Painterly Portraits

Fine Art Studio Workshop

Step into the world of classical fine-art portraiture and learn how to craft images that look like they belong on a gallery wall.
This immersive studio workshop is built around the timeless aesthetic of oil paintings and old-master portraiture — rich textures, sculpted light and emotive posing.

Throughout the session, you’ll explore how to use lighting, backdrops and wardrobe to create the depth and atmosphere associated with classical paintings.
Rather than relying on heavy post-processing, this workshop focuses on building the painterly look in-camera, through lighting control, tonal harmony and posing techniques.

We’ll build a number of different looks that move from high-contrast chiaroscuro to light, pastel-inspired compositions, so you can see how subtle changes in light and styling completely shift the mood while staying within the painterly theme.

What We’ll Cover

• Lighting techniques inspired by Rembrandt, Vermeer and Caravaggio

• Styling and colour palette choices that enhance the fine-art aesthetic

• Posing for grace, elegance and storytelling

• Using fabric, florals and simple props to add texture and depth

• Balancing highlight and shadow to create atmosphere in-camera

Ideal For

Photographers who want to:

• Build fine-art style work for their portfolio

• Develop better control over single-light setups

• Learn how to direct refined, emotive portrait poses

• Explore colour and texture to strengthen visual storytelling

Workshop model - Cleo DeFleur