Specialization

Photographic Portraiture Specialization 01: Fundamentals and Professional Technique

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5 Teachers

6 modules

55 lessons (8h 33m)

100% positive reviews (2)

397 students

English, German, Spanish, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish

Indonesian · English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Turkish

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Master portrait photography fundamentals, develop unique styles, and create professional-quality images using natural light

...

5 Teachers

Specialization · 6 modules

Embark on a journey to master portrait photography with insights from renowned experts Bob Wolfenson, Emilia Brandão, Lupe de la Vallina, Marta Mas Girones, and Phil Sharp. This comprehensive specialization offers a deep dive into the art of capturing the essence of your subjects through precision, creativity, and emotional connection. Develop your skills in lighting, composition, and direction, harnessing both natural and studio settings to create captivating images. Each instructor brings their unique perspective, guiding you in crafting portraits that transcend mere aesthetics to tell compelling stories.

Explore the nuances of directing subjects, leveraging natural light, and embracing contemporary styles. Whether you aim to capture intimate emotions or modern trends, this program equips you with the tools to refine your personal style. Build a professional portfolio showcasing your technical prowess and artistic vision, from corporate to personal portraits. With this specialization, elevate your photography to new heights, establishing your identity as a skilled and sensitive portrait photographer in the competitive market.

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What will you learn in this specialization?

A total of 6 modules and 55 lessons

A total of 8h 33m of vídeo lessons

Taught by 5 selected expert teachers

Module 1

Getting Inspired

Hi! Welcome and thank you for joining this Domestika Specialization course! What if a portrait could do more than capture a face—what if it could reveal something real, intimate, and human? This journey brings together the distinct visions of Bob Wolfenson, Emilia Brandão, Lupe de la Vallina, Marta Mas Girones, and Phil Sharp, all united by a shared belief: that connection, trust, and emotion are at the heart of every powerful image. Whether working with light, silence, or vulnerability, each of them opens a window into the soul through their lens. To begin this creative path, you’ll first explore the influences and artistic references that have shaped their voices as photographers—laying the foundation for everything you’re about to discover and create.

6 lessons (56m)

1

Introduction

Portrait photography goes far beyond capturing a face — it’s about crafting a connection. This exploration invites you to think deeply about what makes a portrait meaningful: the silent dialogue between photographer and subject, the light, the mood, the intention. Sharpen your eye, strengthen your instincts, and begin seeing portraits as stories waiting to be revealed.

1m

2

Influences | Bob Wolfenson

In this class, we are going to walk a little through my influences and the way I view the formation of a repertoire.

9m

3

Influences | Emilia Brandão

In this lesson, I will show you my top 3 influences, from the beginning of my career until now. My influences are linked to the cinema and editorial photography. I love learning about society and the world through stories with interesting characters, different cultures, and backgrounds in films and books.

7m

4

Influences | Lupe de la Vallina

In this lesson I introduce you to the photographers and artists that have made me take a step forward in some way. People that I look at when I have any questions.

9m

5

Influences | Marta Mas Girones

In this lesson I will explain what my biggest influences are, the artists that have inspired and excited me. I call them "incendiaries" because for me they have been the spark that ignites the fire and becomes a flame.

9m

6

Influences | Phil Sharp

Next, I will cover some of my key inspirations - not only photographers, but also painters.

18m

Module 2

The Secrets of Portrait Photography

What happens when photography meets emotion, intention, and craft? Guided by Bob Wolfenson, explore how portraiture transforms into a powerful form of artistic expression. From concept to final edit, gain insight into creating images that truly resonate—drawing from Bob’s decades of experience capturing the human essence with honesty, elegance, and depth.

9 lessons (1h 3m)

3

First steps: aesthetic proposal and reference panel

In this class, we will talk about the idea, the creative-visual proposal and the conceptual unit, in addition to the importance of understanding the context of the portrait and creating a bond with the team.

8m

4

Materials needed to develop your idea

In this class, we'll see what you need to take a photo, whether in a family, personal or work context, with basic equipment and accessories.

