Workshops & classes

2023 was a busy year with lots of classes and workshops taught and two trips to India, one in February for my workshop to major cities and sights (Delhi, Agra, Varanasi and Lucknow). I also did a workshop to Japan for the first time, it was interesting and a success, but it can’t compare to the beauty and wonder of India. Besides a four-day NYC neighborhood workshop that I taught in early October, I continued to teach virtual classes for the International Center of Photography and the Los Angeles Center of Photography during 2023. I was asked to do several talks/lectures in 2023, including the well-known School of Visual Arts i3 lecture series (recorded here) Of course I continued to photograph during the year, mostly in New York City and India. I continued to sell copies of my last five books and had a very well received exhibit of twenty of the SX-70 Polaroids from my 2020 book Then and There Mardi Gras 1979 at the Soho Photo Gallery. The good news is that I plan to teach several international workshops in 2024, starting with an Incredible India workshop this February (completely full) and to Sri Lanka in October, both with my travel partner, the incomparable Margarita Mavromichalis. See below for descriptions of the workshops and classes planned so far through the spring of 2024. It’s too early to know what I’ll teach in the fall. If you don’t see something that you are interested in, please contact me. More classes will be planned, particularly virtual classes for the International Center of Photography, and the Los Angeles Center of Photography. If you have questions about any of the workshops or classes, please email me at hsteinfoto@aol.com. Many thanks.

2024 ONLINE classes

The Fundamentals of Portraiture
International Center of Photography, New York
March 12–April 23, 2024, 1-4pm ET
One session per week for seven weeks, three-hours per session via Zoom
Register: online or call 212-857-0000

Portraiture — the visual interpretation of a person — is much more than merely recording a face. This online class provides the in-depth foundation necessary to achieve strongly felt, expressive, and interpretive portraits. Elements of portraiture such as lighting; environment and location; gesture, expression, and pose; composition; camera position and formats; and the relationship between subject and photographer will be explored and analyzed. Photographic assignments will be given and discussed during class. This course is limited to 12 students and is open to all skill levels ranging from beginner to experienced.

Street Photography: Making Order Out of Chaos
Los Angeles Center of Photography
April 13, 2024, 1–2:30pm ET
Webinar via Zoom, open to all levels
Register: online or by phone at 323-464-0909

The street photographer is often considered one of our best resources for defining the mood and culture of a city. This webinar will address ways to make strong images that “take the pulse” of the city. I will use some of my iconic street photographs to discuss methods to increase our understanding of city life and public social behavior while considering the art and craft of street photography. Topics include ways to approaching strangers, candid versus confrontational shooting techniques, overcoming shyness, posing/interacting with people and controlling light and exposure on the street.

Publishing A Photobook (seven 3hr online sessions)
Los Angeles Center of Photography
April 17–May 29, 2024, 12-3pm ET
One session per week via Zoom, open to all levels
Register: online or by phone at 323-464-0909

Have you thought that you’d like to publish a photo book? Maybe you have a concept in mind. Or a body of work to support your concept. Or you have only a vague idea. Or a ‘someday’ wish to do a book but no real project yet. I will offer a way to shape your ideas, to conceive and explore your concept and to determine the approach that will make publisher’s take notice. This workshop is a nuts and bolts exploration of the steps necessary to successfully approach publishers. Topics include generating book ideas, writing the book proposal, identifying potential publishers, publisher’s criteria for evaluating proposals, what to present to publishers and in what form, using a book agent, ways of editing and sequencing the images, negotiating the contract, maximizing advances and royalties, working with printers and book distribution and sales.

Considerable time will be spent evaluating each participant’s book project in light of the information given during the class. This workshop is for those who are just beginning to think about arranging their images into book form to those who have completed their projects but not sure how to approach publishers. This course is limited to 12 students.

2024 IN-PERSON WORKSHOPS

Incredible India: Photographing Mumbai and Kerala
February 11–22, 2024
Register: hsteinfoto@aol.com
NOTE: AT THIS TIME THE WORKSHOP IS FULL. WE WILL DO ANOTHER TRAVEL WORKSHOP TO INDIA IN 2025 AROUND THE SAME TIME.

This workshop emphasizes the people and architecture of North India, the palette of India’s colors, from the riches of its palaces to the down-to-earth lives of its people.

Coney Island Workshop (four-day weekend)
June 21–23, 2024 (fourth day is an online session to critique photographs taken during the workshop)
Register: hsteinfoto@aol.com

I’ve photographed at Coney Island probably more than 500 times and have produced three books with Coney as the subject, my last book was published September, 2022. Co-teaching with me is the amazing photographer, person, and teacher, Margarita Mavromichalis. This year we will shoot the exciting Mermaid Parade on June 22nd, a very special event and experience. 

Coney Island is a cultural icon of contradictions and complexities, a fantasyland of the past with an irrepressible optimism about its future. It’s the poor man’s Riviera, the real Disneyland. It’s where human polar bears still cavort, mermaids parade, the snake charmer offers up her albino python, and burly men and women stuff themselves to the max at Nathan’s hot-dog eating contest every Fourth of July.

Explore the endless photographic possibilities that the Coney Island boardwalk, amusement park, beach and neighborhood have to offer. This workshop ventures to Coney during day and early evenings to record the unique activities, pace, rhythms and nuances that occur during each time period. We will exploit the changing lighting situations as day moves to night, employing available, flash, neon, tungsten, and florescent light to enhance the oddness that is one of Coney’s trademarks. Through our explorations and the intense time spent there, each student will produce a body of work on some aspect of Coney Island. Topics covered include ways of photographing strangers; confrontational versus candid shooting strategies; using flash in new and unusual ways including outdoor day use; night shooting approaches; and camera handling techniques to insure unusual and compelling images. Any format and all film and digital approaches are welcome. Be prepared to work hard and passionately, to learn about an amazing and unique American place, and to grow as an engaged photographer.

This workshop is open to all levels of photographer who have a good working knowledge of their cameras.

Sri Lanka Adventure
In planning stages
Contact if interested: hsteinfoto@aol.com

A 12-day travel workshop to this beautiful island off the south eastern coast of India, known for its incredible natural beauty, extraordinary biodiversity, and its friendly people. This workshop is in the planning stages; please contact me if interested.

And lots more to come in the Fall of 2024, including virtual classes at ICP and LACP. Stay tuned. Have a great year.