In this tutorial you will learn how to shoot amazing outdoor portraits using all natural light from the sun. And here’s the best part. . . you don’t need ANY expensive lighting equipment! All you need is your camera, and a little bit of imagination. By the end of this course, you will be shooting outdoor portraits like a pro. . .

SHOOTING ON LOCATION

LIGHTROOM RAW EDITING

PHOTOSHOP RETOUCHING

COURSE ROADMAP

Here, we give you a step by step layout of the topics this course will cover. We will look at planning a photo shoot, scouting locations and selecting the right gear. Then we’ll go outside and show you how to capture winning images on location. And finally, we’ll finish things off in Lightroom and Photoshop with an easy to use digital workflow.

GEAR TALK! CAMERAS AND LENSES

I have way too much camera gear. . . Said no photographer ever! JT, Ashley and Lewis break down a list of all the equipment you need to shoot portraits on location. We talk cameras, lenses and everything in between.

MODEL GO BAG

Ashley takes us where no one has ever gone before, inside her model go bag. Shoes, wardrobe, hair spray, you name it! She breaks down everything that a new model needs to shoot portraits on location.

SCOUTING LOCATIONS

Shooting portraits outside takes careful planning, and one of the best things you can do is scout your locations ahead of time. We’ll show you what to look for in a great portrait location and how to create a map of all your favorite places.

ORGANIZING YOUR DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY PORTFOLIO

This subject does not often get a lot of attention. And yet, organization is absolutely critical to maintaining a healthy photography portfolio. In this episode, we will discuss best practices for keeping your digital files organized. When you have thousands of images in your portfolio, finding specific photos can be a huge challenge. . . unless you have a good system.

ROUNDTABLE PLANNING

This is it! The day of the shoot! Before we break out the cameras, JT, Ashley and Lewis sit down to discuss ideas for the first photo session. You gotta love it when a plan comes together.

TELEPHOTO – ASHLEY AND THE YELLOW DRESS

In our first photo session, Lewis uses a telephoto lens to break down a few basic principles for creating that creamy, out of focus background.

Photography Skill Book
Shooting with a telephoto lens
Creating a shallow depth of field
Using a zoom lens to create different looks
Communicating with your model

LIGHTROOM – ASHLEY AND THE YELLOW DRESS

Welcome to our first lesson in Adobe Lightroom! Here, we take a quick tour of the interface and get familiar with some of Lightroom’s basic tools. Then we’ll organize and edit the images from our photoshoot with Ashley and the Yellow Dress.

Lightroom Skill Book
Learning the Library Module
Organizing photos using Collections
Learning the basics of the Development Module

PHOTOSHOP – SKIN RETOUCHING
ASHLEY AND THE YELLOW DRESS

In this lesson we jump into Photoshop to fine tune one of our images with Ashley and the Yellow Dress. Here, we use Frequency Separation and light painting to create beautiful skin retouching. The final product is a beautifully polished professional image.

Photoshop Skill Book
Skin retouching using Frequency Separation
Light painting with adjustment layers

WIDE ANGLE AT THE WINERY

JT breaks out the wide angle prime lenses to create beautiful environmental portraits at our first location.

Photography Skill Book
Shooting with a wide angle lens
Creative compositions with architecture
Bringing the environment into your portrait

LIGHTROOM – WIDE ANGLE AT THE WINERY

JT takes us into Lightroom for some advanced editing on the wide angle images captured of Ashley at the winery.

Lightroom Skill Book
Using the Development Module
Refining skin tones with RAW editing

TELEPHOTO ON LOCATION
ASHLEY AND THE METAL CHAIR

Here, we move to a beautiful outdoor pavilion to shoot a new series of telephoto images. Ashley shows us how to turn a simple chair into a work of art.

Photography Skill Book
Setting up your equipment for a location shoot
Blurring out the background with a telephoto lens
Using chairs in your composition to create a natural look

LIGHTROOM – ASHLEY AND THE METAL CHAIR

In this lesson, we jump back into Lightroom to organize and edit our images from outdoor pavilion. Here, we showcase some of Lightroom’s powerful local editing tools.

Lightroom Skill Book
Organizing your photos into Collections
Learning the graduated neutral density tool for local edits
Learning the circular gradient tool for local edits

PHOTOSHOP – ASHLEY AND THE METAL CHAIR

Once again, Frequency Separation is the star of the show as we fine tune our images with beautiful skin retouching and light painting.

Photoshop Skill Book
Skin retouching with frequency separation
Light painting with Curves adjustment layers

TELEPHOTO SHOOT AT THE SECRET UMBRELLAS

Un unexpected bonus location pops up as a nearby restaurant opens a cluster of colorful umbrellas. The team uses this beautiful backdrop for a series of amazing new images.

Photography Skill Book
Using a telephoto lens to blur out the background
Creating colorful compositions with the environment
Isolating you’re subject for more impact

LIGHTROOM – ASHLEY AND THE SECRET UMBRELLAS

We jump pack into Lightroom to explore the umbrella shoot. We also take on a few bonus images from the streetlamp pavilion.

Lightroom Skill Book

Organizing your photos into Collections

Using the graduated neutral density tool for local edits

Using the circular gradient tool for local edits

PHOTOSHOP DOUBLE HEADER
ASHLEY AND THE SECRET UMBRELLAS

In this lesson we perform a little digital plastic surgery using Photoshop to reconstruct an image to perfection.

Photoshop Skill Book
Skin retouching with frequency separation
Digital plastic surgery with Photoshop

WIDE ANGLE AT THE SECRET UMBRELLAS

JT breaks out the wide angle lens for a whole new perspective on the beautiful umbrella location.

Photography Skill Book
Using a wide angle lens to create a shallow depth of field
Incorporating your environment into your portraits

PHOTOSHOP
REMOVING UNWANTED BACKGROUND OBJECTS

JT uses a little Photoshop magic to eliminate distracting background objects in our latest series of wide angle portraits.

Photoshop Skill Book
Removing unwanted background elements using Photoshop

JT Armstrong

JT spent seven years in the United States Air Force as a combat camera operator. Today he serves as lead video producer for Premium Light Academy.

Ashley Fay

A model, actor and content creator, Ashley serves as Director of Business Development for Premium Light Academy.

Lewis Carlyle

A travel photographer and documentary filmmaker, Lewis is the Creative Director for Premium Light Academy.