Learn portrait lighting.
Build a repeatable setup with free lessons and calculators. Start with one light, make a test frame, and understand what to adjust.
Start the free beginner path →Learn Studio Lighting · by DNA Premium PortraitsLearn the light.
Learn the light.
Create with intention.
Bring a reference photo. Get a practical lighting, color and retouch plan for your gear. Add your own shot to see what to change next, then learn to repeat the result.
Free tools, at your pace. Private Sacramento photography workshops, built around your goals: 3 hours · $399.
PREDICT. MEASURE. REFINE.
FREE TOOLS & PRACTICAL LESSONSYOUR GEAR. REAL MEASUREMENTS.PRIVATE SACRAMENTO WORKSHOPS
A clear place to start
One goal. A better photograph.
You do not need to master every calculator. Start with the lighting question in front of you.
01 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHKeep the subject.
Set equal, darker or brighter light02 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHEveryone lit.
Plan a group portrait03 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHI want f/8.
Turn a meter reading into power04 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHThis setup worked.
Take a field card onto the set
Keep the subject.
Choose the background.
Set equal, darker or brighter light02 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHEveryone lit.
Every row in focus.
Plan a group portrait03 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHI want f/8.
What should I change?
Turn a meter reading into power04 / YOUR NEXT PHOTOGRAPHThis setup worked.
How do I repeat it?
Take a field card onto the setChoose your next step
Learn it. Practice it. Finish it.
Start with the help you need for this photograph.
Practice with Dwayne.
Work through your lighting question in a private Sacramento session: three hours of one-to-one instruction for $399. Dates and arrangements are confirmed before booking.
Explore private photography lessons →Have a portrait retouched.
Start with a free assessment. Compare the proposed finish, price and output size before payment, whether it is your own photo or client work.
Edit a personal portrait →
The flagship learning studioSee a look you love.
See a look you love.
Build a plan you understand.
Photo to Lighting Plan
Study a reference for a practical lighting, color and retouch plan. Compare your own shot for prioritized corrections, then test the next adjustment with your gear and meter. To have a portrait finished for you, start with a free assessment in our Retouching Service.
- 01Read the light
Separate visible clues from assumptions about direction, softness, contrast and background separation.
- 02Make a workable plan
Compare approaches, place the key and supporting lights, and choose proposed meter targets for important regions.
- 03Compare. Correct. Keep learning.
Upload your test shot, follow the color and retouch recipe, then take the plan into a guided shoot path.
Free planning tools. Analysis availability is shown inside the studio. Suggested targets are experiments, not recovered original settings.
Scene & Pose MoodBoard PlannerSee your next portrait
See your next portrait
before the shoot.
Turn your location, lighting equipment and mood into portrait concepts, with poses and styling you can prepare for. Start with your own location or explore a scene.
Explore Scene & Pose Planner ↗Free monthly concept session with sign-in. Explore the planner before signing in; generation availability is shown inside.
One scene. Three visions.
Choose a concept, explore its lighting, pose and outfit plan, then take a moodboard onto your shoot. A generated concept is a visual starting point; verify the real light with your camera and meter.
Ask a client or collaborator to help you choose with an optional voting link showing only the generated concepts you select.
Already have a reference photograph? Build toward that look →Retouching Service
Portrait Finishing Studio · by LearnStudioLightingYour portrait.
Beautifully finished.
From natural retouching and cinematic edits to painterly portraits and artwork hand-painted by an artist.
Free assessment first. Review your plan, price and availability before payment.
New · Lighting variations plannerOne lighting kit.
One lighting kit.
More looks from every shoot.
Plan three to six portrait looks using the flashes and modifiers you have. Get placement diagrams, an efficient shooting sequence and meter checks for each change.
Plan my lighting variations ↗Free instant planner · Save, print or refine with the AI coach.
- Open, near-axis portrait 01 / START SIMPLE
- Gentle loop lighting 02 / ADD SHAPE
- Short-side portrait 03 / EXPLORE SHADOW
- Feathered key 04 / CONTROL SPILL
A coach for your next shootMeet your AI
Ask a photography question ↗Meet your AI
Photography Coach.
Questions about lighting, camera settings, exposure, troubleshooting or retouching? Describe your goal and gear, add a photo if useful, then follow up with your results. Get practical explanations and a next step to test.
See what to ask and how to get started →The photograph comes first
What are you photographing?
Choose the shoot, describe the problem, and get a placement or exposure plan you can verify.
Boudoir
Two practical plans for deliberate shadows and real rooms.
Families
Even light across rows. A useful focus plan.
Solve my lighting →Portraits
Find your golden light. Control the background and balance flash.
Headshots
More expressions, angles and useful photographs in one session.
Maternity
Light the face and bump. Shape the outline. Keep beautiful fabric detail.
Build my maternity shoot plan →Our teaching philosophyTurn an adjustment
Turn an adjustment
into understanding.
The best setting is one you can explain and repeat. Every lesson connects a lighting decision to a test you can make with your own equipment.
Find your next lesson →01
Predict
Choose the result: a brighter face, darker backdrop, softer shadow, or more even group.
02
Measure
Make one change. Read the meter, inspect the photograph, and compare it with your prediction.
03
Refine
Explain the difference, adjust deliberately, and save what you learned for the next shoot.
New to off-camera flash?Your first repeatable
Your first repeatable
portrait setup.
Learn the controls in a useful order: establish exposure, shape one light, control the background, then add a second light with a purpose.
Take the beginner path →Start with the photograph you want.
One short path from an idea to a setup you can test.
01 · Learn one light →Four simple exercises, each with a check for success.02 · See what changes →Explore flash, ambient and spill with live light levels.03 · Make the frame fit →Find a lens and camera distance for your space.
Learning from Godox, Profoto or Westcott? Adapt any tutorial to your own gear →
A practical answer for your next shoot
Lighting field guides.
Work through a real problem, check an example, then use the calculator with your own readings.
On location
Darker sky. Controlled subject.
Work from an ambient reading to a darker background, a measured flash target and a practical outdoor portrait setup. Includes a two-stop example.
Read the field guide Families & groupsEvery row deserves good light.
Plan even flash illumination across a family or group, calculate front-to-back falloff, and check depth of field separately. Includes a distance table.
Read the field guide Reference studiesRead the clues. Test a plan.
Analyze a reference photo for light direction, softness and contrast. Build a minimum-light plan, choose regional meter targets and refine with test frames.
Read the field guide
Put the lessons into practice, togetherPhotography workshops
Photography workshops
in Sacramento.
Bring a reference photograph and the lighting question you keep getting stuck on. Spend three focused hours with Dwayne building, measuring, and refining a setup around your equipment and experience.
$3993 HOURS · PRIVATE 1:1
SACRAMENTO AREA
Explore the private workshop ↗SACRAMENTO AREA
For photographers in Sacramento, Roseville, Elk Grove and nearby Northern California communities. Dates and arrangements confirmed by inquiry.