BEYOND SAFE

Creative Portrait Masterclass · Lighting, colour and editorial female portraiture

Wednesday 7 October 2026 · 10:00–18:00 Studio Zangarelli, Servon — 25 minutes from central Paris, 10 photographers maximum · €850 · taught in English

You know how to use a studio light. You know how to photograph a woman. You already own the equipment. And you keep coming back to the same setup, the same modifier, the same light position, the same poses — and the same safe results.

One day. Ten photographers. A studio big enough that you actually get to work, not watch.

Why a Wednesday, and why Paris

A Wednesday, so you keep your weekend. Your Saturdays belong to clients. Mid-week is when a working photographer can actually leave — and mid-week flights into Paris cost noticeably less than Friday ones.

Servon, not central Paris, because of the room. Studio Zangarelli is one of the largest and best-equipped portrait studios in the Paris region. That matters more than it sounds: with ten photographers and multiple lighting setups running, a normal studio means you queue and watch. Here you have space to build your own setup, move a light, get it wrong, and try again. The room is the reason this workshop can be hands-on at all.

BEYOND SAFE is a full-day, hands-on workshop for photographers who want to stop second-guessing their lighting and start creating scroll stopping portraits with confidence.

Designed especially for those photographers who want to expand into female portraiture and boudoir, this workshop will help you strengthen your technical foundations and introduce more creative, editorial ways of working with women.

We will go beyond memorizing lighting diagrams. You will learn to understand what your light is doing, build setups faster, make intentional adjustments and keep your results consistent—even when you start introducing multiple lights, color and mixed light sources.

And because creating beautiful photographs is only one part of running a photography business, we will also talk about how to position, communicate and sell this new work so it becomes part of your business rather than another set of images in your portfolio.

Is this you?

• You own three, four, five lights. You use one.
• You bought modifiers because someone told you to. You’ve never really found out what they do.
• Your saved folder is full of lighting diagrams you have never once built.
• You can produce a good photograph. You cannot always explain why it worked — which means you can’t reliably do it again.
• You spend longer in Photoshop fixing things than you spent in the studio creating them.
• Your portfolio is competent, and it looks like a lot of other people’s portfolios.
• You want to add colour, mixed light and an editorial feeling — and you don’t want to just copy someone’s setup to get there.

You photograph maternity, boudoir, beauty, personal branding, fashion-inspired portraits — or you want to. This is not a maternity workshop. It is a light and women workshop, and it works whichever of those you shoot.

You’re roughly intermediate. You know your camera. You’ve used a studio light. You’re not confident enough to improvise. That’s exactly the right starting point.

This is not for you if you’ve never used a studio strobe, or if you’re looking for a day of shooting a beautiful model on setups somebody else has already built. You will be working.

You will not be watching

Most workshops are a demonstration with an audience. The instructor builds the light, the group photographs over her shoulder, everybody leaves with similar images and no idea how to rebuild any of it on Monday. That is not this day.

You will put your hands on the equipment. You will build a setup, photograph the model with it, then change one variable — move the light 30cm, drop the power, swap the modifier, add a second head, add colour — and see on your own screen what changed and why.

You will get things wrong on purpose. Troubleshooting a setup that isn’t working is a skill, and it is the one you actually need at 4pm on a real client shoot.

What you leave with: your own RAW files from the day, free to use in your portfolio, on your website and in your marketing.

MASTERCLASS PROGRAMM – THE DAY, HOUR BY HOUR

1. LIGHT — Understand it before you complicate it

10:00 AM–12:00 PM | Theory, preparation & workflow
We start with the foundations that make creative lighting possible.

We’ll refresh the principles of studio lighting and look at how seemingly small changes—distance, angle, height, direction, modifier choice and power—can dramatically change the way a woman’s body, face, skin and clothing are photographed.

We’ll discuss the equipment we’re going to use and, more importantly, why and when to choose each tool.

