Classes
Spring 2024 Photography Classes
Our live, interactive, and instructor-led photography classes take place online in small groups generally limited to 6 to 8 students. We give each other feedback in real time, with students participating live from around the world.
We offer classes that specialize in storytelling, long-term projects, documentary and street photography, environmental portraits, making photobooks/zines, composition, still life, multimedia, and technical courses in Lightroom, InDesign, Premiere Pro and more.
ONLINE COURSE
Create Your Own Zine or Photobook with InDesign
Adobe’s InDesign is the most flexible and powerful application to layout and design a photobook or zine. This 6-session class is for students who are new to it or who’d like a refresher to work on a project. We’ll discuss developing a visual concept to fit your specific story, and cover step-by-step instructions on workflow, how to best plan and setup a project, how to use the most important InDesign tools, and how to prepare, import and resize photos.
We’ll discuss working with text, fonts, and typography, and you’ll learn to speak the language of printers and designers. You’ll also get recommendations for where to print your particular project. We’ll look at a variety of zines and photobooks for design inspiration and discuss different design ideas. Students will work on their projects throughout the course, so that by the end (depending on the scope of the project), you’ll have a layout ready to print. This class is limited to only 6 students. We’ll meet as a group for 5 sessions every other week, followed by a private 1-on-1 session to work together on your specific book or zine.
Edward Ratliff is a multi-disciplinary artist and educator. In the visual realm, he’s a graphic designer who works in print and digital media with clients ranging from individual artists to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. His film, video, and installation work has been exhibited internationally.
As a composer and multi-instrumentalist, he’s led bands in clubs, theaters, and festivals across New York City and in Europe and Asia, and has received numerous commissions and grants for dance and theater scores. His music has been heard in shows on Netflix, HBO, Nickelodeon, Hulu, PBS, and more — everything from a biography of Dostoyevsky to Real Sex Xtra. He “is best known for making richly cinematic music that captures New York City’s momentum and diversity” (The Wall Street Journal) and has been called “a wonderfully spunky and imperturbable trumpet player” (The New York Times).
ONLINE COURSE
The Performative Self Portrait: Developing Your Contemporary Identity
Who are you in contemporary society? Join Zuzana Pustaiová for this intriguing journey of discovery and expression through the performative self portrait. In this class, you’ll learn to use self-portrayal as a powerful language to address a variety of ideas and topics, as well helping you examine your self-identity in the contemporary world. Experiment with different performative approaches including using tools from documentary photography, creating a staged environment, building simple props, or playing with stop motion and video stills. You’ll be introduced to the work of contemporary photographers who use self-portraiture in their artistic practice and we’ll analyze and discuss readings of dramaturgical sociology by Erving Goffman, author of the The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life. Through assignments and discussion, you’ll develop a new angle on self portraiture, whether you’ve worked in this form before or not. The aim is that by the end of this class, you’ll understand how to work with yourself in your artistic practice as never before.
Zuzana Pustaiová's interest in visual arts began with painting but soon switched to photography, which she studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bratislava (Slovakia) where she completed her Ph.D in 2022. Her artwork uses role-playing as a principal tool to explore and reveal the relationships between family members, relatives, friends, and other social groups. With a sense of wit, humor and irony, she uncovers the cultural stereotypes related to gender, age, tradition, and social inclusion. In 2022, her book One Day Every Day was shortlisted for the Paris Photo – Aperture Photobook Award. She has received numerous awards in contemporary photography — including the Grand Prix at the Rovinj Photodays 2021 and Finalist for the 2017 Lucie Foundation Scholarship in Los Angeles. In 2018 she was named Slovak Photographer of the Year. She has exhibited internationally in Europe and Canada and lives and works in Levice and Bratislava.
Zuzana teaches new approaches to photographing family stories and self-portraiture for StrudelmediaLive.ONLINE COURSE
Photographing Strangers: Practical Tools and Ethical Questions
For many photographers, one of the biggest challenges in taking street portraits or working on a documentary project is how to approach strangers. In this class, we’ll examine practical tools you can use to overcome your fears and confront the ethical questions that are an inherent part of this practice. We’ll discuss how to make pictures that represent people fairly and why that is necessary to consider. We’ll ask ourselves important questions, including: who is the community and why are you the right person to take these pictures? and what guides you in making these photographs?
