Portraiture and Lighting II

The Magic Keeps Happening

Johnny Knight and Bill Skinner have teamed up to present this original and unique 7-week class. Together Johnny and Bill have over 35 years of experience making their living as Professional Photographers and in the Photographic Industry.

You will need a DSLR camera (any brand) and two lenses, a fixed "fast lens" and a zoom lens of any type. RSCPClasses will provide:

• Studio lighting equipment – lights, light stands, diffusers, reflectors, etc. Students may also bring in their own lighting equipment and/or creative lighting sources for experimentation

This 7-week class is designed as a follow-up to the Portraiture and Lighting class. Any student who has completed the P&L class is invited to enroll for Lighting II. For this session, enrollment will be limited to 8 students.

Each week of Lighting II is designed to be a studio lab session. Students will use the RSCPClasses studio lights to create portraits of volunteer models. The instructor will provide students with several volunteer models from outside of class. Students are also welcome to bring in their own models; all models should be comfortable with being watched and photographed by the class. (Students are not eligible to serve as class models.)

Each student will create three kinds of portraits:

• fulfilling a specific technical challenge demonstrated & assigned by the instructor (e.g., make the subject look young, backlight the subject, light the subject primarily with reflected light);
• duplicating the lighting of an existing portrait (students may bring in portraits of their choosing, or they may choose from a selection of portraits shown in class); and
• a final portrait project conceived and executed by the student.

Experimentation with lighting equipment will be encouraged; students may use RSCPClasses lights and/or may bring in lighting equipment of their own.

All classes will be supervised by the instructors, but there will be very little formal lecture – the bulk of each class will consist of working with lights and taking portraits. The instructor will be the guiding resource in class, and help as necessary. Students are responsible for the lighting, with close oversight by the teachers.

Each week three or four students will be allowed hands-on time with the lights; other students may be called upon to assist; remaining students are expected to learn by observation and asking questions. The results will be critiqued at the start of the next class. If the student decides to make prints those will also be looked at (Lab not included, please contact Richard to rent Lab time).

Photography means painting with light. At the end of this class you will be much more familiar with the equipment that allows you to paint with light and better able to see the subtleties of the lights you use.