Then we’ll move from a single light into multiple-light setups and discuss how I build a lighting idea without turning the studio into technical chaos.

We’ll also cover preparing the shoot: concept, styling, wardrobe, model preparation and how those decisions connect to the final lighting and visual direction.

2. CREATE — Light, color, pose and shoot

12:00 PM–4:00 PM | Live shoot + hands-on practice

This is where theory becomes muscle memory.

I will demonstrate the setups in real time, explaining the decisions and adjustments as we work. Then you will shoot.

Every participant will have the opportunity to work with the model, adjust camera settings, work with the lights and experience how the setups behave rather than simply watching from the side.

We’ll explore multiple strobes, colored light, continuous light and combinations of flash + continuous light, showing different ways to introduce color and a stronger editorial quality into female portraiture.

We’ll also work extensively on posing and directing women—creating poses that feel powerful, feminine and intentional rather than relying on a memorized list of poses.

The focus throughout the shoot will be on learning how to see, adjust and solve problems in real time.

3. FINISH & SELL — From RAW file to something people want

4:00 PM–6:00 PM | Retouching, business & marketing

Beautiful work doesn’t help your business if producing it takes you five hours per image—or nobody knows it exists.

In the final part, I’ll show you my approach to efficient retouching and the tools that help speed up the process while keeping control over the final result. We’ll look at the adjustments that actually matter and how to achieve a polished finish without getting trapped in endless retouching.

We’ll then connect the creative part of the day with business.

How do you introduce this type of work to your audience? How do you introduce a new kind of work to an audience that only knows you for one thing — and get them to book it, rather than just like it?”How do you use Instagram, social media and other communication channels to create demand instead of waiting for clients to magically ask for something they’ve never seen you offer?

We’ll talk about positioning, showing your work consistently, communicating your value and turning creative experimentation into a service people can actually buy.

On Monday morning, you will be able to:

• Walk into your studio, decide what you want the light to do, and build it — without opening a diagram
• Add a second and third light without the image falling apart
• Use colour deliberately instead of hoping
• Mix flash and continuous light and know which one is doing what
• Look at a photograph that isn’t working and name the one thing to change
• Direct a woman into a pose that looks powerful rather than posed
• Shoot a RAW file that needs finishing in Photoshop, not rescuing
• Explain to a client why your work costs what it costs — and show them work nobody else in your city is making

Plus: your images from the day, a full list of every piece of equipment used, the retouching session recorded for you to re-watch, and a certificate of completion.

Who’s teaching

I’m Marta Ponsko. I photograph maternity and portraits in Warsaw, and I’m known for colour — neon, gels, mixed light — in a genre that mostly still shoots beige.

I’ve taught and spoken at photography conferences in the USA, China, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Colombia, Kazachstan, Bulgaria, Poland and the UK, and I’ve been a guest on the PRO EDU podcast, The Portrait System (episode 246) and MILKY WAY.

I came to photography from a corporate marketing career, which is why this workshop doesn’t stop at the photograph. Making the image is half the job. Getting someone to pay for it is the other half, and most photography education pretends that part doesn’t exist.

I don’t want to teach you my lighting setups. Copying my setups makes you a copy of me. I want you to leave able to build your own.

From photographers who’ve done this

„I have had the opportunity to learn firsthand about her work and technique, and I consider her to be an explosion of creativity and color. Marta is an excellent mentor and a wonderful person, making the perfect combination of a great artist. 100% recommended.” Carol Colonna. Portrait and Maternity Photographer, Columbia

” I’m so in love with her work! Just attended her workshop in Grapevine, Texas at the Maternity Summit, I have learned so much and I can’t wait to applied all the knowledge!! If you ever have the chance I completely recommend learning with her! Completely worth it!” Astrid Fronted, Maternity Photographer, USA

