About this class
Life Through the Lens is an introductory photography course built around the disciplines of visual composition, light, and visual storytelling. The course is designed for adult learners who want to develop a working command of photography — both the technical and the expressive — and to learn to use a camera as a tool for noticing, recording, and communicating about the world.
Instruction combines short lessons on the fundamentals of composition (framing, light, color, contrast, perspective) with extended hands-on shooting in and around New York City. Each session includes a focused practice — portraits, color and pattern, close work versus wide work, capturing movement — and concludes with group reflection on the images learners made. Field components include photo walks in nearby parks and neighborhoods and visits to galleries or museums to study photographic work in context. Guest photographers from across professional practice share their work and answer questions.
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course, learners will be able to:
- Apply foundational compositional principles — framing, perspective, leading lines, and visual balance — to original photographs
- Read and use natural and available light to support a photograph's purpose
- Identify and use color and pattern as compositional and expressive elements
- Make portraits that communicate something specific about the subject
- Construct a short photo story using a sequence of related images
- Analyze photographs by other photographers using a shared visual vocabulary
- Reflect on personal photographic interests and develop a working sense of one's own visual voice
Methodology
The course follows a photography pedagogy grounded in observation and practice: learners shoot in every session, share their work, and develop their visual judgment through guided reflection. Excursions and gallery visits provide direct contact with photography as practiced by working photographers.
Topics we cover
- Looking at photographs: what we notice, and why
- Framing and composition: what's inside the picture
- Light and shadow: working with what's there
- Color and pattern: visual elements in their own right
- Portrait photography: technique and approach
- Close-up versus distant work
- Capturing movement
- Photo storytelling: sequencing images
- Personal visual voice: discovering one's own way of seeing
Who it's for
For adults who want to learn the fundamentals of photography as a way to notice details, capture moments, and tell stories with images — exploring composition, light, color, and visual storytelling through hands-on practice in the classroom and out in the community. No prior experience needed.
Who teaches it
Yaakov Gottlieb
Filmmaker, photographer, and visual journalist with a B.A. in Journalism and Creative Writing from Northwestern University, co-founder of NYG Studios, and current video producer at Dune Security.
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Pricing
$90 per session · 90 min per class. Register for 8 or more sessions across any combination of classes at The Grove and save 15%.
Registration is handled on our secure registration site.
Classes at The Grove are non-credit, personal-enrichment programs offered by Big Apple Coaching LLC. Participation does not confer academic credit, professional certification, or licensure.