The good folks at UDEMY.com asked me to create a course for them.

Portrait Photography with Simple Gear

I chose doing a sort of overview for portraiture. Not your typical headshot stuff, although we do look at traditional beauty. In this course we look at using strobes, natural light, modified natural light and more. It is about 5.5 hours of video now, and will grow by at least another hour over the next few months.

I wanted to take a complete look at the simple way I do portraits, and how I think about both the taking and the making of the image.

We show the setup, talk about what I am thinking about, show how we set the lighting up, look through the camera to see the shots happening, and then do the Photoshop work that is planned for.

These are simple to do exercises, with solid training.

And while I will win no awards for awesome epicness in making videos, there is plenty to learn there.

Who is it for?

Beginners who want to make their portraits better… fast – with real world examples, lighting setups that can be reproduced easily and inexpensively and those who may want to add a few tricks and tips to their fledgling arsenal.

It is not an advanced portrait course (in the works as we type this), but instead a basic course with non-basic portrait situations.

If you follow along, you will be able to do the work as you see it here.

I have a free LoRes version of the current workbook (Sept 4, 2012) for you to download. The class workbook will be updated quite a bit over the next 4 months but it will only be available to the students who are enrolled.

Take a look at the workbook and decide if it is worth it for you to take the course.

We have hours and hours of video for you to follow along with, the Photoshop movies of how we achieved the look, and the layered Photoshop files for further study.

Below are a few images we cover in the workshop.

Mixing strobe and natural light for a "Faux Sun" look.

Mixing strobe and natural light for a “Faux Sun” look.

Natural Light or Large Strobe Bank? Find out when you take the course?

Natural Light or Large Strobe Bank? Find out when you take the course?

Create stunning fashion like headshots with minimal gear

Create stunning fashion like headshots with minimal gear

Work with full strength back light with confidence - even in natural light situations.

Work with full strength back light with confidence – even in natural light situations.

Use the sun to advantage - as well as the surrounding landscape - for portraits that bring the viewer in.

Use the sun to advantage – as well as the surrounding landscape – for portraits that bring the viewer in.

Blend the light from outdoors into your strobe lit shots easily - and decide where you want to "place" that exposure.

Blend the light from outdoors into your strobe lit shots easily – and decide where you want to “place” that exposure.

High contrast locations can be made better with efficient use of strobes.

High contrast locations can be made better with efficient use of strobes.

Sometimes we have to create interest by adding contrast in low contrast scenes.

Sometimes we have to create interest by adding contrast in low contrast scenes.

Creating our own reality for a more mysterious and intriguing portrait.

Creating our own reality for a more mysterious and intriguing portrait.

Thanks for taking a look at this workshop.

Remember to use the code “Lighting Essentials” to get the course for an introductory price of $30. For a limited time.

Thanks for stopping by.

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