” I recently attended Marta Ponsko’s in-person maternity workshop in San Marcos, TX, and it exceeded every expectation. Marta is not only incredibly knowledgeable, but also warm, approachable, and genuinely invested in helping other photographers grow.
 Even though I had already taken her online course (which I loved!), the in-person experience added a whole new layer of understanding. Seeing her direct real pregnant clients, watching how she styles and layers lighting, and observing the exact positioning of light sources made a huge difference in how I understand and apply what she teaches.
She shared so much practical information about posing, lighting, social media, SEO, and editing — every moment was packed with value. The atmosphere she creates is so positive and encouraging, and it really inspired me to bring that same energy into my own sessions.
If you’re considering taking Marta’s in person workshop — whether you’re brand new or have taken her online class — I absolutely recommend it. It’s a game-changer.” Opa, Maternity and Portrait Photographer, USA

STUDIO LIGHTING WORKSHOP — WORKSHOP DETAILS

Duration: 10:00 AM–6:00 PM: A full-day intensive workshop combining theory, demonstration and hands-on practice.

What’s included:
Hands-on photoshoot • Lighting workflow & styling • Creative lighting techniques • Retouching • Marketing & business

All participants will receive a certificate o workshop completion and a full list of equipment and tools used during the masterclass. Retouching will be recorded and available to watch on an online platform.

Number of participants: Maximum 10 participants to keep the experience focused, practical and personal.

Equipment:
We will work with both studio strobes and continuous lighting, using a variety of light modifiers. You’ll have the opportunity to see how different setups work in practice and experiment with them during the hands-on part of the workshop.

Workshop fee: €850 per person

Eight hours of teaching in a group of ten. Roughly 3 hours of that is you, with a camera, working.

Included: the full day of teaching · hands-on shooting time with a model · your own images from the day, yours to use  · the complete equipment and modifier list · the retouching session recorded and available online afterwards · certificate of completion

Not included: travel and accommodation.

Paying in two instalments: €400 to reserve your seat, €450 paid on the workshop day.  Reply to me and I’ll set it up.

Payment is secure. You’ll get a confirmation email from me personally within 24 hours with the full schedule, the address, travel notes and what to bring.

5 of 10 seats remaining · updated Sept 5th, 2026

Questions people ask before booking

Do I need to bring my own lights? No. Everything is provided — strobes, continuous lights and a full range of modifiers. Bring your camera, your favourite lens (recommended focal length: 50 mm or 24-70 mm) , spare batteries and empty cards.

What if I’ve only ever used one light? That’s most of the room, and it’s the right level. We start from a single light and build up. You will never be the only person who doesn’t know something.

What if I’m quite experienced already? The lighting will still stretch you — mixed sources, optical snoots, shutter drag, painting with light, RGB. And the 16:00–18:00 business block is worth the day on its own if you already shoot well but sell it poorly.

Will I actually shoot, or will I be watching? You’ll shoot. Every participant works directly with the model and the lights. This is the entire reason the group is capped at ten and the studio is this large.

Can I use the images from the day? Yes. Your files are yours: portfolio, website, social media and marketing.

Is it really in English? Yes, the whole day is taught in English. It doesn’t need to be perfect — it needs to be good enough to ask a question. Roughly half of every group I teach is working in their second language.

I photograph boudoir / beauty / branding, not maternity. Is this for me? Yes. This is a workshop about light and about photographing women. Maternity is one of several places people apply it. Nothing in the day is maternity-specific.

How do I get there? Studio Zangarelli is in Servon, Seine-et-Marne, about 30 minutes from central Paris and 1h from CDG.

Can I pay in instalments? yes, Booking fee at 400 Eur and the remaining balance on the workshop day.

What if I have to cancel? Your place is one of only ten, so fees are non-refundable — but if your seat is filled by someone else, you’re refunded in full. If something happens, message me; I’ll help you find a replacement.

CANCELLATION POLICY

Before you book: your payment reserves 1 of only 10 seats, so fees are non-refundable. If you can’t come and your seat is filled by another photographer, you’re refunded in full — and I’ll actively help find that person. Please book only if you’re confident you can be there.