4m

5

Preparing space and light

In this class, I'll tell you how you can organize yourself for the photo day, optimizing the set and the light so that they work in favor of your proposal and the flow of the photo.

5m

6

Model management and movement on set

Here I'll tell you my strategies and tips on how to behave on set and have total control of the situation and then loosen the bonds towards the soul of the meeting.

6m

7

Photographing on a neutral background and under artificial light

In this class we will enter the world of studio portrait with a neutral background and fully controllable light. I will show my work process in this environment.

9m

8

Photographing with natural light

In this class, we will see together how to act in natural light situations, using the sun as an incident or reflected source, outdoors or inside a location.

4m

9

Edition

Now that we have the portrait, here we'll talk about the process of selecting and editing the images that make up your final project.

8m

10

Indication for image treatment

In this class, I'll give you some do's and don'ts when it comes to treating your images and touching up imperfections.

7m

11

Final formats: the importance of presentation

In this class, you will see the enormous importance of the presentation you will give to your work, choosing formats and concepts to bring your image to the world.

7m

Module 3

Directing People for Portrait Photography

Great portraits don’t just happen—they’re built on trust, connection, and empathy. With Emilia Brandão as your guide, discover how emotional awareness can elevate your work behind the camera. Learn how to engage with your subject authentically, creating a space where vulnerability becomes a strength and every image tells a deeper, more human story.

11 lessons (1h 27m)

4

Research, Briefing and Mood Board

In this lesson, I will show you how I work around an idea or a client’s briefing, how I research to create a visual moodboard to help me prepare for a photo shoot. Before a photo shoot, it’s really important to understand the main briefing from a client or the idea you have for the portrait, what message/concept you need to communicate, who the person is, their gender, age, the profile in general.

8m

5

Location

In this lesson, you will understand how I work with a location for a photoshoot. A photo is a moment in space and time. So SPACE is a key element for a portrait. The location is an important component to tell someone’s story. It can be a studio, someone’s house, workplace, interior, or exterior.

7m

6

Equipment, Light, and Your Plan B

In this lesson, you will learn about the equipment I use, the lighting, and the Plan B I like to have ready in case of need. Once you have your mood boards ready and a good idea of the location you can start by preparing the equipment you will take with you for the photoshoot. Flash? Continuous light? Strobes? What accessories? What kind of camera? Which lenses: 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm?

4m

7

Making a Body Language, Facial Expressions and Poses Board

In this lesson, you will learn about making a Body language, facial expressions, and poses board in order to guide you and your sitter throughout the photoshoot. Understanding body language and facial expressions are key to communicating nonverbal signals and messages. Especially in the case of portraiture where you can only use visuals to express a message.

6m

8

Understanding Emotions

In this lesson, you will learn about human emotions, understand what people feel during a photoshoot, and how to build a connection with your sitter.

10m

9

Before the Shoot

In this lesson, you will learn what I do before I start taking photos at a photoshoot, how I engage in a conversation with my sitter, and share my ideas with them.

6m

10

Placing the Sitter on the Set

In this lesson, you will learn how I place my sitter on the set before the shoot to create connection and vulnerability. I start by showing her the first idea of setting/pose on my boards, explaining what I have in mind, and I invite her to “play me” while “I play her”, so I give her the camera to hold and place myself on her spot.

4m

11

Shooting

In this lesson, you will learn how I work during the shooting with the sitter. The start of a photoshoot can always be a little bit stiff; therefore if I have always more than just one idea, I normally keep my favorite ideas for the end, as the person will be more at ease and the connection between us will have been established already.

11m

12

Transferring and Editing

In this lesson, we will see how I transfer and edit with the material after the photoshoot.

9m

13

Image Retouch

In this lesson, you will see how I retouch the selected images using Camera Raw and Photoshop.

16m

14

Delivery and Professional Tips

In this lesson, you will see how I send the photos to my clients and I will also give you a few tips on how I maintain a professional relationship with them.

1m

Module 4

Portrait Photography with Natural Light

What if all you had was a camera, natural light, and a moment of truth? Lupe de la Vallina invites you to explore the emotional power of simplicity in portrait photography. Discover how to connect with your subject, find their most captivating trait, and craft images that feel intimate, honest, and deeply human.

