Longtime photography adjunct maintains focus during digital revolution

When Heidi Reuter began teaching photography at Alvernia in 2005, her classes centered on film and developing pictures in darkrooms.

Since then, not much has changed. Only everything.

Today, Reuter’s students only know a world in which cellphones double as cameras and photos develop instantly. But she seamlessly adapted to the times, not only as an adjunct professor but as the owner of an oft-awarded photography business. And despite the advancements that forever altered how people take photographs, the foundation of what Reuter teaches hasn’t changed.

“I’m there to give you the groundwork for photography, but then it’s up to you to be creative with it,” she said. “I always say, you as the photographer choose what we as the viewers get to see. I teach them things like aperture; shutter speed and lighting; and then tell them to run with it. And I say at the end of the semester, you can continue doing what we did in class with your camera, or you can apply those skills to your cellphone photos.”

Reuter refined and expanded her early love of photography during her undergraduate years at Muhlenberg College, where she majored in art and communication. She continued her studies in London, first at Goldsmiths, University of London before earning a master’s degree in photojournalism at the University of Westminster.

Upon returning to this side of the pond she launched Heidi E. Reuter Photography and joined the faculty at Alvernia, dual vocations that continue to this day.
 

What keeps her coming back year after year?

“I enjoy the students and the school,” she said. “I consider myself an artist who educates. My philosophy of teaching is anchored in my passion for the arts and sharing my love for the arts with all ages. Within my classroom, I like to emphasize observation, conversation and technical mastery. I believe that students learn from each other when immersed in a diverse atmosphere where they have guidance from a teacher as well as interaction with each other.”

PHOTO: A picture taken by Yasiris “Yassy” Martinez ’09 while she was a student in a class taught by Reuter.

She maintains ties with many of her students, including one of her first.

Yasiris “Yassy” Martinez ’09 became enamored with photography at age 15 when she snapped shots of Tom Hanks filming “Catch Me If You Can” down the street from her house in Yonkers, New York. But the criminal justice major said Reuter was the reason she minored in art.

“I took each class Heidi taught while I was there,” she said. “I lived in that darkroom. Her classes pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me see my work more critically. Heidi was the first photography teacher I felt understood my pictures from my viewpoint. She didn’t just teach me the technical side of photography; she helped me believe in my perspective and trust my eye.”

Reuter even suggested the name — Miss Yassy Bakes — Martinez uses for her dessert shop, a business aided by the photographs she posts to social media.

PHOTO: Reuter with a student in Alvernia's darkroom in 2011.

Reuter’s original curriculum and its hands-on learning are snapshots of a bygone era. Two of the classes, Basic Photography and Intermediate Photography, were removed from the university’s offerings after the 2017-18 academic year, and the darkroom in Bernardine Hall went dark. Though she’s made her peace with the transition to digital, she believes a film course would greatly benefit students.

“If I had it my way, everybody would have film photography first,” she said. “Because you put a lot of time into those 36 pictures you’re going to take. It makes you slow down and think about what you’re going to shoot.”

Jamie Pierce ’25 had little knowledge about shooting photos before she took Reuter’s digital photography classes. Though she has no plans to become a professional photographer, the digital media marketing major said the skills Reuter taught her will be beneficial in her field.

“She’s really easy to relate to and makes class comfortable,” Pierce said. “She pushes us to try new things, which I really appreciate. One thing that really stood out was how much she talked about composition and focusing on the subject of your photo. The two work together to make sure your photo tells a story and creates emotion.” 

PHOTO: A picture taken by Jamie Pierce ’25 in a class taught by Reuter.
 

Also working together are Reuter’s careers, with each one complementing the other.

Being a practitioner of the subject she teaches allows her to go beyond technique to explain the business side of photography, often showing her students photographs she took earlier in the day for a client. And the experience in front of a classroom helps her as a small-business owner, making her more confident directing clients or speaking to large groups of people.

Though the mediums used by her students have changed, Reuter is proud that the growth they experience during her classes remains the same.

“I do a fun assignment with them,” she said. “I have them pick one photo from their very first assignment and compare it to a photo from the last day of class. And a lot of them will laugh and be like,’I can’t believe I thought this was a good photo. Now I understand how to complete the shot. I understand lighting. I understand the rule of thirds.’ By the end, they understand that even just with a few months of education and photography,
they’ve changed their own work.”