Portrait Classes in NYC, New York

Making a great portrait doesn't necessarily require expensive gear.  Take for example one of the most famous portraits of all time, Steve McCurry's Afghan Girl, shot for the cover of National Geographic in 1985 using only a 35mm camera and natural light.  It's not the tools themselves that do the job, but rather the mind creating with...

Écorché sculpture workshop is strong method to master and to commit the complex forms of the human figure to memory. This course will focus on better understanding the skull and muscles of the face, as well as it's various facial features. Students will use oil-based clay on an armature to build a life size anatomical sculpture of...

Creative Portrait - Make portraits that transcend  It's time to have fun, experiment! This course will guide you through all that there is to see to unleash your imagination and create the most unique portraits. Made for everyone, using any types of cameras, with or without Manual Mode. Course will include a review of the kinds of portraiture...

Working from the live model, students will learn to work in a direct alla-prima approach where they will aim for good draftsmanship, values and color. This is a fundamental skill in painting, and learning to mix colors in the right value and placing them correctly in the composition takes much practice.  There will be constant demonstrations...

Join us in this hands-on intermediate level course to learn the basics of the compelling portrait. Explore the principles of posing, composition and lighting patterns that increase the visual impact of a portrait. There are many things that go behind a portrait, such as the relationship between the photographer and the subject. Learn how this relationship...

Learn how to capture expressive portraits of your favorite people in this beginner-intermediate painting class. In the first few weeks you  will  gather the tools, materials and set up to devise portraits in a personal expressive way. Our course will begin with preliminary drawing exercises to study the human face- how to capture the placement...

Portraiture has been around for many centuries. Before the digital age and even before the age of film, portraits had been created through other mediums such as paintings and sculptures. A portrait is a treasure that people keep around for a lifetime. A great portrait embodies the essence of the person and tells his or her story without saying a word....

In this class, we'll discuss lens choices and get hands-on experience working with natural and artificial light and posing. Students will take turns shooting and being portrait subjects to get important insights into the experience on both sides of the camera.

In the Basics, we’ll talk about composing your portraits to make them more interesting, how to capture the character of your subject and how to use outdoor and artificial light and backgrounds.

This class will give students the basics necessary to draw and paint the human face. Learn how to use light and shadow to create the 3D forms of the human head. A live model will be used each session.  Q&A Q: Is the school disability-friendly?  A: Yes. The JCC is completely accessible. You take an elevator from the lobby down to...

Portrait Beginners' guide - Learn the dos and don'ts of Portraiture Welcome to Portraiture!. This workshop is a full guide to the fundamentals of portraiture. You'll learn: Posing, capturing the moments, Gestures, Body language, backgrounds, shooting angles, and directing and interacting with your subjects. Additionally, you'll learn how to work with...

Learn about anatomy, proportion, line and value by working from quick studies and longer poses. Develop your ability to capture the model’s features and personality; then move onto drawing your friends and family. Prerequisite: Drawing for Beginners. For the Supply List, please CLICK HERE

Our approach is based around close observation from life, and an emphasis on anatomical structure and form relationships. Studying form relationships in the portrait and/or figure will inform students on how to think three-dimensionally, judging likeness with volume and mass, and learning to read depth. We will cover basic “block-in” technique,...

“Painting Selfies” - Capture Your Selfies (or Others) in Painting/Drawing 3 person master class with professional artist. Enjoy a creative and absorbing class as you learn how to paint your own selfie portraits with reference to self portraits by the master painters though out art history. Explore the fundamentals of drawing and painting the...

In this course, you will learn how to do a realistic human head from start to finish, exploring the anatomy of the face in-depth, proportions, features, and expressions. You’ll learn the principles of building armatures and handling clay. All work in clay from the life model. All levels of experience are welcomed. Registration fee included. ...