In this six-week course you’ll get all of the information you need to make beautiful portraits indoors. We’ll start at the beginning covering fundamental concepts then build to cover more advanced and creative concepts. You’ll work with professional models each week as well as a variety of lighting types- including continuous lights, speedlights and studio lights. You’ll learn about posing and post-production using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. You’ll have homework assignments and access to a secret Facebook group for off-line discussion. When you complete this course, you will have a clearer understanding of a systematic approach to creating beautiful portraits every time you shoot.

About the Instructor

Tim Babiak is a full-time professional photographer and a long-time instructor at Precision Camera. Tim serves on the board of directors of the Austin Professional Photographers Association and is a two-time recipient of the Photographer of the Year award from the Austin Professional Photographers Association. Tim is also a two-time Bronze Medalist in PPA’s International Print Competition. Tim is a PPA Photographic Craftsman (recognized for photographic instruction) and Certified Professional Photographer (CPP) and serves as a PPA CPP Liaison. Tim has taught hundreds of people locally as well as internationally various aspects of photography and post-production.  

CLASS TIME: 6:30PM - 9:30PM

Week 1, JANUARY 26

• Lens selection
• Nailing exposure and white balance
• Using continuous lights for portraiture
• Quality of light
• Light placement
• Understanding lighting ratios and how to measure them
• Using umbrellas and soft boxes
• Reflector selection and placement
• Introduction to posing
• Importing your images into Lightroom
• Using the Lightroom Develop module

Week 2, FEBRUARY 9

• Wardrobe
• Understanding your speedlight
• Using your speedlight on-camera
• Equipment considerations for using your speedlight off-camera
• Triggering and metering the off camera speedlight
• One-, two- and three-speedlight set up for portraits
• Understanding lighting ratios and how to measure them

Week 3, FEBRUARY 23

• The overall approach
• Adding the hair light|
• Using off-camera flash for more advanced techniques
• Posing – adding variety
• Standing and floor posing

Week 4, MARCH 9

• Working with high key and low key
• Lighting the white background with a beauty portrait
• Understanding the clamshell lighting pattern
• Lighting the black background for a dramatic portrait
• Understanding Rembrandt and split lighting

Week 5, MARCH 23

• Hands on student sessions
• Students are assigned to small groups to work through mini assignments with instructor assistance
• Students will select model wardrobe, set lights then guide their own sessions
• Instructor will review result and suggest improvements

Week 6, APRIL 6

• Creative options – extending the concepts
• Using v-flats as modifiers and reflectors
• Special lighting set ups
• The ethereal angelic portrait
• The Old Hollywood portrait
• Simple modern fashion hard lighting
• Creating color shifts and lens flare

Prior Models

Each week we will be joined by a different professional model and you will have time to photograph the model. Your enrollment includes photo release for promotional/portfolio use so you'll not only learn about portraiture but you'll also have the opportunity to add to your portfolio. 

Required Equipment

• Camera
• Memory cards
• Laptop with Adobe LR