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

Dates: Wednesdays, Apr 9–May 14, 2025
Time: 12–2pm (ET)
Sessions: 6
Limited enrollment: 8 students
Fee: $455 $405
Earlybird Special! 10% off selected classes through Wednesday, Feb 12!

Register Now

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.


 
As a photographer, I had many stories to tell but I didn't know how to evolve from photo-taker to storyteller. Anja generously shared her experience and through weekly assignments and her constructive critiques, she gave me the knowledge and confidence I needed. I'll always value her guidance as a turning point in my photography career.
—Jennifer (Monaco)
What a great class — I learned a lot and found it very inspirational!
—Jessica (New York City)


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 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.