Tiny Lights, Big Impact: Mastering Light Wands for Flattering, Modern Portraits and Headshots with Vail Fucci

This seminar is for CreativeLive subscribers only. Not subscribed? Start here!

Lightweight, continuous tube lights offer an incredibly powerful way to create polished, professional portraits without the need for bulky gear.

In this class, the Headshot Doctor®, Vail Fucci, teaches you how to use tube lighting to produce everything from clean, corporate headshots to bold, creative portraits. Vail breaks down both classic and modern lighting setups, demonstrating 1-light, 2-light, 3-light, and even 5-light configurations, showing how each additional light expands your creative control. You’ll see how small adjustments in placement, distance, and color can completely transform a portrait. Whether you’re working in a studio, on location, or at an event, you’ll leave with simple, repeatable setups that deliver high-end results using minimal gear.

This class includes a dedicated 30 minutes of Q&A directly with Vail Fucci.

What You’ll Learn

• How to use lightweight continuous tube lights to create polished, professional portraits
• Classic and modern lighting setups for headshots and creative portrait work
• How 1-light, 2-light, 3-light, and 5-light setups change the look and feel of a portrait
• How light placement, distance, and color affect the final image
• Simple, repeatable lighting setups you can use in the studio, on location, or at events

Who It's For

• Beginners and creatives who want to create polished portraits without relying on bulky lighting gear
• Photographers who want to learn how continuous tube lights can be used for both headshots and creative portraits
• Portrait photographers interested in both clean corporate looks and more expressive lighting setups
• Anyone who wants flexible lighting techniques they can use in a studio, on location, or at events

How to Join

• This class is available exclusively to CreativeLive subscribers. Not a subscriber? Join here.
• The class will be delivered via Zoom Webinars. You’ll need access to Zoom through a web browser or the Zoom app in order to participate.
• To reserve your spot, register using the Sign Up form and button above. Space is limited.
• A unique Zoom join link will be sent to registered subscribers, up to the maximum number of participants per class. You’ll receive this link one hour before the class start time.

About the Instructor

Vail Fucci is a Boston-based event and headshot photographer known for her warm, high-energy presence and ability to deliver polished, share-ready images in real time. Her positivity and instinctive connection with people allow her to create authentic, elevated photographs—even in fast-paced live environments.

Vail has photographed high-profile individuals and events for major global brands and organizations, including Live Nation, Takeda, Eli Lilly, New Balance, Visa, the NFL, Nike, WIRED, Formula 1, and the Boston Celtics. Her work has appeared in publications such as the New York Post's Page Six, Forbes, Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Boston Magazine. Before focusing on corporate events and headshots, Vail spent more than a decade as a professional wedding photographer and was named one of Boston’s Best Wedding Photographers by CBS Boston. She also photographed New York Fashion Week behind the scenes in the tents at Lincoln Center as well as on the runway from the pit.

At the heart of Vail’s portrait work is her desire to help people see how beautiful they truly are. By guiding clients to view themselves in a whole new light—both literally and figuratively—she creates images that build confidence as much as they capture appearance. This transformative approach, along with her Ph.D. in bioethics, earned her the nickname “The Headshot Doctor,” taking high-end headshots of people from all walks of life, from new hires to Nobel Prize winners.

Today, Vail specializes in intentional in-camera capture, efficient on-location lighting, and instant image delivery that reduces post-production while elevating the client and guest experience. A passionate educator, she was a speaker at Imaging USA 2026, a guest lecturer at NYC Salt, and a Westcott Ambassador. Through workshops, online education, private mentoring, and digital content, she teaches photographers how to work smarter, stand out in competitive markets, and build profitable, sustainable businesses.