Creating Environmental Portraits That Tell Powerful Stories
© Suzanne McIntire | StrudelmediaLive student
Creating Environmental Portraits That Tell Powerful Stories
© Leeza Gavronsky | StrudelmediaLive student
Creating Environmental Portraits That Tell Powerful Stories
© Kirsten Murphy | StrudelmediaLive student
ONLINE COURSE

Creating Environmental Portraits That Tell Powerful Stories

Interested in this class? Email us and we'll notify you next time it runs.

Ideally, a portrait should reveal the essence of who a person is — and one of the most effective approaches to making this happen is to photograph your subject in their own environment. In this class you’ll learn how to tell stories about people by photographing them in their own environments — their neighborhood or home, indoors or outdoors — and how to incorporate space to reveal intimate details.

Delve into environmental portraiture and learn ways to make your subjects feel comfortable, so that your images both illuminate their personalities and engage the viewer on a deeper level. We’ll examine the history of the environmental portrait and discuss the importance of collaborating with your subjects. Work by a selection of contemporary photographers, including those who combine environmental portraits with a documentary-style project, will be presented.


 
I wanted to thank you for all of your expertise and advice! You certainly helped move my photography to a much more authentic and insightful level and your endless support and encouragement keep those creative wheels turning and my photographic passions burning.
—Glen (Toronto)
Anja's course helped me to get out of my comfort zone and grow as a photographer — the assignments and the feedback helped me to be more honest about my work and challenge myself more. I cannot stress enough how useful her courses would be for anyone looking to improve as a storyteller and photographer. I really enjoyed the interactive part where you can speak and see the other people in class in real time — it really brings up the learning experience.
—Alejandra (Mexico)
I've been enjoying all of the courses that I take through StrudelmediaLive. I find them motivating and fun, and I feel part of a community. You are building something wonderful.
—Cristina (Minneapolis)


Anja Hitzenberger
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 at organizations in New York, Europe, China, and Taiwan, including C/O Berlin, Three Shadows (Beijing), and FJUM (Forum for Journalism and Media – Vienna). 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.