Professional Development
In Person in NYC
Elements of Digital Photography
Build Your Portfolio in NYC
August 22-23, 2026
36 credit hours
$275
or two different weekend courses for $500
Elements of Photography: Building Your Portfolio in NYC!
Learn the building blocks of digital photography. Study lighting and composition. Study the masters at New York City Museums.
Students will shoot in New York City and work with their teacher to develop a beginning professional portfolio.
Students must have a smartphone or digital camera. Previous art training is not required.
Your guide on this adventure is Cornelia Hediger, internationally known photographer and teacher of photography at Fashion Institute of Technology!
in person
36 credit hours
$275 or two courses for $500
Meets in Person in NYC
August
2026 schedule:
Mandatory Online Orientation
Wed, Aug 19
7–9 pm
Class in Person in NYC
Sat–Sun, Aug 22-23
10 am–4 pm
Mandatory Online Final Project Submission
Wed, Aug 26
6:30–10:30 pm
October
2026 schedule:
Mandatory Online Orientation
Tue, Oct 20
7–9 pm
Class in Person in NYC
Sat–Sun, Oct 24-25
10 am–4 pm
Mandatory Online Final Project Submission
Tue, Oct 27
6:30–10:30 pm
Requirements:
Your course will consist of a pre-assignment, independent coursework, and final assignment as well as live class sessions in NYC with your teacher. Credit for J-1 visa students is 36 hours. Students earning J-1 visa credit must attend all sessions and complete all homework.
Please note that your pre-assignment will be emailed to you one week before your orientation meeting.
Students are required to be present during all in-person and/or live online class sessions.
Students who require their certificate sooner than outlined above should request their final assignment in advance by contacting BMCC at aupair@bmcc.cuny.edu. Please note that BMCC needs two days from the date a student submits their final assignment to issue an educational certificate.
If you have any questions at this time, please email us at aupair@bmcc.cuny.edu.
About your instructor:
About Cornelia Hediger
Cornelia Hediger received her BFA and MFA from Rutgers University, where she trained as a visual and conceptual artist. With a background in painting, Hediger transitioned into photo-based-media work, ranging from traditional black and white film photography, to color images, handmade photomontages to more complex photomontages. Today, Hediger divides her time between her art practice and teaching.
Her work has been reviewed and featured in a number of publications including GLAMOUR Magazine, PHOTONEWS, GEOkompakt, SHOTS Magazine, BLINK, The Wall Street Journal, ARTE, Photo Technique, PHOTO+, HotShoe, SNOCKS, Visura Magazine, New York Magazine, Vision Magazine, Float Photo Magazine,
In addition to an extensive list of exhibits around the globe, Cornelia Hediger’s work can be found in several private collections in the US, Japan, Switzerland, Austria, Italy and the United Kingdom.