Discover new possibilities as you explore different genres of photography.

There are no available registration dates at this time.

This course will broaden your visual interests and add a new intensity to your work. Inspiration and knowledge are derived from lectures that examine the work of major photographers in specific fields, providing a context for each day’s work.

Discussions cover photographic history, theory, and technical concerns. Afternoons are spent working in the field on specific assignments, each designed to awaken your eye and strengthen your ability to deal effectively with new subject matter in a meaningful and personal way.

Mornings are filled with review and critique of the previous day’s photographs. Lectures and discussions present new ideas and explore how other photographers have handled specific subject matter.

Subjects covered during the week:

  • Spaces – The afternoon is spent photographing spaces, capturing the corner of a room, photographing a farmyard, backyard, or porch.
  • The Landscape – We will work with rural and urban landscapes, photographing seascapes and horizons to create three-dimensionality.
  • Objects – We will search for the identity within an object, as defined by its space and surroundings.
  • The Portrait – Explore ways to photograph people: friends, strangers, groups of people, as well as self-portraiture.
  • The Emotional Photograph – This assignment is to produce a single, complex photograph, which expresses an emotion or idea.

Students are encouraged to bring a laptop for image processing and editing since this is not based in a digital lab classroom.

Images copyright Andrea Birnbaum.

Past student work

Left to right: Michael Jeans (x2), Dick Tranfaglia (x2), John Regan (x2), Madison Olds (x2)

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Instructor: Andrea Birnbaum

Photographer and educator Andrea Birnbaum earned her undergraduate degree through Syracuse University’s School of Visual and Performing Arts, and holds an MFA in Photography from Maine Media College. Her fine art photographs and documentary projects have been exhibited throughout the country and internationally. She teaches photography and mentors students both online and in-person, and leads retreats and workshops internationally. She currently lives in the New York City area.