using natural light, creative composition, and careful direction, participants will explore how to bring out the essence of their subject – whether it’s a friend, a family member, or even someone they’ve just met.

Through various mini photo sessions and creative tasks, children will grasp the essentials of portrait photography—how to create a strong composition, what makes a photo authentic, how to communicate with the subject, how to select the best shot, and more.

A fancy camera is not required – phones or digital cameras are welcome.

WHAT PARTICIPANTS SHOULD BRING:

• a camera + memory card or smartphone + charger
• a small object or accessory that has personal meaning (optional, to be used in portraits)
• enthusiasm and curiosity!

ABOUT MIHAELA VACHEVA:

Mihaela Vacheva is a freelance photojournalist dividing her time between Sofia and San Francisco.
She has found her calling in being an empathetic witness and documentarian of marginalized people. Her news reports, documentary photo essays, and writings have been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Wall Street Journal, Der Spiegel.

Mihaela is the founder of Photo Workshop 66 – a documentary photography course for refugee children from the Middle East who migrate to Bulgaria without their parents. For the past three years, the workshop has been supported by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration, and it has been recognized as a good practice by the European Commission.

She is a graduate of the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, the Investigative Reporting Program (IRP), the Eddie Adams Workshop, and a former fellow at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting.