The Beginner’s Guide to Classic Portrait Photography (Udemy.com)
Everything you need to know to create portraits, including gear choice, settings, editing, and working with your subject
Created by: Brittany Leigh (SnapChick)
Last updated April 2018
What you will learn
- Master the elements of achieving a classic portrait, such as gear, settings, lighting and location.
- Pose and communicate with your subject more effectively.
- Create an efficient and welcoming portrait session process for clients or friends.
- Add edits to a portrait to enhance the finished product.
- Master exposure, aperture, shutter speed, ISO and focusing, along with which settings are appropriate for different situations.
- Identify the pros and cons of various camera gear and shoot locations.
How it compares
Against the other 275 rated Udemy courses in Photography on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.4 out of 5higher than 31% of them
- Reviews131#170 of 276 by number of reviews
- Length3.3 hourslonger than 54% of them
- Last updatedApril 2018earlier than 83% of them
Course Description
If you are a beginner photographer or a more experienced photographer who would like to capture better classic portraits, this course is for you. Whether you are exploring a career in photography or would simply like to capture beautiful portraits, classic portraits are the starting point for furthering your creative skills.
The Beginner’s Guide to Classic Portrait Photography is designed to provide you with all of the practical knowledge you need to create classic portraits. It is a gentle entry into the subject, beginning with a primer on basic photography concepts and gear, and then moving into specifics for portraiture, like gear choice, settings, editing, and working with your subject.
In this course, you will…
- Discover the characteristics of a classic portrait, including the lighting, the posing and more.
- Develop your understanding of photography basics, like exposure, focusing and file types, and how to adjust each in your camera.
- Examine the gear that can be used for classic portraits - cameras and lenses, lighting, backgrounds and environments - including the benefits and drawbacks of each. This will allow you to determine what gear is right for you.
- Master specifics of working with your subject, including specific tips for building rapport, for posing, and for overcoming shyness.
- Identify how to set up a portrait studio, even if the “studio” is an outdoor location.
- Practice the basic edits that are typically expected in a classic portrait, and more advanced edits that can be done. Download a free trial of Adobe Lightroom Classic, a popular editing application.
- Suggestions for ways to practice your portrait photography.
- Discover how you can apply your own creativity and still retain the look and feel of a classic portrait.
Classic portraits are fundamental for a portrait photographer’s portfolio, and they are a building block for more advanced portrait work. Master these, and you will have the know-how to expand your portrait photography with your creativity.
In this course, you will also complete exercises that will help you build your photography knowledge and solidify your experience. As we work through classic portraits from start to finish, you will practice focusing and using different camera settings to see how they affect exposure. At several points in the course, you will be challenged to create a classic portrait of your own. As you move through the course, you will be able to see your improvement!
I’ve designed this course to be comprehensive but practical, with low-pressure exercises to help you on your journey to becoming a portrait photographer. Photography is truly an art form, and it should be treated as such. Once you learn the mechanics, your creativity can lead you beyond to create your own personal style of portraits.
So join me! Enroll now to master classic portraits.
Instructor Details
- 4.4 Rating
131 Reviews
Brittany Leigh (SnapChick)
I live and breathe photography. As TheSnapChick on YouTube, I have over 100,000 subscribers, and over 20 million people have watched my videos. On my channel, I share videos about photography as an art form and as a lifestyle, with a healthy dose of technology thrown in. Plus, adventure! I share the process of portrait and landscape photography from concept to finished product. I discuss photography techniques, art topics, photography basics and modeling. I also share photography gear and gadget reviews, and I answer viewer questions. Through my videos, I also bring viewers along on field trips to the city and backcountry. I’ve been teaching for more than eight years and my viewers enjoy my practical and fun approach to learning and creating photography!
My goal in creating Udemy courses and YouTube videos is to spread my passion for photography in an attainable way. We don’t all have all of the newest and most expensive gear. We don’t all make our art in the same way....and I think that’s really great! Let’s celebrate the differences in our photography.
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Reviews
By David Wesley Bivens on 10/29/2022
(1) It has been a great investment so far. I’ve got several years as a professional concert and event photographer behind me, and originally started with a 35 mm canon. I’ve updated my camera collection and have 2 canons both crop sensor and 1canon 6d mk ii that I absolutely love. I have chosen to focus more on portrait and headshot photography and am loving this course. (2)Half way through and I’m realizing I already know most of this information. Questioning myself on this purchase. It is useful information, I just already know it with minimal exception.
By Charles Richards on 6/10/2022
The course is well put together and detailed. Everything is explained well and the practice exercises definitely help. The only thing that I would love to see added to this course, would be a more detailed section on outdoor portraits. If you want to learn classic portraits, this course is definitely the way to go!
By Ekjyot Chahal on 5/10/2020
This is exactly what I was looking for. Very engaging course.. Anyone who is interested in Portrait photography must enroll for this course. I was so hooked to it the completed in a day itself. Highly recmmended.
By Jay Parham on 6/10/2019
I think this is a very good lesson for me to be taking. Knowing I have little camera experience aside from Kodak. Once again I learned a great deal about photography from this lesson. Thank you very much!
By Ron Jobe on 9/19/2018
Leigh is an outstanding instructor and has a gift for keeping your interest. I have been in photography at varying stages for 50 years and she has a way of reminding me of things I have forgotten and introducing new things I haven’t thought of to date.
By Andrew on 7/26/2018
Course completed now. Interesting, but very very basic indeed. All the stuff about photography basics - they could be chopped and substituted with more actual examples. After all, if you are looking for a course in Italian cookery, you don't need to hear about the types of pans used - yes they are important, but that bit should not dominate the entire package. However, it's very nicely presented in a non-patronising way and the passion shines through. For Snapchick - it's a great advertisement for your style and delivery. For a portrait course, it's not got the perfect balance for me, it needs to go further.
By Mauricio Sanchez Gutierrez on 6/6/2018
Es una manera rápida y sencilla para introducirnos a los elementos básicos que una persona que no sabe nada, necesita saber para entender como se hace fotofrafía de retrato.... gracias!!!!! Brittany It is a quick and easy way to access the basic elements that a person who does not know anything needs to know about making portrait photography... Thanks!! Brittany
By Kevin Harradine on 5/27/2018
As with most online courses it was much easier to dip in and out as time permitted. The constant pose, and appearance of Brittany meant that even after a week or more away it seemed like only 5 minutes since watching the last lecture. Everything was explained in a concise yet easily watchable way and referring to her own past allowed for an empathy with the presenter and made me believe she had actually been through the same journey. Excellent course.
By Karl Draber on 5/24/2018
This Course is to basic, not enough information about the equipment, lighting equipment or camera equipment and how to use the equipment. Not enough talk about what type of equipment to buy and how to set up the lighting equipment for a portrait. Not enough talk about what type of camera equipment to buy and how to use it. Brittany Leigh is very easy to listen to and very easy to understand.
By Jim shideler on 5/7/2018
It is very good. The presentations are excellent. The presentations are excellent. The instructor is easy to understand, knowledgeable, and through. She gets to the point in an understandable way and keeps my interest. Excellent instructor and presentation.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 88 / 100






