LENSCRATCH - Fine Art Photography Daily

Photography Educator: Rachel Boillot by Elizabeth StoneJune 12, 2026

©Rachel Boillot. Derrick, Mine 18. 2022

Photography Educator is a monthly series on Lenscratch. Once a month, we celebrate a dedicated photography teacher by sharing their insights, strategies and excellence in inspiring students of all ages. These educators play a vital role in student development, acting as mentors and guides who create environments where students feel valued and supported, fostering confidence and resilience.

I have admired Rachel Boillot‘s photographic work for many years, dating back to 2017 when she received the PhotoNola Review prize. Rachel’s work is evocative and quietly insistent, urging a second look. The intimacy of her subjects draws me in, as if whispering: look closer, look longer, what do you really see?”
It gives me great pleasure to be able to feature Rachel this month, not only as an innovative and important artist but also as a deeply committed educator. Reflections from her students speak to the profound impact of her teaching. Their photographs carry a sense of depth and genuine engagement with the world around them.
Thank you Rachel for the images that you bring into the world and for the care and generosity you bring to your teaching.

This article includes Rachel’s work from her project Year of the Fallen Oak, an interview, images and statements from a small selection of her students.

Year of the Fallen Oak
Strunk Ridge, Kentucky
A series of photographs exploring place, memory, intimacy & distance
“Perhaps you can’t go back in time, but you can return to the scenes of a love, of a crime, of happiness, of a fatal decision.. the places are what remain, are what you can possess, are what is immortal. They become the tangible landscape of memory, the places that made you, and in some sense you too become them. They are what you can possess and what in the end possess you.”
–Rebecca Solnit A Field Guide to Getting Lost
The photographs in Year of the Fallen Oak were made in the Cumberland Plateau during a time of grief and transition: the unexpected death of my father-in-law Doug, the birth of my husband Derrick’s first grandchildren, and our move to Arkansas for my job. The making of this work has been a process of saying goodbye to what was, a series of unresolved gestures echoing through time. Loss and vulnerability are topics we explore together as I ask my new family members to photograph with me in a spirit of reciprocity and exchange, collaborating in a shared exploration of place and memory.

©Derrick Corder, Rachel photographed by Derrick, 2022

©Rachel Boillot, Derrick photographed by Rachel, 2023

©Emma Upchurch. Hawk over Ridge. 2025

©Courtesy of Corder family archive. Calvin’s Baptizing Hole. circa 1978

©Rachel Boillot. Duncan’s Store, Pine Knot. 2019* *shared copyright with Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project

ES: How and why did you get into teaching photography?
RB: Early on I understood that photography was my passion, and that part of that practice was rooted in solitude. This is not the case for everyone – and my practice has evolved – but I would say this is still fundamentally true. This ignites my passion for teaching while making. I need that solitude, but I also need others. I need connection through image-making and dialogue around it. I thrive when I can be a member of a community and share this passion with others.

I teach the medium in order to empower other voices. I’ve never wanted it to just be about me or my way of seeing. I practice photography to celebrate the world we all inhabit and how it can be seen, or seen differently. I’ve approached my life so that pedagogy and personal practice are intertwined and mutually generative. I make my work where I teach, and I teach where I make my work.

ES: Did you have an influential photography mentor or teacher? What was their biggest impact on you as both an artist and a teacher?
RB: Oh, I think most people who teach do because of those who inspired them along the way. I’m no different. I’ve had the best of the best when it comes to mentorship; I’m incredibly fortunate.

Roswell Angier was my first mentor. He encouraged me to study photography at a time when I considered it a hobby. In many ways, Roswell approached the medium through the lens of literature. This was a gateway that made sense to me as a young photographer, more so than most artistic media at that time. I hadn’t found Eudora Welty yet, but Roswell primed me for her words by introducing the relationship between writing fiction and art photography. He also convinced me that I could pursue photography without it being selfish or narcissistic, and proceeded to quite literally show me how by making me his T.A. and putting me to work that semester. Roswell and his wife came and visited me years later in Tennessee and I will never forget that experience. I miss him; he passed in 2023. (Jim Dow spoke to the role of literature in Roswell’s practice better than I ever could here.)

Speaking of Jim, I was so lucky to work with him at the Museum School. His energy and enthusiasm are unparalleled. Jim recommended Duke’s MFA|EDA program to me and I will forever be grateful to him for that. Moving to North Carolina changed my life for the better. It’s been wildly inspiring to see Jim consider his archive after retiring from teaching and publish work in Signs that I had never seen before.

