Finding natural light
For the first years of my career I lit almost everything with strobes — outdoors and indoors, every session, no exceptions. Eva, my wife and translator, was right there with me as my assistant, running strobes and stands from setup to setup. Then, on one session, my strobe didn’t fire. When I brought up the exposure on that frame in post, the face was lit by directional natural light. That one frame unlocked natural light for me. Now I’ve learned to read where these beautiful natural light patterns exist, so I can produce the results consistently. It’s now one of the core skills I teach inside this system — alongside everything else that makes my work recognisably mine.
It wasn’t luck. I’d worked out a way of reading light, building colour, composing and directing real people that didn’t depend on knowing anyone or speaking the language.
Thirteen years later, I’m still using that same system in every portrait session. And I’ve spent years putting it inside this portrait photography membership — the Creative Portrait System — for photographers who want to understand why their portraits look the way they do.
What I enjoy most is watching members’ work start to look like their own, not like mine.
— Daniel Venter
Shoot
The foundation
Read the light, explore your location and make purposeful camera choices. Build the foundations for the portrait before you start editing.
Create
The vision
Bring together your subject, colour and composition, then use editing to support your intention. Understand how the individual choices shape the finished image.
Captivate
The result
Portraits people notice, remember and want to share, and recognise as yours.
Instead of seeing only the finished photograph, you get to follow the thinking behind it — from finding natural light to the editing decisions that complete the look. These are skills I’ve developed over years of photographing portraits full time, brought together for you to study and practise.