We’ll look at the work of artists, photographers, and filmmakers — including Baldwin Lee, Judith Joy Ross, and Gianfranco Rosi — to assess the past and present of documentary work and what the future may look like. With weekly assignments, you’ll learn to face your fears through real-world practice. Gain a better understanding of how to navigate the anxiety-inducing act of approaching and photographing strangers, as well as the necessary mindset and tools to do it with a good conscience.
Scott Rossi is a photographer based in New York who is originally from Canada. His work captures the poetic nuances of daily life and the complex relationship between people and their environment. Rossi is a Documentary Practices and Visual Journalism program graduate from the International Center of Photography (ICP) and holds a BA in Psychology from the University of Victoria. Following his move to New York City in 2020, he began his project, Common Place, a visual meditation on Central Park, resulting in his first monograph. His work has been featured in or commissioned by The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, Vogue, and the British Journal of Photography, among others. He has exhibited internationally at the Rotterdam Photo Festival, The International Center of Photography, and Photo 2022 in Melbourne.
Scott teaches photographing strangers for StrudelmediaLive.Online class Co-presented by StrudelmediaLive and C/O Berlin
Stretch Your Creative Muscles!
Dates: Thursdays, May 16–Jun 20, 2024
Time: 12–2pm (ET)
Sessions: 5 (No class on May 30.)
Limited enrollment: 8 students
Fee: $360
Feeling a little stiff in your photography practice? Need a push to try something new? Let’s stretch our creative muscles together!
Unique weekly exercises will challenge you to experiment with new techniques and ways of taking pictures, and creative approaches to storytelling — no matter if you’re a beginner or are years into your photographic practice. Through group critique, we’ll analyze composition and we’ll also seek inspiration by examining the work of a variety of photographers. At the end of the class, students will be energized and inspired to expand their photographic vision.
A special highlight of the course will be a live, online guided tour through the exhibition “Tyler Mitchell” at C/O Berlin.
In Zusammenarbeit mit / in collaboration with
Anja's class helped me much more than I was expecting. I was a bit lost in proceeding with my raw idea in the beginning, but the classmates from diverse backgrounds were there with me along the whole journey, sometimes as a critic and sometimes as a supporter, and their thoughtful feedback pushed me forward a lot. I recommend Anja's online classes to anyone who wants diverse feedback and the intimacy of the classroom experience.
—Hee Jung (South Korea)
Thank you for all your guidance and patience with my project. There were some terrific students/talent in the class and you did a great job getting everyone to participate!
—Gerald (Minneapolis)
Anja Hitzenberger
Anja Hitzenberger is a photographer, filmmaker, consultant, and educator. She is the founder of StrudelmediaLive, an educational platform that offers live online photography classes and more to people around the world. Anja studied in the Creative Practice full-time program at the International Center of Photography (ICP) in New York City, and has been on the faculty there since 2009. She is dedicated to working with people from different cultures across the globe.
Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, film festivals, and on theater stages throughout Europe, the United States, South America, and Asia. Her photography has been published internationally and is a part of both private and institutional collections, including the International Center of Photography. She has received numerous artistic grants and has been awarded residencies in Rome, Paris, Warsaw, Beijing, and Tainan (Taiwan). A focus of her activities has been working with live performance, including producing a multimedia piece that toured in New York City, Austria, and Korea.
Anja has been teaching live online photography classes since 2015, as well as in-person workshops in New York, Europe, China, and Taiwan. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, she divides her time between New York and Vienna.
Anja teaches visual storytelling, environmental portraits, critique groups, and how movies can inspire your photography for StrudelmediaLive.
Feeling a little stiff in your photography practice? Need a push to try something new? Let’s stretch our creative muscles together!
