A long conversation that ends in a photograph

Portrait

Portrait photography

The discipline

The portrait workshops are about the sitting, not the lighting diagram. Available light, long attention, and the slow negotiation between what a face offers and what a photographer notices. Studio craft is taught where it serves the person, never the gear.

Sessions alternate between photographing and being photographed — because you direct better once you remember how it feels to be on the other side.

Departures

Field notes

Light the conversation first; the face will follow.

The sitter's chair matters more than your lens choice.

End every session five minutes after the best frame, not before it.

Questions, answered

Do we work with models?

Sometimes, but more often with each other and with local sitters who volunteer. A portrait workshop full of professionals teaches you less than one full of faces.

Is studio lighting covered?

One day on most portrait workshops — enough to demystify it. The rest is window light, doorways, and weather.

What should I bring?

A short telephoto or normal lens and something to talk about. The second matters more.

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