Learn Portrait Photography Online, From £6.99 A Month
Hundreds of lighting diagrams, tutorials, tools and honest advice on portrait photography, for less than a large coffee a month. Mastering Portrait Photography is everything we know about portraits, gathered up in one place. Lighting, posing, expression, post-production, and the business of it too, because that side matters just as much and hardly anybody talks about it honestly.
It is built from real work (and one or two gotchas along the way!) Every diagram in there came from an actual shoot with an actual client, not a setup arranged to make a nice diagram. When something went wrong, that is in there too. There is no silver bullet to fine-tuning your skills – that comes with hours and hours with a camera in your hand – but here you will find a ton of useful tips, techniques and, let’s face, most of the mistakes we’ve made over the years (most, mind you, there are certainly many more out there to make. And then I’ll write about those too!)
One small thing: everything here is honest. It might not be what you want to hear. No bull. No blarney. No glamourising. Why? Because exaggeration is one of the few things about this industry that I find irritating, so when we started presenting and training, I swore that I would always tell the truth to the best of my ability. And I have stuck to that ever since.
What’s Inside
Sometimes it’s a brand-dump, sometimes a story, sometimes a full-length training video: always useful and always based on everything we’ve learnt over the past 20 or so years. The articles and videos are many and varied and it’s a list that is constantly growing:
Hundreds of lighting diagrams, each one broken down so you can see exactly what was where, and why.
Hundreds of articles and tutorials, from your very first flash to the properly advanced stuff.
A new tutorial video every month, plus something fresh every week.
Post-production actions and walkthroughs, from Lightroom and Photoshop to the AI tools and what they can actually do for you.
Visualisation mockups for wall art, albums and portfolio boxes, so your clients can see the thing before they buy it.
Tools, presets and templates, all free to use once you are in.
Our members’ Facebook group, which is genuinely one of the kindest corners of the internet.
Members get 15% off every workshop and masterclass we run.
If you’d like to see the kind of thing you’ll find here, why not have a read of these articles that we’ve uploaded for free? They’re the kind of thing we love to write and record (and hopefully you’ll love to read and watch!)
£6.99 a month For dipping in whenever the mood takes you. Join for a month, have a proper look round, and if it is not for you then cancel in a couple of clicks and we will part as friends.
Everything is included in both. The only difference is how you pay – and of course, if you pay annually, you save enough to have a very large hot chocolate. You’re welcome!
Our one-day workshops are typically £350, so that discount is over £50, and a monthly membership is just £6.99, which means if you were thinking of coming to the studio anyway, joining first saves you about forty-five pounds, and you get the entire library thrown in. Two workshop days in a year and the annual membership has more than paid for itself before you have read a single article!
I am not sure it needs any more selling than that.
Honestly? Some of it isn’t so different. There is a lot of great content out there for free (ours included!) and we would never tell you otherwise.
What you get here is the whole thing, not just the highlights: the reasoning behind a shot, the setups that didn’t work, the pricing conversation, the awkward client, the day it all went sideways. Twenty-odd years of it, sorted so you can actually find what you need, and added to every week.
And you get to ask. Post in the Facebook group, or simply drop us a line and we’ll do our best to give you an answer!
What People Say
★★★★★
I travelled over from Ireland for a one-to-one Male Portraits in the Studio masterclass with Paul, and it was genuinely one of the best days of learning I've had as a photographer.
Paul doesn't just teach technique, though there's plenty of that: lighting, posing, composition, all explained clearly and demonstrated live with two different models across the day. What sets it apart is the psychological side he brings to portraiture, the reading of a person, building a connection, and finding the balance between your own style and a true representation of the sitter. That's the part that's genuinely changed how I think about every portrait I take.
Communication before and after the day was excellent too, and I came away with a full written record of everything covered, which has already been a huge help to revisit. Couldn't recommend this more highly for any portrait photographer wanting to properly develop their craft.
Anton Makarenko· August 17, 2026
★★★★★
I attended the 2026 Mastering Portrait Photography bootcamp. I can't speak highly enough of the experience and of all involved. Paul and the team have an immense amount of knowledge and pass that on in a really consumable way. It left me with so much to think about and apply to my photography. The location was beautiful, the people amazing and the hospitality outstanding, couldn't ask for more!
Andy Swan· August 15, 2026
If You’d Rather Come And Shoot With Us
The library is one way in. The other is to come to our studio, get your hands on the lights and have a go with me standing right next to you. No pressure, just a lot of laughter and a ton of creativity. Oh, and coffee.
We run small-group workshops (no more than five delegates so you really do get hands on experience) throughout the year, one-to-one masterclass days built entirely around you, and a one-year mentoring programme for the handful of people who want to go all in on a proper year of it.
Of course. It is a month at a time, and you can cancel in a couple of clicks – no email required and nobody trying to talk you out of it (though, of course, we would much rather you stayed!)
Is this for beginners or professionals?
Genuinely both. There is a first-flash article and there is a piece on pricing a five-figure commission, and everything in between. Most people arrive somewhere in the middle.
Do I need expensive kit?
No. A fair chunk of the library is natural light and a window. Where we do use kit we tell you what it was, but the thinking works whatever you own.
How often does new content go up?
A new tutorial video every month, and something new every week. Much of it comes from questions members have asked, so if there is a gap, say so.
What if I get stuck?
Ask in the members’ group, or simply drop us an email or a DM. You are not on your own in here.
Do you cover the business side, or is it all technical?
Both. Pricing, products, the client journey, marketing, all of it. It is the half of professional photography almost nobody teaches honestly and it is the half that decides whether you make a living.
How does the workshop discount work?
Members get 15% off. Join first, then book, and it comes off automatically. If it doesn’t, just tell us and we will sort it.
Will I get personal feedback on my pictures?
Not as part of the membership itself, though the group is a friendly place to share work and ask. Proper one-to-one feedback is what the workshops, masterclass days and the mentoring programme are for.
