Light with Intention: Advanced Portrait Lighting

Ivan Duran
Track: Lighting & Camera Skills

At a Glance

• Master advanced one-light and multi-light portrait setups.
• Learn how to shape light using position, distance, modifiers, flags, grids, and reflectors.
• Understand how to create depth, dimension, mood, and separation with light.
• Learn how to identify lighting problems and know exactly how to correct them.
• Gain the confidence to create lighting from scratch instead of relying on memorized setups.

Class Description

An advanced, hands-on portrait lighting class designed to move photographers beyond memorized lighting setups and teach them how to see, shape, control, and build light with intention. Students will learn not just where to place a light, but why—how direction, distance, size, intensity, modifiers, fill, negative fill, and additional light sources influence the subject and the final photograph.

Through live demonstrations and hands-on shooting, we will build lighting setups progressively, starting with a single light and adding complexity only when the photograph calls for it. The goal is simple: stop following lighting recipes and start making lighting decisions.

• CLASS INTENSITY: Blue
• CLASS BREAKDOWN
  Classroom instruction & demos: 30%
  Hands-on: 40%
  Post-production: 30%
• PREREQUISITES:
  Lighting 3: Confident with additive light and OCF
  Lighting 4: Strong use of multiple lights and mixed lighting situations.
  Post-Production 3: Can work with layers, layer masks & understand blend modes
  Post-Production 4: Digital art & Composite experience. Experience in blending image with brushes
  Studio Business 1: All Levels

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