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Beginners Guide to Studio Portrait Photography
4.4 (100 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
1,187 students enrolled

Beginners Guide to Studio Portrait Photography

Start your own studio portrait business and learn learn how to light people in a complimentary way.
4.4 (99 ratings)
Course Ratings are calculated from individual students’ ratings and a variety of other signals, like age of rating and reliability, to ensure that they reflect course quality fairly and accurately.
1,187 students enrolled
Created by Charlie Borland
Last updated 2/2019
English
English [Auto-generated]
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Beginners Guide to Studio Portrait Photography
Current price: $18.99 Original price: $29.99 Discount: 37% off
18 hours left at this price!
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This course includes
  • 5.5 hours on-demand video
  • 2 articles
  • 1 downloadable resource
  • Full lifetime access
  • Access on mobile and TV
  • Certificate of Completion
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What you'll learn
  • Understand the lighting equipment
  • Understand lighting and how best to apply it to people
  • Photograph individuals, families, and groups
  • How to photograph business portraits
  • How to setup your studio in your home or studio location
Requirements
  • Basic understanding of cameras and lenses
  • Basic understanding of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO
  • Should have lighting of some sort. We'll show you how to use strobes, umbrellas, and more
Description

Introduction to Studio Portraiture, is rated in the TOP 10% of all courses on Udemy? Great job! -Udemy 2016

I truly enjoyed your course. Your course was packed with great material which should be helpful as I attempt to break into the world of Portrait Photography. So much information, some of which is currently way over my head, but really put the field of Portrait Photography into perspective for me.  Your presentation was wonderful, logically laid out, and easy to follow. Thank you.

-Robert M.

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Would you like to make money with your camera? Are you a 'people person' and LOVE photography as well?  Would you like to start a home based business? If so, let me show you how to create beautiful portraits to start your path to your own photography business.

Portrait photography is popular, fun, and in-demand! If you are looking for a course to photograph people for fun or jump start your photography career and get paid, this course shows you how to create beautiful portraits.

If you dream of owning a portrait photography business this course will show you how to create beautiful portraits from head shots to full length, groups, families, and more. 

In this course you will learn:

  • How to photograph people in various poses and lighting techniques

  • How to master strobe lighting

  • How to photograph white backgrounds

  • How to create special effect portraits

  • How to be a creative and in-demand photographer

In no time you will have all the tools you need to get started creating fine portraits either in the studio or in your own home based business. And this course is designed specifically for the photographer with no lighting experience.

This course shows you how to:

  • Learn how to sculpt people with light

  • Understand how your lighting equipment works

  • How to understand the difference between key and fill lights

  • Understand lighting ratios

  • How to add accent lights

  • How to light backgrounds

  • How to simple photo retouching (everybody needs some)

By the time you finish this course you will be able to shoot great portraits of family, friends, and even clients and without a million dollars in photo gear. 

Who’s the Instructor?  

There are many courses on how to be an amazing photographer, but how many are taught by true professionals who have a career and worked as a photographer?  

I was formally trained at Brooks Institute in the 1980’s and have worked every day since. I have photographed for Fortune 500 companies, been published in countless magazines (you’ve probably heard of), and photographed Hollywood actors, pro athletes, politicians, hotels, well known products, real estate, and more people, places, and things, than I can recall.  

I have taught photo workshops across the USA and Middle East. Founded two stock photo agencies, and sold thousands of stock photos. I love to teach and want to insure you succeed and love photography like I do. You can trust me to teach you photography!

  Enroll now to learn exclusive portrait lighting techniques and make good money enjoying your passion. 

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What they are saying: 

        "Charlie, I have learned so much from your class, and feel as I try new lighting arrangements and combinations I do have a lot to learn. My confidence is growing in photographing portraits, and I have to admit I just love it and plan to keep on, having already added 2 lights to my set up." Gratefully, Sarah 

        "Truly a wonderful class! You have taken the "Mystery," and fear, out of portrait photography. You have a wonderful gift for teaching, and you express yourself very well through the written word - another wonderful gift. Thank you so much! Hoping to take another of your classes in the near future". Blessings, Jennifer 

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And don't forget Udemy has a 30 day money back guarantee, no questions asked, and that is MY guarantee as well!


Who this course is for:
  • Begionning photographers passionate about photography
  • Those who love people and working with them
  • Photographers looking to start a portrait business
  • Photographers interested in a home based business
Featured review
Lynn Dennett
Lynn Dennett ( 56 courses, 4 reviews )
a year ago
This course was exactly what I needed to get taking studio portraits. I was able to figure out what I want in my own lighting, and purchase a nice moderate setup. Of course, it's up to me for practical application but I'm way further along than I would have been without this course. I'm glad for the chance to come back and review again, too.
Course content
Expand all 42 lectures 05:44:27
+ – Fundamentals of Strobe Lighting
6 lectures 52:20

Photographers are not unlike other artists. Painters use paint varying shades to show shadows and highlights and photographers essentially paint their subjects with light. This is the first lesson showing you how light works.

