Portrait Photography Intensive

Combining a course, coaching, and community to help you create compelling portraits, even if you have been intimidated by photographing people

“Anything but people!”

That was the answer I received when I asked a client and aspiring photographer what subject matter he liked to shoot.

"Why not people?" I probed.

"I'm just not comfortable with people. I like things that stay where I put them. People are just scary to me," he said.

Here's the thing... He's not alone. I've heard this from more photographers than I can count. They just want to shoot inanimate objects because they are uncomfortable photographing people.

Then there are the photographers who like to photograph people but their portraits come out dull and uninspired. Sure they do okay when they photograph models in a workshop, but ordinary people? Not so much.

Here's how it will work

The Course will be taught over four sessions

Session 1 - Feb. 7, 2023, 7 pm - Building the Portrait (Taught Live)

A deep dive into all the considerations in creating a compelling portrait.

• Scouting locations

• Putting subjects at ease

• What should they wear?

• Simple posing guidelines

• The best gear to use

• Photographing groups

• Natural light considerations

• Portrait workflow suggestions

Session 2 - Feb 8, 2023, 7 pm - Working with Light (Taught Live)

Are you a "natural light photographer" because you are not confident with lights? In this session, we will demystify working with lights, so you can add speedlights or strobes to your mix. Once you can master lights, you can shoot at any time of the day and create beautiful portraits. No more chasing the sun at the golden hour.

• One light portrait scenarios

• Adding a second light or reflector

• Three-point light setup

• Intro to modifiers

Session 3 - Feb. 9, 2023, 7 pm - Retouching the Portrait (Recorded)

The best portraits aren't delivered straight out of camera. You often have to do some retouching and cleaning up. In fact, most clients expect this!

We will go over the retouching principles for sweetening your portrait.

I'll demonstrate some tips in Adobe LightRoom, Photoshop, and a couple of AI portrait software applications that I use.

Homework assignment Feb. 10 - 12, 2023

This is your opportunity to put what you have learned to work. Over the weekend, you will have the assignment to go out and create a portrait using the principles we have covered. It will be due back to me on Sunday night for our feedback session on Monday.

Session 4 - Feb. 13, 2023 - Feedback & Wrap up

In our final session, I will provide feedback on your portrait and give suggestions for improvement. This will also be your opportunity to ask questions or get clarifications on challenges you encountered while you were shooting.

After the feedback, we will do a brief recap to close the workshop.

You will be able to share your work and ask questions in our private online group.

The learning and sharing don't stop after the sessions. Jump into the group at any time to share a milestone, ask a question, or get quick feedback on a photo. The online group will be available right after you sign up.

Warm-up portrait challenges challenges

Right after you enroll, you will be able to begin our weekly warm-up challenges. These will be a series of prompts to get you out and in the portrait photography frame of mind. They are just for fun and let us share with the other students.

Bonus - 200 session prompts for children and young families

No more dead air while you try to think of ways to coax an uncooperative toddler or young child. I am providing more than 200 session prompts that you can use to loosen up the family and elicit some genuine smiles.

Not intense, intensive

We will cover a lot of material, but we will do it in a laid-back style use our three levels of learning — courses, coaching, and community — to make sure you learn and it sticks.