Masterclass with Fred Ritchin
Image-making and Social Justice
We’re excited to announce a special new collaborative effort by Fred Ritchin and StrudelmediaLive focused on image-making and social justice in our time. It aims to encourage, stimulate, and educate image-makers toward creating various kinds of imagery that engages people and impacts society, provoking discussion and possibly even change.
The Masterclass is made up of a 3-part lecture series followed by two 5-week classes. Admission to the lectures is open to all, and by donation, with proceeds going to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide.
The classes will be a special opportunity for image-makers to work in a small-group setting with Fred Ritchin — one of today’s leaders in developing and enhancing the way we can use images for social change. Admission to the classes is by application.
These live online lectures and classes welcome international participants, particularly those who can’t study in the US at this time. Limited scholarships are available for the Masterclasses.
Fred Ritchin, the dean emeritus of the School at the International Center of Photography, is one of the world’s leading experts on photojournalism, visual storytelling, media ethics, the impact of digital media on imaging, and the social impact of photography. In his decades of teaching, writing, and working with images, he co-founded the Photography and Human Rights program at New York University (in collaboration with Susan Meiselas and the Magnum Foundation); was picture editor of The New York Times Magazine; executive editor of Camera Arts magazine; and has taught and lectured around the world.
He has also has written four books on the future of imaging, including most recently The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI and Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary, and the Citizen, which was recently re-printed by Aperture. See full bio here.
Toward Authentic Visual Narratives in an Age of Menace and Confusion
3-part lecture series, admission by donation
This series of lectures is meant to address some of the challenges of impactful image-making in this time of technical, political, and social upheaval — and can be seen as an introduction to the Masterclass courses. Following each lecture (about an hour, including Q&A), topic-based breakout rooms with moderation will be available for those who want to pursue the discussion further.
The lectures are open to all by donation, with all proceeds going to the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent, nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom worldwide. Suggested donation is $10 (or more!) per lecture — but pay what you wish (minimum $1). Feel free to attend any single lecture or all three.
Lecture 1
Images and Ideas: An Introduction
Susan Sontag famously wrote some fifty years ago that “a photograph is not only an image, an interpretation of the real; it is also a trace, something directly stenciled off the real, like a footprint or a death mask.” That now seems nostalgic. In the last 35 years the photograph became highly malleable, a digital image that is made up of a mosaic of pixels that are easy to modify with software. The image became less of a “trace” and more of a collage. The recent emergence of AI-generated photorealistic imagery means that the photograph can now be simulated without even the use of a camera. How do we use this new media environment in creative and credible ways? Can AI-generated imagery help to explore that which may be beyond the reach of photography, such as dreams and nightmares, traumas, ancient histories, and the future? Is it still possible to have a “shared reality” given the fracturing of the media environment? Where do we go from here?
Following Fred Ritchin’s presentation of about an hour, those who want to pursue the discussion further and connect with others will have the opportunity to join topic-based moderated breakout rooms.
Lecture 2
Image‑based Strategies for Social Change
How have photographers, both in the past and the present, produced imagery that has been able to provoke societies to focus on a variety of issues — war, health, famine, social justice — to facilitate social change? What was the impact of the photographs and other related media, and how were they produced and presented? How has this been accomplished in print media — magazines, newspaper, books, zines, exhibitions — and how is it being done differently with digital media? Is it now possible, for example, to highlight the photographer as a subjective observer, to increase collaboration with those depicted, and in doing so engage the reader in new and more nuanced ways? What are some of the newest experimental strategies that can be explored?
Following Fred Ritchin’s presentation of about an hour, those who want to pursue the discussion further and connect with others will have the opportunity to join topic-based moderated breakout rooms.
Lecture 3
Impactful Imagery in the Age of AI
How can one respond both as a producer of imagery and a viewer to the various kinds of emerging media including, for example, AI-generated imagery? How is it possible to still preserve the credibility of photography in an age of “fake news,” “post-truth,” and artificial intelligence? Are new labels necessary to differentiate various kinds of imagery as well as a new vocabulary to reinforce the differences between non-fiction and fiction photography? Given the fracturing of media, is it still possible to find a common ground in one’s work which can appeal to a variety of people? Is it still possible to make iconic images that will be emblematic of an issue when there is no longer a “front page” to highlight what is happening in the world? If not, then what can one do to focus society’s attention on certain issues?
Following Fred Ritchin’s presentation of about an hour, those who want to pursue the discussion further and connect with others will have the opportunity to join topic-based moderated breakout rooms.
Masterclass Courses
2 related courses, admission by application
This Masterclass with Fred Ritchin is made up of two related online classes. They are an opportunity for image-makers to work with Fred Ritchin — one of today’s leaders in developing and enhancing the way we can use images for social change — in a small-group setting. There will be opportunities to both create new work and to discuss work in progress.
