Larry Fink on Composition and Improvisation

In this installment of The Photography Workshop Series, Larry Fink—known for his layered pictures in social settings—explores composing photographs and improvising within a scene to create images with both feeling and meaning.

In this series, Aperture works with the world’s top photographers to distill their creative approaches, teachings, and insights on photography—offering the workshop experience in a book. Our goal is to inspire photographers of all levels who wish to improve their work, as well as readers interested in deepening their understanding of the art of photography. Through words and photographs, Fink reveals insight into his own practice and discusses a wide range of creative issues, from connecting with the subject in front of the lens to shaping a vision that is authentic. Photographer Lisa Kereszi, a student of Larry Fink, provides the introduction.

Larry Fink (born in New York, 1942; died in Martins Creek, PA, 2023) was a professor at Yale University School of Art; Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture; Parsons the New School for Design; Tyler School of Art, Temple University; and Bard College. His work has been widely exhibited in the United States, including solo exhibitions at Light Gallery, New York; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge; Museum of Modern Art, New York; and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.


Lisa Kereszi is a photographer and educator. She is now the director of undergraduate studies at the Yale University School of Art, where she has taught since 2004. She has published five books, including Fun and Games and Joe’s Junk Yard. Her work is in the collections of the Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, and the Brooklyn Museum, and has appeared in the New Yorker, Harper’s, and the New York Times Magazine.