Parma
LUMINA Experience Parma will not take place in November 2026 — but it is coming in 2027. Register your interest and you will be the first to know when the dates are set.
The next LUMINA Experience is Palermo, 1–9 March 2027.
Not monuments. People.
Parma is chosen because the city is small enough to work in on foot and rich enough in situations: markets in the morning, food artisans working to fixed routines, arcaded streets with sharp shadows, and squares where the light shifts markedly across the day.
That gives you concrete assignments to solve — the environmental portrait in a workshop, a series from a single market, the same street in three different lights.
We photograph people, craft and everyday life. We use the city to work in — it is not the product itself.
One purpose: to find your own eye.
You photograph every day. Each day carries an assignment with a clear photographic purpose — an environment, a challenge and something specific to work on. You select your images, and we review them together in the evening with concrete feedback.
We work with light, composition and timing — not as rules, but as choices you make yourself and can explain.
- 01
Pictures that feel like yours
Work out why you photograph what you photograph.
- 02
People and character
The portrait as an encounter. Presence, respect and the stories a face carries.
- 03
Italian craft
Hands, texture and the details others walk past — where the work shapes the room.
- 04
Food culture and markets
Parma's daily life in pace, noise and light — where the city stops posing.
- 05
Architecture and light
How light shapes mood, space and composition.
- 06
Composition as choice
Compose with intention. Leave out, don't only add.
- 07
The coherent series
Daily review and honest critique — the whole before the single frame.
The method is constant. The city is the setting.
Everything comes back to one question: what is the picture about? From there we work on seeing the subject, choosing the mood, making the choices deliberately, getting the timing right — and noticing the choices you repeat.
In Parma we apply these to the daily assignments and to the evening review, where your choices become visible and discussed.
A way of working where the decision comes before the shutter.
The rhythm of the journey.
The days share the same basic rhythm: a briefing and an assignment in the morning, photographing in the city, selection and editing, and a shared image review with feedback in the evening. The theme changes from day to day.
Please note: we are in Italy. The rhythm may shift — the weather, the light, the city and the day itself may decide otherwise.
- Morning
A short introduction. The task of the day. Purpose and intended outcome.
- Late morning
Photographing in the city or on location.
- Lunch
A pause. Company. Rest.
- Afternoon
More photographing. Individual editing. One-to-one guidance.
- Evening
Dinner and a shared image review.
- Closing
Comments, evaluation and personal guidance.
Parma, seen through the method.
The strongest images happen in the encounter — when you are allowed to be present.
What it involves.
- Destination
- Parma, Italy
- Dates
- 1 – 7 November 2026
- Duration
- 7 days of immersion
- Group size
- Max. 12 participants
- Accommodation
- Hotel with half board
Included
- Intensive photographic development
- Daily one-to-one guidance
- Daily image critique
- Series development and personal direction
- Hotel and half board: breakfast and dinner
Not included
- Travel to and from Parma
- Lunch
- Drinks beyond what is included
- Travel insurance
- Personal expenses
- Single-room supplement (optional)
This programme will not take place in November 2026. The next LUMINA Experience is Palermo, 1–9 March 2027.
Per Valentin.
Per has photographed and taught for decades. He cares less about technical tricks than about the choices you make before you press the shutter.
He is present throughout: he sets the daily assignment, photographs alongside the group and gives concrete feedback on your images every evening.
My work is not to give you my pictures. My work is to help you find yours.
More about Per ValentinParma takes place in 2027.
The final dates are not set yet. Register your interest and you will be the first to know when registration opens. Registering your interest is not binding.
Max 12 participants · One group