Tom Rankin has been and is a truly incredible mentor. He’s rarely told me exactly what to do but he has a wonderful way of indicating direction that leaves me just enough room to figure out the rest. He suggests a path forward but lets me find it, I think, and that’s something I’ve taken with me. He’s an amazing model in how he moves through the world, leading by example and shepherding young artists along. He also never stops making work, and the rigor of his practice is something I’ve always noted and admired. Of course, Tom introduced me to Eudora Welty’s work and Bob Fulcher, too. That’s how I learned to listen. Hard to imagine my life or development as an artist/educator without these voices. I’ve got more to say but that’s quite an earful already. (Watch Bobby’s video.)

ES: I know that you have a passion for the history of photography. How does that translate into your teaching?
RB: The history of the medium is always present in my practice, and that directly translates to how I teach it. I am currently encouraging students to engage with history in a hands-on way, by experimenting with alternative processes and historical methods. Slide lectures reinforce chronology and movements throughout the course, but I primarily teach history through practice. Students engage with the material differently if they can connect it to their own interests and studio practice.

ES: You have been an educator for a number of years, has your teaching philosophy changed with time?
RB: I think more about specific objectives for the student population. Who is my audience, and what do they most need that can be accomplished within the parameters of the educational experience or curriculum. Workshops are everywhere, and remote learning is now part of any educator’s toolkit. With such varying circumstances, I investigate my parameters first in order to know what’s possible. I’m always going to be me when I show up, but I consider my audience deeply in order to meet them where they’re at.

ES: What do you feel is your most important role as a teacher in the arts in this moment of time? What are some of the challenges that you face?
RB: We live in a multi-tasking society of distraction. I hope to teach focus and attention. Focusing on what matters to the individual – whatever that is must come from the artist. But I aspire to teach the patience to look, a sustained look, to look and to listen.

I’m going to quote Jim here; I turn to the words of mentor figures often. This is from a Lenscratch interview with Jim in 2014, at the time of his Lifetime Achievement award at the Griffin.
“Harry Callahan taught us to find all that you care about and care about it very deeply.. That is a luxury these days but that is one of the most important things that we can do.”

ES: I have been a fan of your work for many years. How do you share your experience and success as an artist with your students?
RB: That’s kind of you to say. I am definitely better at sharing experience than success; that’s simply my nature. I like to be as transparent as is possible and/or appropriate, and I like to remember to laugh as well. Even when you enjoy moments of success, there’s an awful lot of rejection, too. For all of us. I think it’s important to acknowledge that. I think the most important thing is to stay clear-headed. Know what your bottom line is and keep your priorities close, because you can’t always check all the boxes – you have to make sure you check the ones that are most important to you. You need to hang onto what drives you above all else. I like to think that I encourage students to think about what they want and what success means to them.

©Rachel Boillot. Derrick Sleeping. 2022

©Rachel Boillot. Buzzard Rock. 2019. * *shared copyright with Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project

©Rachel Boillot. Stearns Company Store (now County Flea Market). 2019. *shared copyright with Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project

©Rachel Boillot. Tierra (Derrick’s daughter) with Emma & Ella. 2023

©Rachel Boillot. Brandon (Derrick’s son) and Jayme. 2019

©Rachel Boillot. Derrick and Emma on her 6th birthday. 2022

©Rachel Boillot. Derrick Mowing. 2022

©Rachel Boillot. Derrick working on his Dad’s Truck. 2023

©Rachel Boillot. Justus Mine. 2020

©Derrick Corder. Rachel Sleeping. 2025

©Rachel Boillot. Vines on Window. 2024

I know that teaching can be both inspiring and draining, how do you recharge?
RB: Dog walks. I live in a rural area; the lifestyle provides me with balance – we go for a family walk when I get home. It’s my way of switching gears.

I also make a gratitude list every single day. It’s a life-changing practice. I started doing that in 2020 and it’s been transformative.

ES: What is one of your favorite assignments that you give your students?
RB: One of my current favorites is Triggering Town, which comes from Alex Webb & Becky Norris-Webb. It’s a prompt published in The Photographer’s Playbook, a volume which I adore! (p. 366) The Photographer’s Playbook (ed. Jason Fulford & Gregory Halpern, Aperture, 2014) is one of the best resources for assignment ideas we have in photography. I love returning to it here and there as I revise course materials. Christopher Anderson’s Parameters (pg 5) lives on the door to my classroom, and I’m working on a large print copy of Sister Corita’s Rules (Yolanda Cuomo, pg 70-71). I also think Aperture’s Workshop series is brilliant, as is Sasha Wolf’s PhotoWork – both the book and podcast are tremendously illuminating for my students.

