PhotoManhattan
Proven curricula, hands-on training & friendly atmosphere.



Photography classes NYC

Established in 2003 in NYC, with thousands of happy students and a solid presence in NYC, PhotoManhattan Photography School provides excellent photography instruction to all levels, from hobbyist to semi professionals all year round. Our facility offers fully equipped photo studio rentals and plenty of photographic equipment made available to students during classes. PhotoManhattan's instructors are working professionals, yet they are also trained instructors with years of practice leading a class room and great expertise in making difficult photography concepts seem easy and fun.

For beginners, instruction focus on providing students with a solid ground on the fundamentals of photography while accommodating to students' various interests, whether it's shooting with a DSLR, a point and shoot, in manual or in automatic mode, we've master our beginner programs to suit all. To those more advanced, we have challenging photography courses such as Studio Lighting and Portraiture that will make even experienced amateurs stop and think about exactly what they are trying to do when they hit the shutter..

In addition, we host group events, exhibitions and lead group workshops in Union Square and in different neighborhoods of New York City. A wide range of people have taken classes here, and participated in group events, from professionals, to those seeking to become professionals, to those who are looking for a means of moving beyond the 8-6 routine that otherwise traps so many of us. We invite anyone interested in either taking classes, renting space, or becoming involved in PhotoManhattan's group activities, to contact us by phone, by email, or by passing by the studio. Now go out there and shoot.

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Instructors and Staff

Note, information about our staff is kept purposely limited as a measure to prevent spam. Registered students will, however, get additional contact information upon the start of class.
If you have any questions beyond the information on this page, please feel free to write us or call us at 212 929-3302 or
come by and meet us in person. Don't forget to watch us live at one of our next exhibits (On Instagram or Facebook) or at our Exhibits page .


Charlie (CN) is a photographer, retoucher, and fine artist (drawing and painting) based in New York City. He earned his BFA from the University of Michigan, and also studied advanced dark room photography in Florence, Italy at SACI. His work has been published and exhibited both domestically and internationally, and he recently published his first monograph titled "Resonance" on the topic of positive contemporary body image.








Gabriel (GJ) has been working in the photography field for 8 years. He started photography as a hobby starting with Smartphone cameras and eventually upgrading to his Professional DSLR, setup, G.J's knowledge of composition and detail is very relatable and current. Gabriel graduated from Science Skills High School with an Advanced Regents HSD and went to college at ASA Institute. Well versed in all aspects of photography, also with a background of non profit community work, he specializes in portraiture, studio lighting, weddings and family portraits, all while fitting in personal fine art photography. Gabriel developed a fondness for capturing moments, and telling stories through photos, using art as an outlet his whole life. He also participates in drawing, painting, creating music and videography. He believes art is what keeps him sane and always wants it apart of his life. He is looking to expand his brand throughout the US, then the world, with his brand LeVue.




Helene's been photographing in New York City for over 20 years. She works both in studio and on location, and her photographs have been published internationally by a variety of corporations and media outlets. HG received her BFA in Photography and Painting from SUNY at Buffalo. Her MFA in Fine Arts is from UCLA. When not behind a camera, she's in front of a monitor, feverishly exploring the intricacies of digital photo manipulation.







Jason. A photographer of fifteen years, Jason.R. has worked professionally in a wide range of fields including commercial, architecture, editorial and aerial. He received a BA in Advertising Photography from Brooks Institute of Photography in 2006. Since then, JR has gone on to specialize in architecture photography working directly with architects and real estate groups.









Lisett is a Fine Art Photographer, Re-toucher, multi media artist who transcends the boundaries of photography by combining photography with other mediums. She received her BFA from Mason Gross School for the Arts with a concentration in Photography analogue and digital. She has participated in all aspects of Photography from free press, sports, movie premiere, weddings, and the list goes on. Lisett worked on the "Gentlemen of the Road tour featuring Mumford and Sons", where she was the team lead artist representing Rutgers University, this project lead being feature on News 12, Asbury Park Tribune. Lisett is a Chilean born artist but has resided in the USA for over 30 years making her bilingual to add to her plethora of talents.





Luis, (b. 1990, Guatemala City, Guatemala) is a Brooklyn based artist. He received his BFA in photography and contemporary creation at IDEP, Barcelona in 2012. Corzo works mainly with photography but is consistently experimenting with drawing, film and mixed media. His work has been exhibited in museums and galleries around the world.







Maria is a photographer and videographer based in NYC. She received her MFA from the School of Visual Arts from the Photography, Video and Related Media department. Her photography has been published in numerous magazines and was featured in Metropolitan Museum of Art’s children’s book entitled, “What Can You Do With A Paper Bag?” Her documentary “Las Hijas” (The Daughters) has been screened in various film festivals internationally and won numerous awards. Maria’s work has been exhibited in Argentina, Florida, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. Her favorite photography subjects include road bike races, people and food.





