Intro to Portraiture

THIS IS A TWO DAY WORKSHOP TAKING PLACE ON 3/14 & 3/15 FROM 11PM - 3:30PM

Intro to Portraiture: Making Evocative Portraits in Studio & On Location is an immersive two-day workshop for photographers ready to move beyond “good lighting” into portraits that mean something. Blending history, technique, and emotional intelligence, this course treats portraiture as both a craft and a relational act—one shaped by power, care, collaboration, and choice. Through lectures, discussion, and hands-on shooting, we’ll ask not just how to make portraits, but why—and what’s at stake when we do.

Participants will work through three lighting scenarios—natural light, studio strobe, and blended available/artificial light—while learning how light carries emotion, how to read and shape it, and how to work ethically and confidently with subjects. Equal emphasis is placed on technical fluency and the social dynamics of the portrait space: consent, communication, coaching, and collaboration. Expect thoughtful context, practical tools, and plenty of time shooting in a small, supportive group.

About Kate:
Kate Warren is a portrait photographer and educator with over 15 years of experience working across editorial, commercial, and fine art contexts. She has photographed artists, activists, and public figures—including Angela Davis, Gloria Steinem, and civil rights activist and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Amanda Nguyen—for clients such as The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle, Planned Parenthood, and the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum.

Her teaching emphasizes the intersection of technical control, visual history, and emotional intelligence—helping photographers make portraits that are both intentional and deeply human. She holds an MFA from Syracuse University and is an Adjunct Professor of Art Photography, where she also coaches the Alexia Fall Workshop.

Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Kate is the founder of the LGBTQ+ artist residency Golden Kin and the Editorial and Outreach Director of Toolshed, an artist-led nonprofit sharing tools for living ecologically.

www.katewarren.co