ES: What is your vision for the future of photography education? Are there any new classes that you’d like to see being offered?
RB: I’m currently pushing myself to stay as rooted in the present as is humanly possible! I can’t see the future very clearly, one never can, and I think the past decade has been a good lesson in that regard in my own life. I remain committed to the history of the medium alongside my contemporary practice. That has not changed. Beyond that, time will tell; it always does.

ES: What’s next for you as an artist? Do you have any plans for another book?
RB: I’m showing some new work that might be a book one day but not now. I hope to learn more about my own images as I go through the process of sharing them in various permutations – I always do and exhibitions are an important step forward for me with any body of work. Regardless of whether I consider the overarching body of work complete, I learn more about my own photographs from this process.

Exhibitions are not something I take lightly – they can be a significant investment of time and resources – but they are ultimately temporary, whereas the book is permanent. Teaching helps to insulate my practice at these critical moments – it’s a day job that provides me with stability as the work grows.

I’d say I am overall in a more experimental stage at present, and I have given myself permission to slow down. The past decade has been a busy one for me with significant life changes. I’m always making work, but I’m not ready to publish another book yet. The work needs more time.

Student Work and Statements

©Trin Reppenhagen, from the project Coalescence of Sun and Self, 2025

©Trin Reppenhagen, from the project Coalescence of Sun and Self, 2025

©Trin Reppenhagen, from the project Coalescence of Sun and Self, 2025

During my time pursuing a B.F.A. at Arkansas State University, I had the pleasure of studying under Rachel Boillot. To describe her instruction as significantly influential almost feels like an understatement. Studying photography in Rachel’s classes allowed me the space to develop my voice as a photographer through an emphasis on narrative. The growth I experienced during Rachel’s classes was monumental. As a professor, she pushed my work to be refined and captivating in a competitive department. As a mentor, she motivated me to be resilient and resolute during the most chaotic moments of my life. Rachel Boillot brings something insanely special to Arkansas State University’s department of Art + Design that was pivotal to my career as a photographer/ designer.

Trin Reppenahgen
Instagram:@trinstudios.co Website: https://www.trinstudios.com/

I’ve had the pleasure of studying under Rachel for the past few years and I can confidently say I wouldn’t be the artist or person I am today without her. Her passion, expertise, and connection to the craft comes through in her immersive photo classes and engaging critiques. Rachel embodies what it means to be a mentor who works alongside you, tells you the truth (for better or worse), and is your biggest cheerleader. She taught me to remember why I picked up a camera and to investigate what that means. There was a point a year ago where I wanted to quit photography, but Rachel pushed back because she saw I had more to explore. That conversation led me down a path I never expected, where I discovered my love for alternative process. I hope to be half the artist and educator she is one day.

Rebecca Worthington
Instagram: @rebeccagworthington Website: www.rebeccaworthington.com

Taking Rachel’s class, and subsequently majoring in photography, genuinely changed my life. Her pure passion and love of photography are easily seen in her lectures, work, and critiques. Rachel helped me revive my love for photography and pushed me to elevate my work into something I can be proud of. While I am still not completely confident in my work, I know that I have a teacher, mentor, and cheerleader right behind me. The impact Rachel has had on me really can’t be put into words. Without her, I would not be the photographer and educator I am today.
Savannah Sifford
Instagram: @savannah.siff

Rachel Boillot (b. 1987) is a photographic artist and educator based in the Arkansas Delta. Her lens-based work explores place, memory, folklore and narrative. Originally from New York, she completed her undergraduate coursework at Tufts University (Medford, MA) before earning her MFA in Experimental | Documentary Arts at Duke University (Durham, NC) in 2014. Boillot has lived, worked, and taught photography in the South ever since. Her monograph Moon Shine: Photographs of the Cumberland Plateau was published in 2019, featuring works made 2014-2018 while residing in Cumberland Gap, Tennessee. This body of work earned the 2017 PhotoNoLa Review Prize (New Orleans, LA) and was featured in the New Yorker magazine. Her photographs have been featured in exhibitions throughout the region as well as nationally and internationally. Her work has been funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, Tennessee Arts Commission, the Riverview Foundation, Southern Documentary Fund, and the Kentucky Documentary Photographic Project. In 2021, Boillot moved to Arkansas, where she teaches photography in the Art + Design department at Arkansas State University (Jonesboro, AR).

Website: http://rachelboillot.com
Instagram @rachelboillot
Upcoming exhibitions:
Solo at Carnegie Center of Arts & History in Jackson TN (opening Aug 12-13) Aaron Hardin is Director; venue site here: https://www.jacksoncarnegie.com/
Solo at Watkins LCVA Gallery 121 in Nashville (Nov 5 opening)

Tags: Family, Memory, Narrative, Photography Educator, Rachel Boillot