Couples photography with Clyde Vaughan
Description
Great couple photos aren’t accidents—they’re a mix of trust, clear direction and simple lighting that flatters in any conditions. In this Valentine’s special, Clyde Vaughan walks you through exactly how he builds that result from scratch: reading light, choosing the right background, directing movement so it feels natural, and when to add flash for polish.
Across two focused hours, you’ll see a real couple photographed in changing light, first using natural light and then one-light strobe setups you can recreate tomorrow. Clyde keeps it practical: what to say, where to stand, which settings to start with, and how to balance ambient with flash without fighting your camera.
You’ll learn
Fast “comfort protocols”: prompts and direction that relax real people.
Natural light workflow: find, shape, and backlight for clean skin and separation.
One-light strobe made simple: power, distance, modifier choice, and camera settings.
Mix it well: balancing ambient + flash for golden hour and after-dark.
A reliable starting kit for weddings, engagements and brand work.
Who it’s for
Wedding and portrait shooters, content creators, and keen beginners who want fewer awkward poses, more natural moments, and lighting that just works.
Gear on the floor
Cameras and primes (35/50/85), off-camera flashes from Profoto with softboxes, reflectors, triggers and stands. BYO camera welcome.
What to bring
Camera, a charged battery, spare card.
Event Rundown
We’ll open with a quick welcome from Clyde and Georges Cameras, set expectations, and outline the promise: you’ll leave with three repeatable setups you can use this week.
Then we meet the couple and cover the pre-shoot checklist—names, boundaries and consent, comfort cues, must-have shots, wardrobe notes, location picks, and what to bring so everyone arrives calm and ready.
Clyde runs a posing playbook live. Simple prompts to remove awkwardness, how to get natural movement, what to do with hands and height differences, and the little fixes that make people look and feel good on camera.
We start with natural light. How to read direction and quality, and find the best spot to shoot when it comes to the direction of light, trees, and aspect.
Next we add one strobe without changing the vibe. A clean one-light recipe, where to place it, feathering for softness, and balancing ambient with shutter, aperture and ISO. We’ll cover HSS vs ND.
Clyde shows three go-to looks end-to-end: blending both the practice of flash and natural light so you know what you can achieve with both!
We'll then open the floor for Q&A and next steps. You’ll get a cheat sheet via email! And a list of all the gear we used, where we may even be able to include some discounts!
Sessions (identical content)
Session 1: 2:00–4:00 pm
Session 2: 4:30–6:30 pm
FAQs
- Will I get time to shoot with the couple?
A little. This is an explainer-first session, so most of the time is teaching and live demos. We’ll still make space for everyone to grab at least one keeper, with flash if time allows.
- Do I have to shoot Sony?
No—bring whatever you shoot on. We’ll demo on Sony, so the deep technical bits will lean that way. We can’t troubleshoot every brand on the night, but we’re happy to give general guidance.
- Can I borrow gear?
Yes, in a limited way. We’ll have a small pool of Sony bodies/lenses and Profoto lights to try. It’s shared use to keep things moving. If you want more time on the trigger, bring your own kit!
- Do I have to use Profoto lighting to learn this?
Not at all. We teach light, not logos. We use Profoto because it’s quick, consistent and workshop-friendly. The setups translate to other systems just fine. But we always recommend it, because there flashes are incredible and very user friendly.
- Fearnley Grounds is a big area? How will we find you?
We'll meet outside the cafe called The Greenhouse, we'll be easy to spot with all the camera gear!
Lineup
Clyde Vaughan
Clyde Vaughan is a Sydney-based photographer and educator known for clean colour, strong composition and calm, people-first direction. He’s great at turning big ideas into simple, repeatable setups you can use on your next job—natural light or strobe.
Tickets for good, not greed Humanitix dedicates 100% of profits from booking fees to charity
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