Are you planning on starting your portrait photography journey? We’ve got you covered. Even though mastering portrait photography takes considerable time and practice, you can elevate your skills by learning and experimenting. So here are the best portrait photography courses available online. These courses are ideal for beginners, intermediates, and professionals.
In this article, we have provided details such as ratings, duration, cost, and certifications for each course. This will make it easier for you to choose the best course according to your needs.
Table of contents
- 1. Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
- 2. Complete Portrait Photography Course (For Beginners)
- 3. A Complete Model Photography Course By Frank Doorhof
- 4. Up-Close Portrait Photography: Start to Finish (For Beginners)
- 5. Portrait Photography with Natural Light (For Intermediates)
- 6. Creative Portraits Photography Course (For Beginners and Professionals)
- 7. Indoor Self-Portrait Photography On A Budget (For Intermediates)
- 8. Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
- 9. The Ultimate Portrait Retouching Course
- 10. Natural Light Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
- Wrapping Up – Best Portrait Photography Courses
Let’s dive in deeper to see what these portrait photography courses have to offer.
1. Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
Created by: William Carnahan, Phil Ebiner
What will you learn:
This course by William Carnahan and Phil Ebiner is the ultimate beginner portrait photography course. This course will take you through the basics of portrait photography. From camera settings to editing final portraits, every step is explained in detail to help you understand it easily.
You’ll learn to take better portraits with any camera, with the proper settings, lighting, and appropriate posing guidelines. Additionally, this course provides downloadable photos to practice editing and tips for shooting weddings, headshots, and family portraits. It also includes premium support from the instructors.
By the end of this course, you’ll be able to take better portraits with any camera – DSLR, mirrorless, smartphone, or point-and-shoot.
Why should you take this course:
- The basics of portrait photography explained
- Easy to understand
- Downloadable resources to practice editing
- Premium support from instructors
- Affordable
Available on: Video School
Course Duration: 4.5 hours
Course Rating: 4.8 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $5.00
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
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2. Complete Portrait Photography Course (For Beginners)
Created by: Lead Academy
What will you learn:
This course by Lead Academy is ideal for beginners willing to start their journey in portrait photography. It will allow you to learn about the principles and professional aspects of portrait photography. It will help you understand the portrait lighting patterns.
You’ll also get to explore off-camera and on-camera flash ideas for getting better lighting. This course provides knowledge about live portrait and natural light portrait sessions. You’ll also learn to photograph a family in natural light.
Additionally, the course provides e-learning study materials and an MCQ exam. You’ll also get 24/7 support access.
Why should you take this course:
- Helps you understand more about portrait lighting patterns
- Explains off-camera and on-camera flash ideas
- Provides e-learning study materials
- Provides an MCQ exam
- 24/7 support access
Available On: lead-academy.com
Course Duration: 3.0 hours
Course Rating: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $25.63
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
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3. A Complete Model Photography Course By Frank Doorhof
Created by: Frank Doorhof
What will you learn:
This portrait photography course is suitable for both beginners as well as professionals. Anyone with a camera can master model photography after learning from this course. It covers everything you need to start and excel in this genre.
This course contains 50+ minutes of pure gold knowledge, including 50+ minutes of behind-the-scenes tutorial, covering model direction, lighting, shoot setup, and composition
This course is created by world-renowned portrait photographer and instructor Frank Doorhof, and is your holy grail if you want to learn to create stunning portrait shots.
Why should you take this course:
- Learn what model photography is and its differences from other genres
- Explore the basics of capturing stunning fashion portraits with professional models
- Learn the tricks to combining art and commerce for a more creative process
- Discover strategies for creating visually compelling fashion photos
- Learn how to conceptualize ideas for digital fashion and model photography
Available On: PhotoWhoa.com
Course Duration: 1 Hour
Course Rating: No rating yet
Price: $39
Course Completion Certificate – No
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4. Up-Close Portrait Photography: Start to Finish (For Beginners)
Created by: Chris Orwig
What will you learn:
This course by Chris Orwig is all about up-close and natural light portrait photography. It is suitable for beginners just starting in the portrait field. This course will assist you in fabricating authentic portrait photographs and capturing their essence, emotions, and personality.
It covers post-production editing of portraits using Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
You will learn about combining black and white adjustments with creative cropping, retouching, color, and tone enhancements to create stunning portraits.
Chris will also walk you through the process of finding the most compelling image that stands out from the rest. So this course not only guides you to capture beautiful portraits but also to finish them with perfect and appealing editing.
Why should you take this course:
- Post-production editing explained in detail
- Explains about black and white adjustments and creative cropping
- Helps you in choosing the most compelling image
- Affordable
Available on: LinkedIn Learning
Course Duration: 2.5 hours
Course Rating: 4.6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $17.65
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
5. Portrait Photography with Natural Light (For Intermediates)
Created by: Lupe de la Vallina
What will you learn:
This portrait photography course by Lupe de la Vallina helps you create memorable portraits with minimal resources. It focuses on capturing portrait photographs with natural light. This course is suitable for intermediates who have some basic knowledge of Photoshop. To take this course, you’ll need a reflex camera in manual mode, a luminous lens, and the Adobe Bridge software.
The course includes a guide to choosing the appropriate materials, shooting elements, and improvising tips to make flawless portraits. You’ll also get an idea of how to organize the photos to work on them. This course will teach you to organize space and time to find the best spots for photography. You’ll learn how to use light and color to convey the right mood and intensity.
So this course covers everything from capturing attractive portraits in natural light to finishing them off with final editing and a personal touch. This is one of the best portrait photography courses online.