Understanding Light
Preview 09:22

Photographers are not unlike other artists. Painters use paint varying shades to show shadows and highlights and photographers essentially paint their subjects with light. This is the second lesson showing you how light works.

Understanding Light Part 2
07:49

Photographers are not unlike other artists. Painters use paint varying shades to show shadows and highlights and photographers essentially paint their subjects with light. This is the third lesson showing you how light works.

Understanding Light Part 3
12:28

This video shows you how aperture controls the strobe exposure.

Aperture, Strobes, and Flash: Controlling Exposure
07:43

This video shows you how to control ambient, also known as available lights.

Shutter Speeds and Ambient Light: Controlling Exposure
07:18

How camera shooting modes work with strobe lighting.

Understanding Shooting Modes
07:40
+ – Understanding Lighting Equipment
9 lectures 54:08

This lecture provides an overview of lighting equipment.

Introduction to Lighting Equipment
07:03

This lecture is part 1 showing how lighting equipment works.

Introduction to Lighting Equipment Pt 2
06:20

This lecture is part 2 showing how lighting equipment works.

2-2 Introduction to Equipment 3
05:43

This lecture gives an overview of light stands.

Understanding How Equipment Works 1
02:38

This lecture gives and overview of background setups.

Understanding How Equipment Works 2
06:25

This lecture gives an overview of lighting booms.

Understanding How Equipment Works 3
04:32

This lecture gives an overview of light modifiers.

Understanding How Equipment Works 4
07:57

This lecture gives and overview of reflectors and light panels.

Understanding How Equipment Works 5
02:55

You might be considering using a wireless triggers and this video describes the benefits of using these.

Wireless Triggers
10:35
+ – Lighting for The Perfect Portrait
11 lectures 01:29:40

This lecture is an introduction to lighting people.

Portrait Lighting
04:51
Understanding Light Patterns in Portraiture
08:01

This lecture introduces key lights and fill lights.

Understanding Key Light Fill Light
02:56

This lecture provides and overview of lighting ratios.

Understanding Lighting Ratios
05:27

This lectures covers the concept of one light and two light setups.

One Light & Two Light Setups
10:51

This lecture gives you an overview of lighting people and which side of the face to light.

Which Side of the Face to Photograph?
04:40

This lecture covers accent lighting.

A Guide to Accent Lighting
11:41

This lecture covers full length portraits.

Full Length Portraits
05:36

This lecture looks at different methods for lighting your background.

How to Light Your Background
15:48

This lecture introduces the concepts behind knockout backgrounds.

Creating Knockout Backgrounds
05:21

I was asked to photograph this family and in another city so I arranged to use another photographers studio and then photographed this family as a group and as individuals.

The Family Portrait Session
14:28
+ – Fine Tuning Your Portraits
5 lectures 47:44


You may already know how to use your histogram, but there is a technique to use it specifically for perfect portraits and this video show you how.

How to Consult Your Histogram in Portrait Photography
11:51

Learn different ways of posing the head.

Posing the Head
06:52

Learn ways of posing the body.

Posing the Body
08:20

Posing arms and hands.

Posing Hands and Arms
06:03

This lecture looks at various techniques for creative portraits.

Advanced Portrait Techniques
14:38
+ – Creative Techniques
10 lectures 01:14:13

Most portraits need, if not require some form of retouching to remove small blemishes and lighten wrinkles. This lecture provides you simple step by step techniques to make your subjects look great.

Portrait Retouching
13 pages

When photographing people against white backgrounds the backgrounds dont always go white and often look gray. There is a technique using Photoshop to make backgrounds go white and this video shows how.

Making a White Background REALLY White
17:16

An introduction to beauty and glamour lighting techniques.

Beauty and Glamour Lighting
12:29

This first of 5 videos shows how a portrait was captured in a very small basement and then procssed for an exciting look.

Creative Portrait Technique Part 1
Preview 10:17

This video shows more about the setup and lighting.

Creative Portrait Technique Part 2 Masking
09:23

This video shows how the glamour look and skin softening was created in Portrait Professional software.

Creative Portrait Technique Part 3 Portrait Professional
03:12

This video shows how additional facial restructuring and skin softening was added in Portrait Professional software.

Creative Portrait Technique Part 4 Portrait Pro
06:32

This video lecture shows how the background was created in Photoshop.

Creative Portrait Technique Part 5 Background
12:46


If you feel you have hit a roadblock with your photography, just drop me a note.

In case you need some help
01:25
BONUS LECTURE: Private Workshops and More Excellent Learning Opportunities
00:53