Portrait Photography: Photographing People with Confidence

Have you ever wanted to take more natural and engaging portraits of friends, family, artists, creatives or everyday people? This immersive two-day workshop will help you build the skills and confidence to create compelling portraits using natural light, simple studio lighting techniques and thoughtful direction.

Designed for photographic students with a basic understanding of manual camera settings, the workshop explores the art of connecting with people through photography. You'll learn how to compose stronger images, put subjects at ease and create portraits that tell a story. Build your portraiture skills for any purpose including personal, professional, editorial or publication contexts.

Led by acclaimed editorial photographer Britta Campion, the workshop combines inspiring presentations, live demonstrations and hands-on shooting sessions in a supportive and collaborative environment. Drawing on her extensive experience photographing artists, writers, performers and public figures, Britta will share practical techniques and creative approaches that can be applied to any portrait situation.

The workshop begins with an exploration of contemporary portrait photography and what makes a portrait memorable. Through examples from her published work, Britta will discuss composition, lighting, lens choices, camera settings and ways of building rapport with subjects to capture authentic expressions and personality. Students will learn how to make the most of available light, as well as when and how to introduce simple lighting tools to enhance a portrait.

On the first day Britta will photograph a live model on location across the beautiful NAS campus while explaining her creative process and decision-making in real time. Students will then have the opportunity to photograph the model themselves, experimenting with different approaches while receiving individual guidance and feedback.

On the second day, students will undertake an additional portrait shoot in the NAS lighting studio. Britta will introduce a range of fundamental studio lighting techniques for portraiture, demonstrating simple lighting set-ups using professional studio equipment. Students will then apply these techniques in a practical session in the studio.

The workshop concludes with an introduction to image selection and editing. Britta will share her professional workflow for reviewing, selecting and refining photographs using Photo Mechanic and Adobe Photoshop, demonstrating practical techniques to help students present their work with confidence.

By the end of the workshop, students will:

• Create stronger, more engaging portraits of people
• Gain confidence directing and photographing subjects
• Learn to work effectively with natural light and simple lighting setups
• Understand how lens choice, composition and timing influence a portrait
• Develop a practical workflow for selecting and editing images
• Understand the characteristics and visual language of editorial portrait photography
• Apply appropriate camera settings and exposure techniques for portraiture using available and studio light
• Compose portraits that communicate personality, narrative and place

Places are limited to 12 students, ensuring plenty of hands-on shooting time, personal feedback and individual attention throughout the weekend.

Prerequisites
Students should have a basic working knowledge of their digital camera, including manual exposure controls.

* NAS Short Courses are open to students of ages 16 years and over. The NAS Art Club is open to students between 15 - 17 years of age.

* What to bring? Please refer to the list of required materials in the Art Materials field below.

• Digital Single Lens Reflex (DSLR) or mirrorless camera
• Additional camera lenses (optional)
• Memory card
• Notebook and pen
• Tripod (optional)