Portrait Photography

Portrait Photography

Improve Your Portrait Skills With Expert Guidance And Comprehensive Online Classes

Learn the Fundamentals

Learn form seasoned pros with years of industry experience. 

Guidance and Inspiration

Get inspired to try new portraiture techniques and improve your portfolio.

Courses For Any Kit

Whether you're working with a basic camera and natural light or have a full studio setup, we've got courses for you.

Precision Lighting Control

Explore advanced techniques to get more creative portraiture results.

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Choose Your Membership Plan

Join Visual Education and embark on your creative journey with flexible membership options tailored to your needs. Whether you want the freedom of a monthly subscription or prefer to dive in for the full year, we have the perfect plan for you.

You'll get access to ALL our portrait tutorials PLUS 900+ other classes covering everything from
Makeup and Filmmaking to Post-Production to CGI.

Monthly Plan

Unlimited Access to 900+ Classes

Learn at Your Own Pace

New Classes Added Every Month

LIVE Workshops Every month

Critiques, Competitions, Community

Get Certified with LEVELS

Multiple Languages

5.0 Google Reviews Rating

Expert Support

Discounts on Top Brands

Only $19 per month
Billed Monthly
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Annual Plan

Unlimited Access to 900+ Classes

Learn at Your Own Pace

New Classes Added Every Month

LIVE Workshops Every month

Critiques, Competitions, Community

Get Certified with LEVELS

Multiple Languages

5.0 Google Reviews Rating

Expert Support

Discounts on Top Brands

Only $14 per month
$228 $168 Per Year, Billed Annually

Trusted by thousands of users and companies worldwide

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Frequently Asked Questions

Google Verified Reviews

Natural-Light Portraiture
One-Light Studio Lighting Setups
Two-Light Studio Lighting Setups
Three-Light Studio Lighting Setups
Four-Light Studio Lighting Setups
Creative Portrait Photography
Business Portrait Setups
Environmental Portraits
Portrait Extras

Portrait Photography Classes

Natural Light Portrait Photography

Learn how to shoot stunning natural light portraits
  • 19 Classes
  • 4 Hours content
  • Level: Basic

From single subjects, couples, families, and children - develop an understanding of all things natural light photography

What you’ll learn:

  • Making the most of natural light
  • Ideal camera settings and lenses
  • Useful equipment and when to use it
  • Photographing children indoors and on location
  • Posing individuals, families and couples
  • How to use reflectors & diffusers to control natural light

One-Light Portrait Lighting Setups

Don’t have a lot of studio lights? No problem…
  • 10 Classes
  • 3 Hours content
  • Level: Basic

Don’t have a lot of studio lights? No problem…

This section shows 10 creative examples of how to use just one light and basic modifiers for portrait photography.

What you’ll learn:

  • Techniques for controlling light in a small studio
  • How to control light and shadow
  • Working with and posing your subject
  • Creating lighting effects such as rim lighting, soft light and shadows
  • Lighting setups for close-up and full-length portraits

Two-Light Portrait Lighting Setups

Master creative portrait photography with two studio lights
  • 10 Classes
  • 2 Hours content
  • Level: Basic - Intermediate

There’s a lot you can do with just two studio lights. All you need is the right knowledge and little creativity.

What you’ll learn:

  • How to make a small studio work for you
  • Balancing multiple lights to create different effects
  • How to create hard, dramatic lighting for portraiture
  • How to create soft, contoured lighting for portraiture
  • Shooting creative portrait photography with a moving subject
  • Setups for both full length and close up portraits

Three-Light Portrait Lighting Setups

Creative portrait photography set-ups with three studio lights
  • 10 Classes
  • 3+ Hours content
  • Level: Intermediate

Test your skills and learn how to get creative with these 10 examples of three light setups for portrait photography.

What you’ll learn:

  • Techniques for controlling light in a small studio
  • Lighting setups for close-up and full-length portraits
  • Incorporating flare for creative effect
  • Lighting techniques for high-key portraits
  • Using v-flats for portrait lighting
  • Combining natural light & studio flash (working with mixed lighting)

Four-Light Portrait Lighting Setups

Creative portrait photography set-ups with four studio lights
  • 12 Classes
  • 3+ Hours content
  • Level: Intermediate - Advanced

The creative possibilities are endless if you’re using four studio lights, and in this course you’ll see exactly  what you can do.

