Timing

This class runs for approximately three hours in our classroom on Saturday, March 25th from 10:30am to 1:30pm.

Overview

Indelible portraits emerge when you combine critical photographic technical skills with sensitive communication. This three-hour workshop helps you significantly improve your photographs of people, especially head and shoulders portraits using available light and simple artificial light sources. Conducted by Oakland based photographer and longtime Looking Glass instructor Dave Strauss, this small workshop – limited to 8 students – teaches you to “art direct” your shots, carefully control your camera settings, and drastically improve your results.

Class Format

Part 1: In the Looking Glass classroom, Dave will show you many examples of “bad” and “good” portraits, explaining why the bad ones don’t work and how to consistently capture the good ones. He’ll discuss lighting, framing, equipment, camera settings, etc.

Part 2: Participants will pick up their cameras to shoot some portraits of each other (or of Dave’s mannequin) that will help you practice and internalize what you’ve learned. At the end of the shooting session, participants will identify a few of their images for discussion. These can be favorite images and/or images that raise technical or aesthetic questions.

Part 3: Everyone will regroup in the Looking Glass classroom to review and learn from your photos. Dave spends time on each image, exploring your intentions and discussing which aspects of your shots are working and which could be improved. Most attendees of Dave’s classes tell us that his review sessions are “the best part”; fun, fascinating, and packed with essential tips and techniques.

Prerequisites

This workshop is best suited for “intermediate and up” photographers who know their way around their camera and camera controls, but not have much experience photographing people. A DSLR or mirrorless cameras is required for the class; Point & Shoot or “bridge” cameras are not well suited to this class. You should know how to set aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to specific values on your camera, even if you’re not quite sure what those values should be. 

Since this is a small group setting and indoors, Looking Glass requires students to take an at-home Covid-19 test and have negative results within 24 hours of attending.

Cancelation Policy

For a full refund, class cancelations must be received in writing no later than 3 days prior to the scheduled class date.