Enrollment in the classes is by application, and it’s recommended, but not necessary, that students take both, as they flow one into the other. A 10% discount is available for those registering for both classes. Limited scholarships are available.
Image-makers from around the world are encouraged to apply — these live online classes welcome international participants, particularly those who can’t study in the US at this time.
Masterclass Course 1
Innovative Strategies for Exploring the Human Condition
A seminar looking at new and alternative ways of investigating what it means to be human in 2025, while engaging students to enlarge their vision and produce their own innovative work. We will look at and analyze a variety of kinds of media produced worldwide both on paper (magazines, books, zines) and online, and discuss ways of using photography and related media differently to increase complexity and engagement. Students will each complete a short photo essay of their own during the five weeks of class.
We will meet for three hours weekly for the first four weeks, and four hours for the last session; maximum of 16 students.
This class is part of the Masterclass with Fred Ritchin.
How to Apply
This Masterclass is by application only and is open to image-makers around the world. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available for those not able to afford the full fee. Questions? Email study@strudelmedialive.com
How to submit your application
Applicants should submit:
— 10–15 images from a single project:- jpgs only, 2000 pixels on the longest side
- image files must be named this way: Firstname_Lastname_01.jpg
- your name and email address
- your Instagram and/or website links if available
- where you heard about StrudelmediaLive and this Masterclass
- a short bio (150 words max)
- which class or classes you’re applying for
- For Masterclass Course 1, a short statement of purpose explaining why you want to take this class (200 words max)
- For Masterclass Course 2, a short statement or description of the project you want to work on (200 words max)
- If you want to be considered for a scholarship, please tell us why you would need scholarship assistance and what portion you would be able to pay.
Please send all applications, via swisstransfer or wetransfer, to study@strudelmedialive.com.
Masterclass Course 2
Advancing the Personal Project for Social and Individual Change
This project-based class is about how the photographer can conceptualize their work to increase its impact in pursuit of social and individual change. We will look at diverse presentation strategies while exploring how to cultivate the photographer’s voice as author, with special attention given to the selection and sequencing of imagery, the addition of photographs with other media, the ethics of image-making, and a respect for diverse cultural contexts. Each student should complete the course with the newly edited and sequenced work that they create, a deeper understanding of their own vision, and a more nuanced understanding of the potentials of visual media to impact others.
We will meet for three hours weekly for the first four weeks, and four hours for the last session; maximum of 12 students. Each student will also have a one-on-one session with the instructor.
This class is part of the Masterclass with Fred Ritchin.
How to Apply
This Masterclass is by application only and is open to image-makers around the world. A limited number of partial and full scholarships are available for those not able to afford the full fee. Questions? Email study@strudelmedialive.com
How to submit your application
Applicants should submit:
— 10–15 images from a single project:- jpgs only, 2000 pixels on the longest side
- image files must be named this way: Firstname_Lastname_01.jpg
- your name and email address
- your Instagram and/or website links if available
- where you heard about StrudelmediaLive and this Masterclass
- a short bio (150 words max)
- which class or classes you’re applying for
- For Masterclass Course 1, a short statement of purpose explaining why you want to take this class (200 words max)
- For Masterclass Course 2, a short statement or description of the project you want to work on (200 words max)
- If you want to be considered for a scholarship, please tell us why you would need scholarship assistance and what portion you would be able to pay.
Please send all applications, via swisstransfer or wetransfer, to study@strudelmedialive.com.
Fred Ritchin
Fred Ritchin has spent the past half-century working as a writer, editor, educator, curator, and software developer. He is the dean emeritus of the School at the International Center of Photography; was professor of Photography & Imaging at New York University where he co-founded the Photography and Human Rights program in collaboration with Susan Meiselas and the Magnum Foundation; was picture editor of The New York Times Magazine and executive editor of Camera Arts magazine; and has written four books on the future of imaging, including most recently The Synthetic Eye: Photography Transformed in the Age of AI (Thames & Hudson, 2025) and Bending the Frame: Photojournalism, Documentary, and the Citizen, which was recently re-printed by Aperture.
He also curated the first mid-life retrospective of the work of Sebastião Salgado at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; conceived and edited the first non-linear online documentary, “Bosnia: Uncertain Paths to Peace,” with photographer Gilles Peress (nominated by the New York Times for the Pulitzer Prize in public service), and curated the first exhibition of contemporary Latin American photography in the United States, as well as exhibitions at the United Nations. He also created the first multimedia version of the New York Times newspaper, and conceived of the Four Corners Project, an available open-source software to increase the credibility of the photograph.
Ritchin has taught and lectured worldwide, including in Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, England, France, Holland, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uruguay, and the United States. He also writes a column on Substack, “Notes of a MetaPhotographer.” Ritchin lives in New York and Paris.
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