Mete is an award wining professional retoucher and photographer. He had his first solo show at age sixteen, followed by numerous other shows supported by companies like Kodak and FujiFilm. He received his bachelors degree in Advertising Photography from Rochester Institute of Technology and his Masters degree in Fashion Photography from School of Visual Arts. He worked in retouching and production with top photographers and retouching houses. Some production and retouching clients he worked with include; Beyonce, Lady Gaga, Jeniffer Lopez, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Janet Jackson, Kanye West, Jay Z, and brands; L’oreal, Lancome, Covergirl, Maybeline, Victorias Secret, Tommy Hilfiger, Pepsi, Nike and NFL along many others. As a photographer, his work has been featured in magazines such as Nylon, Billboard, Cosmopolitan, Esquire, New York Magazine, and New York Times, along many others.


Ronald is a freelance photo and video professional based in New York City. He received his B.A. from James Madison University in Media Arts & Design, with a concentration in Converged Media. In addition to commercial assignments, R.S. is an avid street photographer, documenting everyday life.





Skye's (SK) photography abilities display unprecedented body of published works as well as an award winning professional portfolio. Skye applied and was accepted to the prestigious School of Visual Arts of NY in 2013. Because of his extraordinary talent and track record within the field of photography, he was accelerated into the Fashion Photography Master Graduate Degree Program, bypassing the prerequisite of completing and attaining a bachelor degree program, receiving his MA in 2014. Having worked as a fashion photographer for almost 10 years, Skye is no stranger to the field of publishing, advertising and luxury imaging. He have shot and retouched many prolific high-fashion magazines covers, editorials, and commercial brands worldwide. Skye has acquired not only an acute sense to detail, aesthetics aptitude, but the finesse of translating digital files into print reproduction. He is also an accolade fellowship member of MPA (Master Photography Association) in UK since 2009, acting as a member of jury and mentor to professional photographers in Asia seeking to better their craft and commercial practice.




W. C. is a photographer, born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. She immigrated to the United States in 2001 and has since been residing in New York City. She received a B.A. from The City College of New York/CUNY in June 2013, where she majored in Studio Art; Photography and minored in Creative Writing. She is a recipient of a Mortimer Hays-Brandeis Traveling Fellowship for the 2013-2014 academic year and is currently working on a photographic project documenting some of the after effects of the January 12, 2010 earthquake that devastated her birth country and relatives living in Haiti.




Yoav is a photographer, retoucher, professional printer, and a fine artist who specializes in both scale model & landscape photography . He earned his B.A in photography from Hadassah College Jerusalem (2011), and his MFA from the School of Visual Arts (2014). Friedländer exhibited his work internationally at Belfast Photo Festival, Dusseldorf Photo Weekend, Eretz Israel Museum and at the Bronx Museum of the Art.








Front Desk & Collaborators


A.C. is available at PhotoManhattan Mondays & Wednesdays 12:15pm-5:30pm and Tuesdays 12:15pm - 10:30pm.

G.J. is available at PhotoManhattan Mondays & Wednesdays 5:30pm-10:30pm and Thursdays 12:15pm - 10:30pm.



Founder


Aldana R.
1992: Completed a 3-year Photography program, Instituto Angel D'Elia, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
1997: Bachelor's degree in Visual Arts, Photography at Université Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Lebanon.
1998: Photography artists' exchange at Ecole Nationale Supérieure de la Photographie, Arles, France.
1999: Master's degree in Photography at Université Saint-Esprit Kaslik, Lebanon.
2000: Photographer for Solidere, documented the development and reconstruction of Beirut 's central district, Lebanon. Worked with the Arab Image Foundation (AIF) in researching and acquiring photographs from the Middle East for future archival/museum purposes. Did several freelance jobs in commercial, event and documentary photography, including featured work for the Middle East Airlines magazine and the Lebanese American University.
2001: Moved to Nantes, France. Focused on black and white printing.
2002: Moved to New York. Worked on freelance commercial photography.
2003: Started PhotoManhattan.

View contact-sheet samples of her work here



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Co-founder

Jorge Federico. 07/19/1949 - 02/04/2017.

Being Aldana's inspiration into the Visual Arts, Jorge started Photography himself as a hobby in the 80's and quickly turned this hobby into a side job as a wedding and event Photographer in Argentina and later in Lebanon as the events' photographer for the American University of Beirut and the Cervantes Institute. Since 2002, Jorge travelled to the USA to help build PhotoManhattan. In 2010, Jorge moved to NYC, and while his wife, Juana Nohra opened Learn Spanish New York institute, Jorge dedicated full time to helping us at PhotoManhattan. Gifted in design Jorge orchestrated the full design and layout of our rooms, darkrooms, lighting systems, exhibitions and beyond, while providing assistance to instructors and staff. Jorge, referred to as 'the dad', spent 11 hours daily at PhotoManhattan and greatly enjoyed the end of the day conversations and daily 'adventures with our team - while communicating in Spanish, French, basic English and a mix of all. Jorge passed away in February 4, 2017. He will be remembered with love by all who knew him.