Environmental Portraits

portrait photographer

In this workshop series, we will photograph live models in a variety of environments including shady glades where the dappled light can be challenging and on the beach during the "magic hour" before sunset.

graduate on beach

You will have the opportunity to interact and direct your model to create different types of people portrait.

Create beautiful portraits in beautiful surroundings

Environmental portraits means taking pictures in the open air in a variety of surroundings. It involves harnessing and controlling the natural light around you by proper subject positioning and use of scrims and reflectors. It also requires using your flash for fill and to create effects. Whether you are a wedding photographer, family portrait photographer, fashion photographer, or simply enjoy taking pictures of people, this workshop series will give you an edge and make your photos "pop".

What is covered?

The Environmental Portraits workshop series covers the following subjects:

Equipment checklists
Choosing a location
Shot planning for groups
Male, female, and group poses
Metering for varied lighting and skin types
Background composition
Fill and Off-camera flash
Additive and subtractive lighting techniques
Using reflectors
Using filters for effect
Using white balance

What you need to attend

Your camera should be a DSLR camera with a built-in flash or additional flash or speedlight. I recommend a standard lens of 50mm or a zoom lens that captures this range. Please bring your camera's instruction manual to the workshop. One more thing....The biggest asset to portrait photography is your winning personality to put your subject at ease and get them to enjoy the shoot. So bring it along with you!

Workshop format

The Environmental Portraits workshop series consists of three 2-hour field-based workshops. We meet in beautiful and fun locations around San Diego offering a range of background settings. Models will be provided or bring your own along. The workshop starts with an explanation of the lesson plan, in which we cover what we are trying to achieve. We will then all work on a number of practical exercises with short breaks for explanation and summaries. At the end of the workshop, we will come together to discuss what we have learned. You will receive course notes, including reference materials and extra tips. You will be encouraged to upload your images to a private gallery and share them with the other workshop attendees.

On completion of the workshop, you will have permanent access to the member galleries and forums of my site and will be encouraged to share your ideas and images with other past attendees.