Unique weekly exercises will challenge you to experiment with new techniques and ways of taking pictures, and creative approaches to storytelling — no matter if you’re a beginner or are years into your photographic practice. Through group critique, we’ll analyze composition and we’ll also seek inspiration by examining the work of a variety of photographers. At the end of the class, students will be energized and inspired to expand their photographic vision.
A special highlight of the course will be a live, online guided tour through the exhibition “Tyler Mitchell” at C/O Berlin.
In Zusammenarbeit mit / in collaboration with
Her work has been exhibited in solo and group shows, film festivals, and on theater stages throughout Europe, the United States, South America, and Asia. Her photography has been published internationally and is a part of both private and institutional collections, including the International Center of Photography. She has received numerous artistic grants and has been awarded residencies in Rome, Paris, Warsaw, Beijing, and Tainan (Taiwan). A focus of her activities has been working with live performance, including producing a multimedia piece that toured in New York City, Austria, and Korea.
Anja has been teaching live online photography classes since 2015, as well as in-person workshops in New York, Europe, China, and Taiwan. Originally from Salzburg, Austria, she divides her time between New York and Vienna.
Mini-Workshop
Learn to Work with Color in Adobe Lightroom Classic’s Develop Module
In this mini-workshop, you’ll expand your understanding of color editing and manipulation in Lightroom’s Develop Module. We’ll look at how to use tone curve, the color mixer, color grading, and the all-important and sometimes befuddling histogram. We’ll also look at how to use these color controls when your image is black and white.
Néstor Pérez-Molière was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently resides in The Bronx. His practice takes place mainly in the realm of photography, but also incorporates performance, drawing, video, installation, and intaglio techniques. All of these are used in unison as he turns his camera on himself and delves into self-portraiture, exploring his relationship with his body, body image ideals, and food relationships as subject matter.
Nestor has an MFA from Hunter College and holds a BSc in botany. He was part of the Artist in the Marketplace and Creative Capital’s Taller mentorship programs, and was part of The Bronx Museum of the Art’s Fourth Biennial. He has exhibited at the Museo de las Américas, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, Longwood Gallery, and the Liga de Artes de San Juan. He currently teaches digital and darkroom photography at the International Center of Photography and The Point CDC.
Néstor teaches lighting for still life and more for StrudelmediaLive.ONLINE COURSE
Finding an Audience and Getting Your Work out into the World
Once you’ve taken the pictures, finished the edit, and worked on the sequence, it’s time to move on to the next — and often most difficult — phase of a project: getting your work out into the world. How can you find your audience, share your photographs, and take the next steps in pursuing your practice?
We’ll discuss these challenges and turn them into achievable goals. Topics will include creating an artist statement, applying for residencies or exhibition open calls, preparing for portfolio reviews, budgeting (for printing, framing, and related production costs), finding your voice as an artist, and how to present yourself and your work both in public and online. Personalized tips and tricks will be shared based on each student’s specific project, unique skill set, and photographic ambitions. Students can expect to walk away from the class with increased confidence in their work and a newfound awareness of navigating the art and photography world.
Kat Shannon is a multidisciplinary artist, curator, and educator working in photography, text, and video, currently based between São Paulo, Brazil, and Orlando, Florida. Her work examines notions of intimacy, human connection, gender, community, and culture. She holds degrees in photography from Savannah College of Art and Design (BFA) as well as Bard College (MFA).
Kat has held teaching positions at Yeshiva University, Brookdale College, Stetson University, Middlesex College, and ICP, and previously worked for three years as the head curator at an art consultancy in New York. In 2017 Kat co-founded the collaborative artist collective Memory Foam through which she curates exhibitions, publishes and collects artists' books and zines, and produces an artist interview series called “Artists Eat Ice Cream.”
Kat teaches Ways of Seeing, Photography as Pilgrimage, and other personal vision classes for StrudelmediaLive.Mini-Workshop
AI and Photography, Part 2: Practical Applications
Over the past year, many of us have been hearing about Artificial Intelligence and what its use might mean — whether it’s simply a plagiarism machine, or a miracle for mankind, the end of human life, or something in between. Get a deep introduction to what AI is about as it relates to photography in this 3-part Mini-Workshop.
