Lighting on Location: Commercial Photography in the Real World - Summer 2026

Lighting on Location: Commercial Photography in the Real World is a six-week workshop designed for photographers who want to confidently create professional lighting setups. Throughout the course, students will explore how to design and control lighting for a variety of real-world commercial scenarios including headshots, editorial portraiture, and small business storytelling through food and product imagery.

The first meeting will be an overview of tools and processes, including how we develop shot lists, lighting designs, and gear selections for a client session. From there sessions will focus on different client scenarios, giving students the opportunity to learn how to approach a shoot from concept to execution.

Throughout the series students will engage in a combination of demonstrations, discussion, and some hands-on shooting, with a mixture of sessions taking place in a studio and others on location in Seattle.

Students will have an opportunity to take these skills and do their own, “final assignment” for the final session, which will be reviewed and discussed with the entire group. By the end of the series, participants will have a stronger understanding of how to shape light in a variety of environments and how to approach commercial assignments with confidence.

This workshop is ideal for photographers who are comfortable with their camera settings (ISO, aperture, shutter speed, and white balance) and want to deepen their understanding of lighting using strobes and modifiers on location.

Students will leave the workshop with:

• A stronger understanding of portable lighting techniques
• Experience lighting people, food, and products
• Skills to adapt lighting to real-world environments
• A framework for approaching commercial photography assignments

Images © Kate Hailey