Creative Essentials: studio lighting and portraiture (beginners)

About this course

Participants explore how studio light affects portraits, beginning with a basic single-light setup and safe positioning of the subject. Guided practical exercises cover camera or smartphone control, focus, exposure and composition, including the use of background, perspective and framing. The course also introduces front and side lighting to create contrasting portrait styles. Learners produce a small edited set of portrait images demonstrating attention to lighting, clarity and presentation.

What you'll learn

• Set up and use a basic studio lighting arrangement for portrait photography.
• Adjust focus, exposure and positioning to capture sharp, well-exposed portraits.
• Apply front-lighting and side-lighting techniques to create different portrait styles.
• Compose and frame portraits using background, subject positioning and perspective.
• Edit a small set of portrait images to improve their lighting, clarity and presentation.

Is this course right for you?

The course is designed for adult learners at beginner level and explicitly welcomes people with no previous experience. Participation involves guided practical activities in a studio, using either a camera or smartphone to make portraits.

• No prior experience is needed.
• Suitable for learners using either a camera or smartphone.
• Includes practical studio exercises and portrait photography.