Portrait Photography: Retouch and Composite Vibrant Images

Learn how to create expressive images by exploring identity and iconic references through storytelling, from initial concept to final edit

• Introduction
• Showing Up Prepared
• Picture Day!
• Editing the Photos
• Final project

David Ayllon is many things — a creative director, a graphic designer, a photographer, and perhaps most importantly, a superhero aficionado. While growing up, David was enamored by comic books and professional wrestling, falling in love with larger than life characters and fantastical worlds at an early age. His work has been featured on the cover of Communication Arts, as well as within Huffington Post, OUT Magazine, Creative Quarterly, and Playboy Magazine. He's also worked with huge names in the drag community such as Bob the Drag Queen, Trixie Mattel, and Sasha Velour.

What do you get from this course?

"In this course, I’ll be showing you my process from idea to final photo as we go through how to elevate your portraits. We’re creating more than just a photo, we’re creating a story. Using pop culture as our inspiration, I’ll walk you through each step as I create narrative portraits using different skills I’ve picked up along my career."

Conceptualize a narrative for your images using sketches and mood boards

Bring your vision to life with a photoshoot and post-processing techniques

Discover how to best showcase your work on social media

• About Me
• Influences
• Building a Concept
• Research: Creating Mood Boards and Choosing a Color Palette
• Model Selection and Collaboration
• Sketching Ideas 1
• Sketching Ideas 2
• Shoot Preparation
• Getting Started
• Let There Be Light
• Lights, Camera, Action: Zombie Hands 1
• Lights, Camera, Action: Zombie Hands 2
• Lights, Camera, Action: Planchette Mirror 1
• Lights, Camera, Action: Planchette Mirror 2
• Photographing Props for Compositing
• Photo Selection and Basic Color Correction 1
• Photo Selection and Basic Color Correction 2
• Full Retouching 1
• Full Retouching 2
• Full Retouching 3
• Full Retouching 4
• Full Retouching 5
• Compositing and Final Images 1
• Compositing and Final Images 2
• Compositing and Final Images 3
• Compositing and Final Images 4
• Compositing and Final Images 5
• Compositing and Final Images 6
• Compositing and Final Images 7
• Compositing and Final Images 8
• Compositing and Final Images 9
• To Learn More: Retouching the Second Image
• Show-stopping Portrait Photography Inspired by Pop Culture