A Community Photography Workshop Series with Christianne Ebel
Join us for a hands-on introduction to photography as a way of seeing, observing, and connecting with the world around you.
Each 3-hour workshop focuses on a different approach:
- June 6: Faces: Tracking Presence and Perspective (Portrait Photography)
- June 13: Spaces: Tracking the Everyday (Street & Documentary Photography)
- June 20: Land: Tracking Light and Place (Landscape Photography)
Details:
- Duration: 3 hours per workshop
- Class size: up to 20 participants
- Location: Flemington DIY + nearby outdoor spaces
- Equipment: Bring your own camera (including smartphones welcome)
- If cost is a barrier, please reach out directly to ChristianneEbel@gmail.com. Scholarship spots are available, and we’re happy to work with you to find an accessible way to participate.
Participants are invited to submit work for inclusion in a public exhibition in July at Flemington DIY.
Each session focuses on a different photographic approach—portrait, street, and landscape—combining technical instruction with guided shooting, reflection, and critique. Together, the workshops build visual literacy while encouraging participants to engage more intentionally with the people and environments around them.
The series is designed to be accessible, structured, and community-oriented. No prior photography experience is required, and all cameras, including smartphones, are welcome.
Across the workshops, participants will explore photography as a way of seeing, grounded in attention, presence, and awareness. Drawing on observational practices influenced by tracking and sensory perception, the sessions emphasize slowing down, noticing detail, and developing a more intentional relationship with the act of image-making.
Participants will:
- Learn core principles of composition, light, and framing
- Practice photographing people, public space, and landscape environments
- Develop confidence in observation and visual decision-making
- Engage in guided critique and group reflection
- Optionally contribute work to a public exhibition at Flemington DIY
The series culminates in a group exhibition in July, Faces and Spaces of Hunterdon County, featuring selected participant work.
This program supports the development of a local photography community centered at Flemington DIY.
The Workshops
Faces: Tracking Presence and Perspective
Portrait Photography Workshop
Saturday, June 6, 2026, 10am-1pm
This workshop explores portraiture as a practice of attention, relationship, and perception. Rather than simply photographing a face, participants will examine how presence is shaped through proximity, light, framing, and the interaction between photographer and subject.
Working with natural light, as well as provided studio lights, and simple environments, we will explore how portraits can shift between observation and connection and how small changes in distance, angle, and timing alter the emotional and narrative weight of an image.
Guided exercises focus on photographing people with clarity and care, while paying attention to how perspective influences meaning and agency within the frame.
Participants will:
- Learn foundational portrait techniques using natural light and studio light
- Practice working with subjects in a respectful, observational way
- Explore how distance and framing shape narrative and emotion
- Develop awareness of presence in both photographer and subject
- Engage in guided critique focused on interpretation and intent
This workshop is open to all levels. No prior experience is required, and all cameras, including smartphones, are welcome. Participants who are able to contribute at the higher tier directly support accessibility for others. Additional Costs: Participants bring their own cameras. No required software or material fees.
Sliding Scale: $95 – $155
Supporter Tier: $175 (helps fund scholarships)
Spaces: Tracking Movement and Moment
Street & Documentary Photography Workshop
Saturday, June 13, 2026, 10am-1pm
This workshop focuses on observing and photographing public space as it unfolds in real time. Participants will develop skills in timing, composition, and visual awareness while learning to move through environments with attentiveness and ethical consideration.
Rather than searching for “decisive moments,” we will work with sustained observation, learning how meaning emerges through context, layering, and observing subtle shifts in movement and behavior.
Through guided exercises, participants will explore how everyday environments contain visual structure, narrative tension, and unexpected moments of connection.
Participants will:
- Develop observational skills for photographing in public space
- Learn to work with timing, gesture, and environmental context
- Practice layering foreground, midground, and background elements
- Explore ethical approaches to photographing strangers
- Build short visual sequences from real-world observation
This workshop is open to all levels. No prior experience is required, and all cameras, including smartphones, are welcome. Participants who are able to contribute at the higher tier directly support accessibility for others. Additional Costs: Participants bring their own cameras. No required software or material fees.
Sliding Scale: $85 – $125
Supporter Tier: $150 (helps fund scholarships)
Land: Tracking Light and Place
Landscape Photography Workshop
Saturday, June 20, 2026, 10am-1pm
This workshop approaches landscape photography as a practice of attention to light, atmosphere, and spatial relationship. Rather than treating the landscape as a static view, participants will learn to read and respond to changing conditions of weather, light, and terrain.
Working in nearby outdoor locations, we will explore how landscape images can move beyond documentation toward expression, how mood, scale, and detail shape the emotional character of place.
Participants will be encouraged to slow down, observe patterns in light and shadow, and develop an awareness of how environments shift over time.
Participants will:
- Learn to read and work with natural light in outdoor environments
- Practice composing both wide views and intimate details
- Explore how scale influences emotional and narrative tone
- Develop awareness of atmosphere, weather, and spatial rhythm
- Create images that respond to place rather than simply record it
This workshop is open to all levels. No prior experience is required, and all cameras, including smartphones, are welcome. Participants who are able to contribute at the higher tier directly support accessibility for others. Additional Costs: Participants bring their own cameras. No required software or material fees.
Sliding Scale: $85 – $125
Supporter Tier: $150 (helps fund scholarships)
About the Instructor
Christianne Ebel is a photographer, visual storyteller, and educator with over 30 years of experience. Her work bridges portraiture, documentary, and community-based practice, with a focus on identity, belonging, and the emotional landscapes of everyday life.
She has developed and led photography programs for diverse communities, including a digital photography initiative for disabled and at-risk youth in collaboration with Catholic Charities and New Jersey Child Protective Services, as well as locally based after-school programs.
Christianne is the founder of The Glimmer Portrait Project, which offers trauma-informed portrait sessions, free of charge, for families living with chronic, debilitating, or terminal childhood illness. Her work has been exhibited internationally in both solo and group exhibitions, and she has curated projects such as What is American?, a juried photography exhibition epxloring BIPOC identities and experiences within the framework of the American gaze, exhibited in October 2025 at Flemington DIY. She has also received international recognition for her photographic work.
Her approach to photography is deeply influenced by her long-term study of tracking and awareness practices, sensory-based methods of observation rooted in attention, pattern, and relationship. This perspective shapes how she teaches seeing: as a practice of presence and connection.
Her workshops introduce photography as a structured practice of observation, combining technical skill with perceptual awareness, supporting participants in developing their own visual voice while engaging more deeply with the people and places they photograph.
Christianne’s workshops emphasize both technical skill and perceptual awareness, supporting participants in developing their own visual voice while engaging more deeply with themselves and the people and places they photograph.
To learn more about Christianne and her work please visit her website www.ChristianneEbelPhotography.com or her Instagram – @Christianne.Ebel.Photo. You can reach out to Christianne with any questions at ChristianneEbel@gmail.com