Portrait Photography: Ten Styles with One Light

- Portraits are the most important and most useful photographs you can make. Because they are people pictures, they have intrinsic value, especially to anyone who knows the person in the picture, but we can do much more than simply take a picture of a person, and with a little bit of care, you can quickly create an impactful and artful portrait. You'll see that lighting is the most important consideration in portraiture, and great light will help you make a great portrait. My name is Levi Sim and in this class, I'll show you how to control the light so that you can make a great portrait any time and in any place.

We'll use just one light source to do this, and while I'll usually use this little speed light to demonstrate, these principles apply to all lights, from sunshine to a work lamp you can buy at the home improvement store. Once we've got the light under control and understand how to use it, I'm going to show you how to maximize it. I'll show you how you can use just one light to make 10 distinct portraits. We'll make artful pictures and pictures useful for business people, and I'll show you how to help people look their best in the pictures too.

Let's get started making 10 portraits with one light.