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Introduction to Studio Portraiture

8-Session Evening Course

Monday, January 28, 2019 - 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. ET
Code: 1K00FZ
Location:
S. Dillon Ripley Center
Room 3035
1100 Jefferson Dr SW
Metro: Smithsonian (Mall exit)
Select your Tickets
$225
Member
$275
Non-Member

Please Note: This class has an adjusted schedule (originally Jan. 7 to March 11, 2019 with 2 date skips).

The January 28 session of this class will take place at Capital Gallery West Building, 600 Maryland Ave SW, Suite 100W, Washington, DC 20024, 1st floor training/conference room. Location and travel details below:

  • If you choose to take Metro, the closest Metro station is L'Enfant Plaza (Yellow/Green/Orange/Blue/Silver lines). Follow the exit for Maryland Ave & 7th St. Take the escalator up and enter the building directly ahead of you.
  • If you choose to drive, there is metered street parking available.
  • Since you will be entering the building after hours, you will have to provide proper identification to the security staff located in the building’s lobby. The conference room is on the first floor across from the guard desk. A Smithsonian Associates staff member will be there to help you find the room.

For decades, photographers have used lighting controls to add special interest to portraits. This course is designed for those interested in learning these techniques. Examples of this portrait tradition exist throughout the Smithsonian Institution’s vast photographic collections.

Classes focus on such topics as posing a subject; using highlight and shadow to create three-dimensional contrast; the difference between high key and low key lighting; how to use a flash meter; and understanding strobe lighting. Participants produce portfolios of portraits of models and their classmates.

Students work in the format of their own choosing and may work in either black-and-white or color. At the first session, the instructor discusses a list of materials that each student should bring to class. Students should have solid camera operation skills. Point-and-shoot cameras are not appropriate for this course.

Instructor: Marty Kaplan

8 sessions, 3 hours each