The 2026 edition of the festival offers two immersive workshop led by internationally renowned professionals: an opportunity to deepen your practice, explore new approaches, and experience the festival from the inside.
OTM Workshop
Mattia Zoppellaro
July 18–19 · Italian/English
Shooting Noise: two days to explore music, the audience, and everything that happens beyond the stage.
NEW Sign up →
Paolo Verzone
July, 24–26 · Italian / English
The Speed of Light: two days through the streets and venues of Cortona to explore light in portrait photography.
SOLD OUT
Mattia Zoppellaro — Shooting Noise · July 18–19 · New in
In collaboration with
Mattia Zoppellaro – Shooting Noise | July, 18-19
How do you photograph something you can’t actually see? The volume turned up too high, the sweat, the anticipation before the lights go down, the feeling of being part of something alongside hundreds of other people.
This workshop stems from the desire to explore everything that happens around music and nightlife: the rituals, encounters, moments of anticipation, and fleeting connections that shape collective experiences.
Through the sharing of my own practice and selected projects, we will discuss how an image comes into being, what it means to choose where to look, and how to develop a way of seeing that is willing to take a position.
Working in a group of no more than fifteen participants, we will produce a series of photographs during Giorgio Poi’s concert as part of the festival. Not to make the usual pictures of the stage, but to follow what happens at the edges: the audience, friends finding each other, people singing every word, those waiting alone, those lost in their own thoughts. Everything that makes a night out more than entertainment and a concert more than a performance.
The following day, we will come together to review and discuss the photographs produced. We will try to understand why some images stay with us while others don’t, talking about intuition, distance, timing, and the responsibility that comes with looking. No formulas to follow and no definitive rules.
More than a photography workshop, Shooting Noise is an invitation to immerse yourself in the experience. To get your hands dirty with reality, take a position, and find a personal way of telling the stories unfolding around you. Because photography is not just about observing: it’s about being there.
Participants
15
15
Price
€ 129
€ 129
Dates
July 18-19
July 18-19
Language
English / Italian
English / Italian
Thanks to MPB, 5 students from partner schools selected to exhibit at Cortona On The Move will participate in the workshop for free.
Programme
Saturday, July 18
Afternoon: technical introduction and presentation of Mattia Zoppellaro’s Rave project
Evening: shooting session at Giorgio Poi’s concert in Piazza Signorelli
Sunday, July 19
Morning: group review of the images and discussion
Get ready for the workshop
Did you know that most professional concert photographers shoot at no higher than ISO 3200? Or that you should never use flash during a live show? In this guide you’ll find all the tips you need to photograph live music: from gear and camera settings to photo pit etiquette and editing your best shots.
Bio
| Mattia Zoppellaro
Mattia Zoppellaro is a photographer based in Milan. After studying at IED Milan, he joined Fabrica and later moved to London, where he worked for various music magazines. He has photographed artists such as the Gallagher brothers, Lou Reed, Patti Smith, Depeche Mode, and Wes Anderson for international publications including Rolling Stone, Vanity Fair, Internazionale, GQ, Les Inrockuptibles, The New York Times Magazine, Dazed and Confused, and Le Monde Magazine. His clients include Fendi, Louboutin, Nike, and Jeep. He has published two books: Appleby, about Irish Travellers, and Dirty Dancing, about illegal tekno parties. |
Terms and conditions
- Once the purchase is completed, the organization reserves the right to issue a refund only in the event of the instructor’s absence.
Sign up for this workshop
For enquiries: info@cortonaonthemove.com
Paolo Verzone — The Speed of Light · July 24-26
Paolo Verzone – The Speed of Light | July, 24-26
In partnership with
Over two immersive days, this workshop brings together visual exploration and conceptual thinking to deepen participants’ understanding of light in portrait photography. Participants will sharpen the skills needed to build a cohesive set of poses efficiently, produce portraits that are both technically sound and emotionally resonant, and develop a distinctive personal aesthetic through thoughtful critical reflection on their own images. Sessions combine hands-on shooting in the streets of Cortona with work in exclusive interior venues reserved specifically for the workshop, offering practical experience with natural light, flash, and continuous light — both individually and in combination.
The workshop includes the festival exhibition pass
Participants
15
15
Price
€ 300
€ 300
Dates
July 24-26
July 24-26
Language
Italian / English
Italian / English
The programme
Friday, July 24
Late afternoon: welcome, aperitif, and informal introductions
Saturday, July 25
Morning (10am – 1pm): overview of key themes and first shooting session on light
Afternoon (2pm – 5pm): hands-on session through the streets of Cortona, posing and photographer-subject dynamics
Sunday, July 26
Morning (10am – 1pm): shooting in an exclusive location, interior portrait photography
Afternoon (2pm – 5pm): final shooting session and debriefing with image review
Bio
| Paolo Verzone
Paolo Verzone was born in 1967 in Turin and is a Barcelona-based photographer and member of Agence VU in Paris. He works on long-term personal projects as well as press and corporate assignments. |
Terms and conditions
- The workshop will be confirmed upon reaching the minimum number of participants.
- Once the purchase is completed, the organization reserves the right to issue a refund only in the event of the instructor’s absence.
Sign up for this workshop
For enquiries: info@cortonaonthemove.com