The Art of Body Language in Portraiture with Stacy Pearsall

capture amazing and authentic portraits

The Art of Body Language in Portraiture
  • 8 video lessons
  • 1 hour and 22 minutes of class content
  • Streaming access on desktop and mobile browsers
  • 100% satisfaction guarantee
In order to succeed at being a portrait photographer, you must be able to look past the facade an individual presents upon first meeting, and observe their non-verbal language and cues to best interpret who they really are behind the artifice. This pretense isn’t intentional, it’s human nature. Rarely do people bare their soul to a stranger. Award Winning Photographer Stacy Pearsall discusses in this class how to gain your subject’s trust through genuine care, unselfish energy and intent observance. She'll discuss the art of communication, and the signals your subject is emitting, so you can best identify and capture your subjects genuine likeness. Visual perception is everything. Capture amazing and true portraits by learning to see the body language a person brings into your session and knowing how to gain their trust to show the vulnerability within.

Course Instructor

Stacy Pearsall

Stacy Pearsall

Stacy L. Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. During her time in service, she traveled to over 41 countries, and attended the Military Photojournalism Program at S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.
  • Daniel H. Apr 22, 2022

    The course was interesting and an learned some techniques to identify people’s behaviour, and then how to adapt my approach to make the session more attractive.

  • Stacie M. Mar 12, 2019

    This course is a must have for any true portrait photographer. I learned not only a lot about my subjects through this class, but a lot about myself and the reason I am a portrait photographer. This stuff is essential. It also helped me with my process... This is stuff you usually do without thinking about it, but after this class I now think about it, and it's made my work better.

  • Jermaine B. Jun 28, 2018

    This is the first course I've given a review on and I have about 5. This is the course you should have either after you've learned all about lighting and posing or before. There's no mention of where and when to set up lighting or what camera settings, or focal length, f stops, etc. You can have all the knowledge about those things, but if you don't connect with your subject it won't matter! I'm glad I got this course. After the first shoot,​ I already knew it was worth the price!

  • John B. Jun 5, 2018

    Stacey is a great photographer and teacher BUT a lot of the stuff about communication, mirroring etc whilst I appreciate is important and more often than not overlooked is really laboured, I just want her to get on more with the shoot- lighting, how to pose the subject,

  • Jenn M. Apr 3, 2018

    Stacy Pearsall is a communication genius! Her story is admirable, fascinating, and saturated with humanity. I was fortunate to be in the studio class for this course, and I was blown away by her charisma and powerful energy! She truly captures the importance of using unspoken communication strategies to draw out a subject and showcase what makes them special, AND to be mindful of the communication set-backs we can quickly create with our own body language as directors and photographers. This course is a must-have, not just as a portrait artist, but as a human being who communicates with others in general. Pearsall is AMAZING!!!!

  • Gretel S. Nov 20, 2017

    Thank you Stacy! I loved the class, it confirmed to me that I'm on the right direction, it's important to bond with your subject, and love what you do is essential to it, you can tell Stacy loves her job and she is passionate about it and a good teacher as well, it was very easy to follow her.

  • Myra H. Nov 12, 2017

    I just happened across this class as a free video and love Stacy's charisma and knowledge. The communication information makes so much sense and can be used in all personal interactions. Thank you, Creative Live and Stacy!

  • Amy . Oct 20, 2017

    I love how the class wasn't only about the body language of the subject, but also about the body language of the photographer. Stacy taught about how they reacted to each other instead of focusing on either independently. It's an angle I haven't seen covered in other photography classes. The guide showing body language meanings using Stacy's photography is also fantastic bonus material.

  • Michael . Oct 10, 2017

    Haven't seen the class yet, but know the included material called " Body Language Example Chart" was written with a non-standard font called "Gotham Book". You will need to acquire that font to read this material.

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