What you’ll learn:

  • Learn how to apply lighting theory to add that extra level of creativity
  • Photographing moving models
  • Lighting techniques for high-key portraits
  • Using v-flats for portrait lighting
  • Creating mood with lighting

Creative Portrait Photography

Learn how to shoot more creative portraits
Creative Portrait Photography
  • 9 Classes
  • 10+ Hours content
  • Level: All Levels

Learn how to shoot more creative portraits with this series of classes, covering everything from Hollywood-style lighting to gelled lighting with bold, eye-catching colours or black and white portraiture.

What you’ll learn:

  • Creating mood and emotion in a photo
  • How to shoot black and white portraits
  • Using specialist lighting modifiers for portrait photography
  • Gelled lighting for creative portrait photography
  • How to create a simple set for portrait shoots
  • Long exposures and multiple exposures for portraiture

Business Portrait Lighting Setups

Learn how to photograph business portraits & corporate headshots
Business Portrait Lighting Setups
  • 10 Classes
  • 5+ Hours content
  • Level: All Levels

Whether you’re working in the studio or on location, learn effective lighting setups and techniques to help you create business portrait photos and headshots your clients will love.

What you’ll learn:

  • How to photograph business portraits & corporate headshots
  • Business portrait lighting setups for studio & location shoots
  • How to photograph subjects with glasses
  • Pre-shoot considerations for business portraiture
  • How to balance mixed lighting (natural light & studio flash)
  • Flattering lighting for older subjects

Environmental Portraits

Learn how to create high-quality images of people at work
Environmental Portraits
  • 6 Classes
  • 2+ Hours content
  • Level: Basic - Intermediate

Environmental portraiture is a genre of photography that’s often in high demand, used for anything from annual reports to websites.

Learn how to create high-quality images of people at work with this series of classes.

What you’ll learn:

  • Effective planning for photographing people at work
  • Equipment & lighting modifiers for shooting on location
  • Balancing natural light & studio flash in tricky situations
  • Techniques for communicating with your subject
  • Setting the scene & composition techniques for location shoots

Portrait Extras

Lighting walkthroughs to help you understand light and guest interviews
Portrait Extras
  • 10 Classes
  • 4+ Hours content
  • Level: All Levels

For portrait photographers looking for a little extra, we’ve collected a series of additional classes to help you further develop your skills.

These include a selection of lighting walkthroughs to help you understand light as well as informative guest interviews with professional photographers, including top wedding photographers and celebrity portrait photographers.

What you’ll learn:

  • Portrait photography tips
  • Understanding light
  • How to identify light in a photo
  • Guest interviews with pro portrait photographers

Unleash Your Creative Potential

Power up your skills in the visual arts
  • 900+ online classes 
  • LIVE workshops to learn and interact in real time
  • Boost your creativity with projects designed to help you improve – fast
  • Get certified with LEVELS
  • Not sure where to start? Check out our Learning Paths or get in touch!
Start Learning

"The lessons are just pure gold. The thoroughness is just unmatched. Every situation explained in great detail.”

Lance Nguyen

"Great to have all this valuable information in a single place. Well organised and easy to access. I’ve been looking for something like this for centuries.”

Nicolae Marian

"You can’t imagine how the last 365 days has changed my photography in a positive way! I tried several other online programmes but yours is the best in explanation and techniques!"

Oliver Ayerle

Karl Taylor Tutor
Meet your tutor

Karl Taylor

Karl Taylor has been a professional photographer for more than 25 years. Commissioned by leading global brands for his precise attention to detail and exquisite control of light, Karl is also known as an instructor who explains complex subjects clearly and effectively. Karl’s unique expertise and commitment to education has led him to work for Hasselblad Camera Company, Broncolor Lighting and Adobe, as well as to appearances on the BBC and elsewhere.

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