10 lessons (1h 48m)

3

materials

In this lesson we will see what is the minimum material you will need to get good portraits.

4m

4

Choose and improvise

In this lesson we will learn how to choose when circumstances leave us and I will also tell you how to improvise when we do not have the opportunity to choose.

15m

5

Preparation of the photographer

Before our session we not only have to physically prepare all the equipment we need, we also have to prepare ourselves, go with resources to have a proposal to launch to the person we are going to photograph. In this lesson I tell you.

7m

6

Spatio-temporal organization

In this lesson, I'll tell you how we have to do to organize the space, thinking about the goal and results we want to achieve.

9m

7

Photographing interviews

Now that everything is organized, it is time to make the photo session, interviewer and interviewee begin the interview. In this lesson I explain how I move in the session and how I try to go unnoticed.

15m

8

To locate

When I have finished with the photos in the set I had planned, I let the interview continue and I will locate for the following photos.

8m

9

The posed

In this lesson we will tackle the most difficult part but without doubt the most satisfactory all my work and what will also be for you, the one-on-one relationship with the protagonist.

16m

10

Organize photos

In this lesson, I tell you how you classified the photographs once I upload them to the computer and how I do a round of selections to go sifting and discarding everything that is not strong enough.

10m

11

Treatment of photos

In this lesson I am going to explain you to do the light treatment, the color treatment in the cuts, and the necessary adjustments so that what is left in the final image is the closest thing to what I had in my head.

8m

12

Preparation of photos to publish

11m

Module 5

Intimate Photography Portraits

There’s something powerful about revealing someone’s truth through a portrait. Marta Mas Girones, known as leentrelineas, shares how emotional connection and subtle direction can bring out a subject’s most genuine self. Follow her creative process—from first contact to final touches—and explore how honesty becomes the soul of every image.

9 lessons (1h 18m)

4

The conversation

In this lesson I will show you some tools that work for me when it comes to building that link with the model. For me, the key is to leave space and listen without judging. I always try to generate a space in which the portrayed person can express himself quietly by being heard, in which I try to understand and ask him. Giving this space of trust generates an effect that I think is the peak of everything: you become an accompanying hand. And this is where the portrait gets interesting.

8m

5

The location

In this lesson I will show you the spaces that I choose according to what I am looking for. How to decide which one will be better for you depending on what you want to achieve, how the light enters each space depending on the chosen schedule ... Everything influences.

7m

6

The Equipment

In this lesson I will explain the equipment I use in each situation, since it is not the same to photograph one person or several, or take photos of concerts, for example.

3m

7

Working with natural light in Interior: windows

In this lesson I will teach you how to manage the natural light that a window offers us. I will give you tools to get the most out of it. This type of light is much more direct, and we can use it both frontally, to smooth out features of the model, and more laterally to generate the shadows on the face that interest us. The closer we are the harder the light will be, and as we move away it becomes more diffuse.

7m

8

Working with natural light in Interior: space

In this lesson I will give you tools to manage an interior space and get the most out of it. You will learn to choose which elements to stay with and which to set aside so that the model and space have a balanced role. You will also see how to manage this more diffuse lighting once we have moved away from the direct focus of light.

7m

9

Working with natural light in Interior: elements

In this lesson I want to show you tools to manage more artistic scenes, from direct light to crystals. There are spaces that, despite appearing very mediocre at first glance, contain great beauty. Here I will explain to you what everyday elements I work to achieve lighting or image effects that give a special touch to photography.

7m

10

Editing with Lightroom

In this lesson I will show you how I edit with Lightroom the images we have made in our indoor photography practice.

17m

11

Selection

Now let's see how the selection process of those images that we have edited is carried out. Do not forget to check them first!

15m

12

Get moving!

It is not enough to find your own style and practice. You have to move and look for projects you want to work on. If we wait on the sofa for work to arrive, we are clear. Therefore, in this lesson I will tell you ways to spread and teach your work. I will show you how I faced this process at the beginning of my career and how, based on working hard and having perseverance, I have managed to improve to what I am today.

