Foundations of Photographic Portraiture

Foundations of Photographic Portraiture 9 Meetings | Prerequisite: Photo 1 and Digital Photo Workflow Portrait photography is one of the most rewarding and in-demand genres in photography—requiring both technical skill and creative vision.

In this hands-on, foundational course, you’ll learn to create compelling portraits in a variety of environments using natural and artificial light, while gaining confidence in posing, lighting, editing, and location scouting.

Course Details Whether you're working outdoors with natural light or indoors with flash, you’ll explore lighting techniques that support flattering, professional portraits.

The course covers key concepts such as skin tone exposure, background control, and environmental composition.

You'll work with both on-camera and off-camera flash, learn how to balance ambient and artificial light, and experiment with modifiers like umbrellas and softboxes.

Additional topics include basic editing in Lightroom and Photoshop, strategies for posing individuals who feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, and best practices for working in dynamic environments such as events and receptions.

The course culminates in a portfolio review of your completed portrait work, giving you a solid foundation to advance into more complex portraiture techniques.

This course is ideal for aspiring portrait photographers and visual storytellers looking to build strong technical and creative fundamentals.

Taught by a working professional photographer, students will receive personalized feedback and guidance throughout the course.

Schedule This course is intended for students local to the San Diego/Southern California areas.

You must attend the first Zoom meeting.

CLASS DATES AND TIMES Meeting 1: Thursday, Sept 24 - Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Meeting 2: Thursday, Oct 1 - Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Meeting 3: Thursday, Oct 8 - Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Meeting 4: Thursday, Oct 15 - Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Meeting 5: Thursday, Oct 22 Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Meeting 6: Thursday, Oct 29 UCSD Classroom (In person) 8980 Villa La Jolla Dr. - 6pm to 9pm Meeting 7: Sunday, Nov 1 Balboa Park Field trip - 8am to 12pm Meeting 8: Sunday, Nov 8 Balboa Park Field trip - 8am to 12pm Meeting 9: Thursday, Nov 19 Zoom - 6pm to 8pm Additional content including assignments and video content will be available on your Canvas portal.