Photobook Design Masterclass I Teun Van der Heijden & Sandra Van der Doelen

5-Session: Wednesday - Sunday, 9 AM - 5 PM
April 15 - 19, 2026
The Bronx Documentary Center is pleased to once again present a five-day photography bookmaking masterclass with the acclaimed photobook designers Teun van der Heijden and Sandra van der Doelen. The workshop is designed for photographers with a substantial project or body of work who are interested in working on a concept, edit and sequence for a book.

Workshop Goals

During the workshop, Teun and Sandra will share their experience in conceptual work with photography books and photography book production, combining the points of view of both the photographer and the graphic designer. Together with the participants, they will go through the main stages of book production, from concept development to completion, and challenge students to think outside their framework to create a unique object that complements their photographic vision. Subjects will include the editing and compiling process, concept development, design issues like choice of size, paper, grid and typography, and the guidance of the printing process

The workshop consists of lectures, practical classes, and work on the students’ own book projects, resulting in the production of a dummy book by each of the participants. The lectures will focus on the current status of photobook publishing and a scientific approach to the photographic editing process. The practical classes will focus on design, lay-out and production. During the first days of the workshop, students are encouraged to share ideas and spark creativity by discussing and thinking about concepts with each other. Over the next three days, students will work on an idea conceived in the first part of the workshop and create a dummy. During this part Teun and Sandra will guide the students and help with ideas, problem solving, and practical tasks like stitching and gluing.

Requirements

• Students must bring a laptop with a current version of InDesign. (You can download a free trial version, but it only lasts 7 days, so please hold off from activating the trial until the night before the workshop.)
• In addition to the images, the participants are encouraged to bring any other materials that can be potentially incorporated into their publication, such as texts, graphic elements, etc.
• The edit process will be done with physical prints. Students are expected to bring their A, B and C selections in the form of 4 x 6-inch prints (lo-res or computer paper prints are okay).
• It is highly encouraged you bring along your B and C selections of pictures, including pictures you have doubts about or mind find less interesting.
  If you have any questions about the course, please reach out to [email protected]

Instructor Bio

Teun van der Heijden (@teunvdh) and Sandra van der Doelen are designers and the owners of Heijdens Karwei, a graphic design agency based in Amsterdam. The agency was responsible for the design of the World Press Photo yearbooks and exhibitions for more than fifteen years. Deeply influenced by the world of documentary photography, they specialized their practice in photobook design and became known worldwide for creating award-winning photography books.

Sandra is art-director of Wordt Vervolgd, the monthly magazine of Amnesty International in the Netherlands. Teun is professor Visual Design and Hybrid media at LUCA School of Arts in Genk, Belgium and a staff member at the Master of Arts in Photography and Society program of the Royal Academy in The Hague. Together with New York based Alexey Yurenev, Teun is founder and owner of Nooscope Press.

Sandra and Teun are both faculty members at the International Center of Photography in New York. Together they teach photobook workshops all over the world.

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Host or Publisher Bronx Documentary Center