Best Online Portrait Photography Courses You Can Take

In many cultures around the world, taking a person's photo with a camera is said to steal a small slice of a person's soul. Bad news for chronic Instagrammers.

If you really think about it, they might be onto something. A good portrait does show a slice of a person's truest self—at least, if that's what you're going for.

Getting good shots of portraiture is difficult, even for seasoned pros. You need a lot of skills to make it happen, and you also usually have to have the right frame of mind to capture a killer portrait.

Thankfully, you don't have to search too far for good skills. These online portrait photography courses can help you gain the skills and the viewpoints to get things done.

Annie Leibovitz is one of the biggest names in portrait photography, with clients ranging from John Lennon to Axl Rose. Her shots graced the covers of Vogue and Rolling Stone—and now, she's offering one of the best online portrait photography courses on the net.

If you're willing to splurge on your coursework, you will get to take a cybertrip into the office of Annie Leibovitz. You will be amazed at how intimate this class will be, and how much you'll learn from both the videos and workbooks that accompany it. She teaches you a lot, including what storytelling from behind the lens entails.

Can't quite afford to have Annie Leibovitz's class? There are some pretty decent classes that are taught by professional photographers on Udemy, if you are looking for a bargain buy. The Portrait Photography Masterclass is a great choice for beginners who want to shoot like a true photographer.

This class helps you understand the basis of shooting peoples' portraits, gives you tips on how to improve your photography, and how to make your shots look amazing.

Portrait Photography Masterclass is one of the better online portrait photography courses on Udemy, particularly in the headshot field. This is great news for aspiring photographers, since headshots are one of the most commonly asked-for types of portraits out there.

This class serves as a full step-by-step guide to creating amazing shots using simple, affordable gear. Once you're done shooting, you'll learn to edit like a pro.

Another commonly desired form of photography is the good ol' family portrait. Taking these shots are some of the more challenging, even among seasoned vets. That's why many aspiring shutterbugs should consider taking this Family Portrait Photography Masterclass.

This class shows you how to create a nice setup, how to coach family members into posing, as well as how to make the most of your portrait photography time. So much knowledge is in here, even knowledgeable family portrait photographers might want to get this class.

If you're new to photography and have a normal person's budget, chances are that you are not going to be able to afford studio lighting. This means you will need to learn how to take great portraits in natural light if you want to be able to earn enough cash to get a studio light.

Currently, Natural Light Portrait Photography is one of the most popular online courses on Udemy. It offers excellent advice in terms that's easy to understand for all levels of experience.

Did you ever take a look at a magazine cover and wondered how they managed to impart so much color in a model's portrait? In a lot of cases, the dramatic lighting you're seeing is due to gel photography.

Creative Portrait Photography Series is a class that offers up advice on how to make the most of color, and how to get the very best looks for the story you want your portraits to tell. Lighting never looked so dramatic.

Every photographer needs to know how to edit their shots. Otherwise, your photos won't look professional in quality. This class is a must-have, regardless of what kind of photos you intend on shooting, but it's absolutely vital for the portrait photographer.

All you need to add that extra flair and crispness to your photography is to grab Photoshop and buy up this online class. Your photography business will thank you.

If you want to work on expanding your knowledge base, you can also grab a few of the best photography books for beginners. You've got to have the basics down in order to take beautiful portraits.

Looking to add a little extra drama to your portraiture? You might want to check out the tool known as Gobos—or just fine-tune your use of color gels. This awesome class is one of the only online portrait photography courses to work on both color gels and Gobos.

This class will give you high-drama shots that will make you wonder what you ever did without color. It is challenging since a lot of these manipulate lighting to create unique effects. Making sharp portraits is always tough, even if good lighting.

Wedding photography is one of the most demanding kinds of portraiture out there, which is why it's also one of the most lucrative. Not every wedding will be out in natural light, after all. This class is taught by Chris Parker, a wedding photographer with over 15 years of experience.

In it, you will learn to get amazing shots of your models and also find out how to become the photographer everyone wants to shoot with. That's a win-win, don't you think? It's one of the few online portrait photography classes that touches on the personal side of being a photographer who constantly works with others.