Part 2 will focus on practical applications in Lightroom and Photoshop and emerging platforms including Midjourney. Learn how you can enhance your images and streamline workflows with AI.
Through this series of three Mini-Workshops you’ll gain a better understanding of AI’s impact on photography and our creativity, and engage in lively discussion on its role in the future of artistic expression. Register for all three Mini-workshops or just an individual section. Also in this series: Part 1: Beginnings and Part 3: Implications and What Lies Ahead.
Stefan Frank is a photographer and writer, working from Heidelberg, Germany. Way before he came to photography, he studied mathematics and philosophy at Ruhr Universität Bochum and worked as an IT specialist. He studied at Atelier Smedsby with JH Engström and Margot Wallard in Paris in 2017, before he eventually began studying photography at Ostkreuzschule, Berlin, with Peter Bialobrzeski. He graduated in 2023 with the work Irgendwo (“Anywhere”), a project dealing with politically motivated crime and the terror-spree of the far right in Germany. He has been teaching with StrudelmediaLive since 2020, giving courses on surrealism, poetics of space, gestalt theory for photographers, and more. His work has been exhibited in Heidelberg, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
Stefan teaches the poetics of space, nighttime photography, and much more — including presenting The Photobook Show — for StrudelmediaLive.ONLINE COURSE
Push the Boundaries of Your Color Photography: Analysis, Technique, and Exercises
Challenge yourself with an exploration of the interplay of color and light in photography in this class that mixes the creative with the technical. Through weekly assignments, we’ll dive into a study of understanding light and color temperature, fundamental color theory, and the psychology of color. The aim is not merely to understand the technical aspects but also to unravel the motivations behind creative choices. We’ll explore advanced camera techniques and Lightroom skills, so that you’ll progress beyond basic color image processing, gaining proficiency in exercising precise control over color and light to evoke specific emotions. Push the boundaries of your images as you learn about creative curves for color enhancement, dodging and burning, manipulating texture, and more.
Shala Miller’s work in photography and film meditates on the intersection of desire, mourning, pain, and pleasure. Taking up skin as a site of history and intimacy with the self and across generations, they hold space for the body’s vulnerabilities and maladies.
She has a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago and École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and teaches at Parsons, Pratt, and ICP. Her book, Tender Noted, was voted best photo book of 2022 by the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), and her art work is in the collections of MoMA, the Hessel Museum, and The Lumber Room among others.
Also known as Freddie June when she sings, Shala was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, by two southerners named Al and Ruby. At around the age of 10 or 11, Miller discovered quietude, the kind you’re sort of pushed into, and then was fooled into thinking that this is where she should stay put. Since then, she has been trying to find her way out, and find her way into an understanding of herself and her history, using photography, video, writing, and singing as an aid in this process.
Shala teaches color photography for StrudelmediaLive.ONLINE COURSE
Cameraless Photography: Creating Magic with Alternative Processes
In this class, you’ll explore alternative processes that redefine the boundaries of traditional photography through creativity and sustainability. Simplicity takes center stage as you’re guided through cameraless and analog techniques that can be quickly mastered with easy-to-obtain materials. You’ll learn to create photographic art from home — chemigrams, lumen prints, phytograms, and film soup — without the need for an analog camera or darkroom access. Discover low-cost alternatives that not only make these methods accessible but also encourage sustainable practices through the use of reusable and recycled materials. Through lecture, demonstration, and group discussion, students will produce a diverse array of prints. The culmination of your efforts will lead to the creation of either a final standout piece or a compelling small series, which you’ll present during the final class session.
Students will receive a list of easy-to-obtain materials that you’ll need for the class when you register.
Daura Campos is a visual artist based in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Her process with 35mm film — using destruction and care — she creates photographic works where each piece is a testament to its resilience. She explores brokenness and healing, creating photographic work that pushes against assumptions of representation and is free to express itself through abstraction.
