The Unconventional Portrait
Anna Hurley
A course that bares all and challenges you to find new ways to explore your subject to create expressive and emotive portraits.
Learn how to embrace a playful approach to creating. Join Anna as she teaches you how to grow as an artist by moving outside of your comfort zone. She has created a space where "failure" will guide you to new and innovative ways to create. In this portraiture course you will explore new, creative techniques and understand how perceived undesirable locations can create beautiful portraits.
let's talk about
what makes it different
Rethink what portraiture is so you can create beauty in the most unlikely way. This course will have you pushing your creative boundaries to create portraits that speak to your viewers.
COURSE TYPE
SELF PACED
SKILL TYPE
editing, creativity, light, composition, shooting
SKILL LEVEL
INTERMEDIATE, ADVANCED
here's a look at
what you'll get
Challenges that follow your lessons and will allow you to put your new skills into practice.
BTS videos that provide insightful details on how to utilize everyday locations, create unique backdrops and shoot with natural and artificial light, and more!
A DIY guide to creative backdrops with tools and things you already have at home.
Portrait prompts to enrich your sessions
Editing specific videos
Workbooks and guides to expand your view and creativity
"I hope students will find inspiration to create with anything and everything around them"
check out what's in your classroom
10 Instructional Videos
In depth how-to videos covering everything from lighting, location scouting and details to create your own backdrops.
Creative Exercises, Workbooks and Camera Bag Additions
Challenges throughout that will have you thinking outside the box and creating more unique portraiture.
100+ Page Coursebook
An easily digestible, broken down guide giving you all the in-depth details on lighting, locations, creative elements, backdrops, color and more!
NEW HERE? See how our self-paced courses work
by the end of this course,
you'll be able to use the tools you already own to add interest and uniqueness to your portrait work
meet your instructor
Anna Hurley
Anna is a family and food photographer based in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. With 14 years of photography experience under her belt and almost a decade of working on Project 365’s, she is always learning new ways to capture beautiful moments. Anna lives in the country with her husband, two teenagers and two very energetic and goofy dogs. When she isn’t photographing something or someone you will find her in the forest and mountains hiking and appreciating the beauty of the PNW. Anna is a creative at heart, to fuel her creative spirit she also loves to paint, crochet and work on DIY projects around her home. Anna is a family and food photographer based in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. With 14 years of photography experience under her belt and almost a decade of working on Project 365’s, she is always learning new ways to capture beautiful moments. Anna lives in the country with her husband, two teenagers and two very energetic and goofy dogs. When she isn’t photographing something or someone you will find her in the forest and mountains hiking and appreciating the beauty of the PNW. Anna is a creative at heart, to fuel her creative spirit she also loves to paint, crochet and work on DIY projects around her home.
I’ve always admired Anna’s portrait work! She is not afraid to take risks, and her creativity knows no bounds. This course is full of fresh, inspiring ideas, and full of Anna’s enthusiasm and encouragement. No matter what level photographer you are, you will find enrichment and excitement from this course. She covers everything from gels, to off-camera flash, to location scouting, all the while explaining what she looks for in a portrait and in her compositions, and how she creates multiple images from the same location. You can tell Anna’s heart is in everything she creates! This course is called the “unconventional” portrait and Anna is a true master. Seeing her take risks, seeing her kids step in to be part of the fun, all of it will inspire you to try something new at your next session! I highly recommend this course if you’re looking to add more creativity to your portfolio and a more unique vibe to your sessions.
Anna is a master at portraits, and I am always in awe at the beautiful portraits she creates. This course has definitely inspired my creative side again. With a busy fall season it is exactly what I need to do during a slower time to keep my mind and creativity thinking outside the box. The way Anna shares her knowledge is incredible and very detail oriented with so many tips and tricks. I haven’t been able to dive in completely but I am so excited to as I’ve read through all the information and am so inspired to fully immerse myself. Her behind the scenes are so fun to watch to see her perspective on how she approaches a portrait, especially in a space you would never look twice at. I would highly recommend this course for anyone who wants to tap in to their creativity and build more knowledge within the world of portraits and being intentional in their work.
Hugely inspiring, practical and engaging! A fascinating journey through different aspects of portrait photography, with lots of outside the box tips and thought-provoking observations. It’s an instant creativity boost and a real treasure trove of ideas. Anna has really nailed it with this course!
Anna is one of the most creative people I know! I’ve always been in awe of her portraits and curious about her creative process, so I was thrilled when she offered a course to teach others how to create similar work.
I loved learning about the locations she chooses for simple portraits—places I would have assumed were in a blooming orchard turned out to be as simple as a lone tree in a parking lot. The behind-the-scenes insights she shared gave me a new perspective on how photographers view the world and the ways we can use ordinary spaces to create extraordinary art.
I’m so excited to experiment with all the lighting techniques and artificial light examples she covered. The multi-colored gel photo has always been one of my favorites, and now I feel empowered to create my own!
This course is one of the most informative purchases I’ve made in a long time. Anna didn’t leave out a single detail—she packed this course with invaluable knowledge and insight. I can’t recommend it enough!