Why should you take this course:
- Explains everything you need to know about natural light photography
- Explains the use of light and color effectively
- Explains the final editing of portraits
- Guide to choosing appropriate materials and shooting elements.
- Very affordable
Available On: Domestika
Course Duration: 2.1 hours
Course Rating: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $5.66
Course Completion Certificate – No
6. Creative Portraits Photography Course (For Beginners and Professionals)
Created by: Lara Zankoul
What will you learn:
This course by Lara Zankoul takes you through everything you need to know to create extraordinary, creative portraits. It will give you some innovative techniques to help you tell an appealing story in a single frame.
This course focuses on portrait photography lessons that teach you to add fine art to your portraits. It gives an idea about concept, lighting, shooting, and pre-processing. It also comes with a live demo in a studio to help you understand the concepts clearly. This course covers four important stages: Lighting, framing, mood setup, and image retouching.
It is ideal for beginners as well as professionals who are interested in combining fine arts with photography.
Why should you take this course:
- Innovative techniques to tell a beautiful story in a single frame
- Includes a live demo to understand the concepts clearly
- Covers important steps of portrait photography
Available On: Artandcreativity.com
Course Duration: 4.3 hours
Course Rating: 4.5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $49.00
Course Completion Certificate – No
7. Indoor Self-Portrait Photography On A Budget (For Intermediates)
Created by: Taya Iv
What will you learn:
This is one of the best portrait photography courses by Taya Iv. It is perfect for intermediates with basic knowledge of photography who are interested in learning and exploring self-portrait photography. This indoor self-portrait course will guide you to comfortably take creative self-portraits indoors. You don’t need the latest equipment or expensive props to excel in this genre. You’ll learn to use simple items in your home to create breathtaking portraits that tell a story.
This course provides engaging videos about inspiration, self-portrait photography techniques, and much more. You’ll also gain access to a community of self-portrait photographers, and you’ll be able to communicate with Taya.
By the end of this course, you’ll feel more comfortable in front of the camera, and you’ll be able to take beautiful photos of yourself and make the most of your indoor space with the equipment you already have.
Why should you take this course:
- Step-by-step guide for self-portrait photography
- Helps you to use simple items in your home to create attractive portraits
- Includes engaging videos to boost your confidence
- Access to a community of self-portrait photographers
- Support by the instructor
Available On: photographycourse.net
Course Duration: 4.3 hours
Course Rating: 5.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $99.00
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
8. Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
Created by: Ravi Dhingra
What will you learn:
This course by Ravi Dhingra is one of the best portrait photography courses online. It explains the fundamentals of portrait photography. It is ideal for beginners who want to understand the concepts of portraits and learn about the different techniques, poses, and lighting. This course gives you a basic idea about the camera settings required for portraits. It mainly focuses on different types of lighting used in portrait photography. It covers front lighting, butterfly lighting, front angular lighting, split lighting, and more.
This course also includes techniques to make your subject comfortable, posing tips, and tips for using gear. Additionally, it comes with some assignments and access to a discussion forum.
Why should you take this course:
- A detailed explanation of the fundamentals of portrait photography
- Covers all types of lighting techniques
- Includes posing tips and tips for using gears
- Comes with assignments
- Access to the discussion forum
- Affordable
Available On: pixelviilage.com
Course Duration: 2.0 hours
Course Rating: 5.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $12.60
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
9. The Ultimate Portrait Retouching Course
Created by: Mac Moses
What will you learn:
This portrait photography retouching course teaches you how to retouch your portrait photos to look clean, natural, and professional. You’ll learn how to fix skin imperfections, smooth skin without losing texture, brighten eyes, enhance facial features, and shape light to make your subject stand out.
It also shows you how to use smart, AI-assisted tools to speed up your workflow, so you can retouch portraits quickly while keeping them realistic.
By the end, you’ll know how to turn any portrait into a polished final image that’s ready for clients or your portfolio.
Why should you take this course:
- You’ll learn techniques to enhance skin, eyes, lighting, and overall facial details without making the image look unnatural
- Unlock tips to use AI tools and smart Photoshop methods to retouch portraits faster.
Available On: PhotoWhoa
Course Duration: 1.5 Hours
Course Rating: No Rating Yet
Price: $30
Course Completion Certificate – No
10. Natural Light Portrait Photography (For Beginners)
Created by: Kevin LJ
What will you learn:
Portrait photography courses by Kevin LJ give you all the essentials of portrait photography. It is perfect for photographers who want to learn the art of natural light portraits. It covers all the steps of taking portraits, like choosing lens focal length, checking your shutter speed, refining your natural expressions, directing your subject, reading the light, and much more. You’ll also get an idea about working in bright light, shade, and overcast light. So if you’re interested in exploring natural light portrait photography, this course is for you.
Why should you take this course:
- Explains in depth about natural light photography
- Explains about bright light, shade, and overcast light
- Helps you choose the lens focal length and check the shutter speed
Available On: photographycourse.net
Course Duration: 4.3 hours
Course Rating: 5.0 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Price: $29.00
Course Completion Certificate – Yes
Wrapping Up – Best Portrait Photography Courses
So now that you have an idea about all the best courses to learn portrait photography available online, you can choose the course that suits you best. You can check for criteria like price, duration, ratings, and certifications.
Get portrait photography lessons that will help you start your photography journey and enhance your skills. You would also want to check out our best-selling portrait photography products, 3,100+ Portrait Photography Poses
If you think we missed out on any good courses, let us know in the comments.