She has exhibited at Pinakothek der Moderne (Munich), Museum of Art of Pereira (Colombia), Rotterdam Photo (Rotterdam), Experimental Photo Festival (Barcelona), Open Eye Gallery (Liverpool), Gallery 44 (Toronto), and Gallery Kannski (Reykjavík), among others. Her selected awards include a high commendation from the JUST Art Award, a special mention from the Art Vue Foundation Yearly Prize, and a FORGE Fellowship.
Daura teaches alternative processes for StrudelmediaLive.Samanta Ortega is a laboratory scientist, photographer, and art educator based in São Paulo, Brazil. Integrating the past, present, and future of the history of photographic processes, she is dedicated to exploring and sharing research on plant-based photographic developers in an experimental approach to film manipulation and studies within photochemistry. By valuing analog photography that is based on the reuse of materials and simplification of processes, she addresses accessible alternatives in spaces with different infrastructures and audiences of a wide age range and levels of knowledge. She has taught at institutions including SESC (Brazil), Pinacoteca de São Bernardo do Campo, and at analog photography festivals and independent cultural spaces focused on film photography throughout Brazil.
Samanta teaches alternative processes for StrudelmediaLive.Mini-Workshop
AI and Photography, Part 3: Implications and What Lies Ahead
Get a deep introduction to AI as it relates to photography in this three-part Mini-workshop — register for all three or just take an individual section.
Part 3 looks at the broader implications of AI on the photographic community. We’ll delve into ethical considerations, discuss concerns around creative control, and explore how AI is reshaping the industry.
Many of us have been hearing about Artificial Intelligence and what its use might mean — whether it’s simply a plagiarism machine, or a miracle for mankind, the end of human life, or something in between. Through this series of three Mini-workshops you’ll gain a better understanding of AI’s impact on photography and our creativity, and engage in lively discussion on its role in the future of artistic expression. Also in this series: Part 1: Beginnings and Part 2: Practical Applications.
Stefan Frank is a photographer and writer, working from Heidelberg, Germany. Way before he came to photography, he studied mathematics and philosophy at Ruhr Universität Bochum and worked as an IT specialist. He studied at Atelier Smedsby with JH Engström and Margot Wallard in Paris in 2017, before he eventually began studying photography at Ostkreuzschule, Berlin, with Peter Bialobrzeski. He graduated in 2023 with the work Irgendwo (“Anywhere”), a project dealing with politically motivated crime and the terror-spree of the far right in Germany. He has been teaching with StrudelmediaLive since 2020, giving courses on surrealism, poetics of space, gestalt theory for photographers, and more. His work has been exhibited in Heidelberg, Frankfurt, and Berlin.
Stefan teaches the poetics of space, nighttime photography, and much more — including presenting The Photobook Show — for StrudelmediaLive.Mini-Workshop
Understanding the Advanced Tools of Adobe Lightroom Classic’s Develop Module
Do you have a good grasp of the basic tools in Lightroom but want to go deeper? In this Mini-workshop, we’ll dive into the Develop Module’s more advanced tools, including detail, lens correction, transform, lens blur, effects, and calibration. Expand your control of the way your images look!
Néstor Pérez-Molière was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and currently resides in The Bronx. His practice takes place mainly in the realm of photography, but also incorporates performance, drawing, video, installation, and intaglio techniques. All of these are used in unison as he turns his camera on himself and delves into self-portraiture, exploring his relationship with his body, body image ideals, and food relationships as subject matter.
Nestor has an MFA from Hunter College and holds a BSc in botany. He was part of the Artist in the Marketplace and Creative Capital’s Taller mentorship programs, and was part of The Bronx Museum of the Art’s Fourth Biennial. He has exhibited at the Museo de las Américas, the Clemente Soto Vélez Cultural and Educational Center, Longwood Gallery, and the Liga de Artes de San Juan. He currently teaches digital and darkroom photography at the International Center of Photography and The Point CDC.
Néstor teaches lighting for still life and more for StrudelmediaLive.