A photo and perfume workshop for middle school students

Last week, in Grau-du-Roi (France), I conducted a two-day multi-sensory workshop combining photography and perfumery for a group of middle school students from the Emmanuel d'Alzon Institute, located on the Mediterranean Sea.

A few days before the intervention, I went to the college to take some photographs of its natural environment (theme of the workshop chosen by the teacher who hired me) and to define the ingredients of my perfume organ which would make up the olfactory part of the practice.

The day arrived. I met a group of 16 students with whom I would spend the next two days.

I first introduced myself by showing them my practice combining photography and perfumery.

I followed up with a short introduction to photography and its basics in order to give them some tips for improving their shots.

Then came the time for practice: taking pictures. On the way to the beach, the goal was to create the word ENVIRONNEMENT (Environment in English) using the photographs taken by the students.

Despite the unfavorable weather that day, the students were busy finding shapes, plants and many other things that would form the letters E, N, V, I, R, O, M and T of the word Environment, which had been previously distributed among the groups of students.

The letter N created with seashells and being photographed by a student

This practice, which gave them a common goal, is very formative for practicing composition, one of the elements of great importance in photographic practice.

Back at the workshop, I collected the photographs and showed them to the group so that they could choose the photographs that would make up the collective photographic work.

The next day, it was perfumery's turn. After a brief introduction to this vast subject, I had them smell, one after the other, the ten raw materials they would be able to use to create their own perfume inspired by their immediate environment, immortalized in their photographs from the day before.

They were asked to note their feelings for each material on the formulation sheet in order to facilitate the creative phase that was to follow.

Equipped with dropper bottles, a formulation sheet, and small flasks, each group began their first trial. I smelt the results with each of them. Then it was time for the second, then third trials.

Each student then chose their favorite trial which I weighed with my precision scale in a 15ml spray bottle they would take home.

To conclude the day, each group presented their olfactory creation to their classmates in a "speeching competition" style, an activity they had experienced in previous days.

I would like to thank Lucile Neaud, a teacher at the Emmanuel d'Alzon Institute in Grau-du-Roi, who initiated this invitation. Lucile also creates heritage discovery rallies in the Sommières region (France) for groups and children. For more information, I invite you to follow her on Instagram: Sur les Chemins de Traverse