Lighting with Purpose Professional Techniques for Portrait Photographers

Location portraiture offers many advantages. The backgrounds are varied, the surroundings can tell a story about the client, and the setting can help tell the subject’s story. Working on location presents unique challenges, however. Often, the photographer is working in an unfamiliar place in which the lighting is not ideal for portraiture. Light is the very backbone of a good portrait, so the need to manage and modify the light becomes a top priority in the portrait session.

The Dachowskis teach you how to harness the light in any scenario—from direct sun, to window light, to fluorescent light, to household lamp light, and even mixed-lighting scenarios—to create correct exposures and believable image color. You’ll learn to restrict and enhance the light, add dramatic highlights and shadows to create dimension, and set the mood in the portrait. With these tips, you’ll learn to handle location portrait challenges with ease and confidence.

Jeff Dachowski quickly fell in love with photography while he was in high school. After pursuing every class related to photography, he attended the Hallmark Institute of Photography in Turners Falls, MA.

Jeff, and his wife Carolle Dachowski, opened their first studio in Manchester, NH in 2003, and have seen meteoric growth since the first day. They have a loyal following of clients, which include children and family portraits; they are a buzz in the wedding industry, and they have a growing number of commercial clients.

Jeff and Carolle have photographed throughout the Northeast, the Caribbean, and the inter-mountain west since 1992. Their work has been featured in Seacoast Bride, New Hampshire Bride, Woman Engineer, Hygiene Town, Woman’s World, Spin and Professional Photographer. They have 15 images in the PPA Loan Collection, 11 Kodak Gallery Awards, 2 Fuji Masterpiece Awards, Lexjet and Polaroid awards and 9 Courts of Honor.

They have each been awarded the Master of Photography and Photographic Craftsman Degrees; Jeff is also a Certified Professional Photographer. He is an approved International Juror, a judge for the PPCC and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Professional Photographers of America.

Jeff and Carolle own and operate a prosperous studio in the Historic District of Bedford, NH. They have been married for 22 year and have two lovely daughters.