Portrait Lighting with One Light
One light, one reflector, any face — the whole craft without a studio
- 13 lessons · 2h 21m
- Lifetime access
- Certificate on completion, with a verifiable serial
- Lessons unlock as you finish them
- Sections are released on a schedule
What you'll be able to do
- Place a single light deliberately for any face
- Read the shadow to know what to change
- Shoot flattering portraits in a small, ordinary room
- Use a reflector as a second light without owning one
- Fix hard, flat and blotchy light at the source instead of in post
What's in it
4 sections · 13 lessons · 2h 21m
Seeing light before you shape it3 lessons
- What a light actually does to a faceFree preview11m
- Reading a face: planes, angles and what to hide9m
- The four classic patterns, and when each one is wrong14m
One light, placed properly4 lessons
- Setting the key light: the two-minute method16m
- Feathering: the trick nobody teaches beginners8m
- Distance and falloff — the inverse square law without maths10m
- Filling the shadow with a reflector12m
Faces, in practice4 lessons
- A portrait in a small, badly lit room18m
- Glasses, without the reflection9m
- Two people, one light11m
- Worksheet: the setups, drawnOptional2m
Where you go nextopens after 3 days2 lessons
- Adding a second light without ruining the first15m
- Final check6m
About this course
Most portrait lighting courses start by showing you four lights and a room you don't have. This one starts with the light you already own and takes it as far as it goes, which is much further than people think.
You'll learn to read a face before you touch a light, place a single source deliberately rather than hopefully, and fix the three problems that account for almost every disappointing portrait: the light is too far away, it's in the wrong place, and there's nothing filling the shadow.
Everything is shot in an ordinary room with an ordinary flash. Nothing here needs a studio, and nothing here needs a second light — although the last section shows you exactly what a second one buys you, so you can decide whether you want it.
What learners say
Good pacing. The drip release stopped me bingeing it and forgetting all of it.
Joy Adeyemi
Practical rather than inspirational, which is what I actually needed.
Tom Okafor
Finally understand why my group shots were soft. Wish I'd done this first.
Priya Raman