👥 PORTRAIT FOUNDATIONS: Mastering the Decisive Moment & Environmental Frame

Full Course Description:

Welcome to Portraiture! This foundational workshop is your full guide to capturing complex, dynamic environmental portraits in challenging, real-world settings. You will master the art of observation, timing, and framing to create images that cut through the chaos and enhance your subject.

What You Will Master:

• Mastering The Decisive Moment: Techniques for identifying and capturing the exact instant—the **decisive moment**—that depicts action, emotion, and character in crowded or complex environments.
• Environmental Framing: Learning to **observe and work around the background** to strategically enhance your subject and the overall image narrative.
• Composition in Chaos: Discerning what is important in busy, chaotic spaces and being able to **snap the right shot of your subject** while maintaining strong composition.
• Focusing and Timing: Mastering focus techniques to ensure your subject is sharp and clear while capturing spontaneous **gestures** and movements.
• Simple Light Sources: How to work with **simple available lighting**, including natural light, window light, and simple homemade lighting tricks that efficiently enhance the look of your subjects.

Requirements & Notes:

Requirements: Any digital camera including **phone cameras** and mirrorless with Automatic OR Manual mode.

Course Structure Suggestion: This course covers all of the basics and we therefore highly recommend that it is taken before any other Portrait course.

Note: Though not required, we highly recommend knowing the basics of your camera. This course **will not cover camera settings** and the basics of shooting.

🎭 High-Impact Portraiture: Conceptual Lighting & Editorial Directing.

This course will guide you through all that there is to see to unleash your imagination and create the most unique, editorial-style portraits. Step into the world of high-end portraiture by learning conceptual lighting techniques, advanced subject direction, and the use of subjective imagery and props.

What You Will Master:

• Conceptual Lighting: Practice and experimentation with a myriad of advanced lighting effects, including classic light setups, High Key, Low Key, Corrective, and dramatic lighting.
• DIY Home Studio: Setting up a simple Portrait DIY home studio setup using equipment you already have, maximizing both natural and artificial lighting.
• Advanced Directing: Directing the subject and utilizing props and background elements to convey a specific narrative or emotion
• Critique & History: Review, analysis, and practice of all types of portraiture—from documentary to editorial—including the history of portraiture and famous portraitists

Course Structure:

Classes include in-class photo shooting and experimentation of all techniques, as well as weekly assignments and photo critiques of your own work. This course is a perfect complement to our Studio & Lighting course.

🤳 POWER PORTRAIT: Self-Portrait, Posing & Elevating Your Self-Branding.

Mastering the art of being the photographer and the photographed simultaneously is the ultimate self-branding tool. You as the model must choose well what you intend to communicate, and you as the photographer must know how to best project that visual message for your intended audience. Make your selfie be worth a thousand selective words!

What You Will Master:

• Visual Communication: Learn how to reflect all colors of your personality and express your character in your self-portraits (selfies).
• Efficient Techniques: Acquire the most practical yet efficient ways to shine brightly in every self-portrait or group photo.
• Star & Producer: Seamlessly learn to become both the star and the producer of your own visual content.
• Posing & Shooting Do's and Don'ts: A myriad of techniques for posing, shooting, and the essential do's and don'ts that you can start using right away.

Course Structure:

Meticulously prepared by professional artists, this one-of-a-kind workshop is an excellent fusion of art and technology.