Directing People for Portrait Photography

Directing People for Portrait Photography

“Dear students, We have reached the end of the course; I would like to review all the topics taught on the course so that the objective of your final project is clear. In the first unit, you got to know me a little bit, my journey and my influences, and how I use them to create my work. And, finally, you learned what we would do on the course. In the second unit, you learned how to prepare for a photoshoot. Moving on to the third, you saw me working with Pilar, my sitter, directing her for a photoshoot. In the last unit, the fourth, you learned how I work on post-production, editing, retouching, and sending the final photos to my client. With the course in mind, as a final project, I propose that you create an idea of a portrait, one set is enough, the context can vary, it can be the studio, lifestyle, nude, corporate. The topic is free, but the person is key. You need to photograph someone you feel intimidated by, or someone you are not comfortable with, or a challenging person. It cannot be a model (as models are not intimidated by the camera) or a family member (as you already have a connection with them). Once you have the idea, the location, the date, and the person, you need to do all the preparation work before the shoot. As a final project, you must have 3 pictures of a person, in the same mood, scenario, lighting conditions, but the poses and facial expressions can change, to see how you evolved on the topic and explored your subject. Considering that the 3 final photos must be selected by you and the person, together, as it is important that the person also feels represented. I would like to see your photos in the forum. Alternatively, you can send your work directly to me, if you choose so. However, bear in mind that I’m not only a professional photographer, I am also a mum of two kids, so time is limited, but I will try to respond ASAP. I prepared this course with all my heart, during lockdown for COVID-19, and it just seems to me that we need to be more and more connected and respectful of one another. So, I hope the course helps you to bond and have more humanist relationships with your sitters, as I believe we should be doing that in every aspect of our lives. I also hope I could teach you something, that it resonates with you, and that you spread this way of working with as many people as possible, not only with the ones that sit in front of your camera but all people that cross your path. Thank you so much for your time and I hope to see your projects and read your comments on the forum. Love, Emilia ”

Partial transcription of the video

“Final project Hi, we've reached the end of the course. Thank you for accompanying and diving with me in this journey of connection in a portrait photo shoot. In this lesson I will review all the steps taken during the production of my final project. I chose to photograph a wine sommelier in the restaurant she works at in the centre of Madrid. For your final project, it's very important to choose a location related to the story of the person that you'll be portraying. During preparation, you saw how I work around an idea or a client's briefing and research to create a visual mood board. And ...”

This transcript is automatically generated, so it may contain mistakes.

Course summary for: Directing People for Portrait Photography

• Level: Beginner
• 97% positive reviews (378)
• 11305 students
• 4 units
• 14 lessons (1h 52m)
• 4 downloads

• Category

  Photography & Video

• Software

  Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop, Camera Raw

• Areas

  Photographic Lighting, Photography, Portrait Photography