4m

Module 6

Modern Headshot Photography: Capture Profound Portraits

Every face holds a story—sometimes, all it takes is the right lens to reveal it. With Phil Sharp guiding the way, uncover how to create striking headshots that go beyond the surface. Through thoughtful shooting and editing, you'll learn to capture the subtle details that reflect identity, emotion, and the essence of being human.

10 lessons (1h 59m)

3

History of Headshot Photography

In this lesson, I will provide a brief look into the history and evolution of headshots, a visual window into the subject's identity. You will then learn about my personal approach.

13m

4

Materials and Equipment

Next, I will talk about the photography equipment that I’m currently using.

18m

5

Understanding Light

In this lesson, I will delve into light and its relation to portraiture.

15m

6

Setting Up

In this lesson, I will explain how I prepare for a portrait sitting. It's not only important to check your equipment and tools, but also little details in your workspace.

6m

7

Getting the Best Out of Your Subject

With the studio set up, let's talk about how I interact with my sitters to create a comfortable environment. In this lesson, I will share how I elicit a strong performance from my subject to achieve the best possible portraiture.

10m

8

The Shoot

It's time to start capturing the headshots! Next, I will walk you through the process of a typical photoshoot. You will learn what tricks I employ to optimize the elements of visual interest.

11m

9

Selection

Before editing your photos, you'll first need to select your favourites. In this lesson, I will demonstrate my selection process: how I narrow down all my captured images to show my best work.

13m

10

Editing 1

In this lesson, I will give you a look into my post-production workflow. You will see my editing process.

12m

11

Editing 2

Here, I will continue to edit my image, focusing on colour, tonal values, shadowing, texture, and minor retouches.

9m

12

Creating an Online Presence

To end this unit, I will share my approach to using online and social media tools.

8m

• 100% positive reviews (2)
• 397 students
• 55 lessons (8h 33m)
• 57 additional resources (25 files)
• Online and at your own pace

• Audio: English, German, Spanish, Spanish (Latam), French, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Turkish
• Indonesian · English · Spanish · Portuguese · German · French · Italian · Polish · Turkish
• Level: Beginner
• Unlimited access forever

What is this course's project?

Create a portfolio showcasing technical and artistic mastery in portrait photography. Develop skills in directing sessions, using natural light, capturing emotional connections, and producing contemporary styles. Present a professional book categorized by corporate, personal, and creative themes.

Who is this specialization for?

Aspiring photographers eager to master portraiture from a technical and artistic perspective will thrive here. Ideal for professionals seeking to enhance their skill set, creative entrepreneurs craving specialization, and artists wanting to solidify their foundational techniques.

Requirements and materials

No extensive photography background is needed, but basic camera handling skills are helpful. Bring a camera with manual settings, a notebook for ideas, and an eagerness to explore portrait photography techniques and develop your unique visual style.

Lupe de la Vallina

Photographer

9,288

480

Marta Mas Girones

Portrait Photographer

23,374

721

Emilia Brandão

Portrait Photographer

12,570

386

Bob Wolfenson

Photographer

9,456

296

Phil Sharp

Photographer

16,151

403

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What to expect from this specialization course

• Learn at your own pace

  Enjoy learning from home without a set schedule and with an easy-to-follow method. You set your own pace.

• Learn from the best professionals

  Learn valuable methods and techniques explained by top experts in the creative sector.

• Meet expert teachers

  Each expert teaches what they do best, with clear guidelines, true passion, and professional insight in every lesson.

• Certificates

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  If you're a Plus member, get a custom certificate for every specialization course. Share it on your portfolio, social media, or wherever you like.

• Get front-row seats

  Videos of the highest quality, so you don't miss a single detail. With unlimited access, you can watch them as many times as you need to perfect your technique.

• Share knowledge and ideas

  Ask questions, request feedback, or offer solutions. Share your learning experience with other students in the community who are as passionate about creativity as you are.

• Connect with a global creative community

  The community is home to millions of people from around the world who are curious and passionate about exploring and expressing their creativity.

• Watch professionally produced courses

  Domestika curates its teacher roster and produces every course in-house to ensure a high-quality online learning experience.

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