Course

Course Overview

Partner Photography is not a commercial portrait or model-photography course. It has one central aim: learning how to photograph your own girlfriend in a way she genuinely likes. Every topic is taught in service of making photographs she will want to keep and share.

The course follows the complete process before, during and after a shoot. Before taking photos, students learn how their girlfriend likes to be photographed, then plan the date, location, light and equipment. While photographing, they learn to recognise the right moment, compose, guide and adapt. Afterwards, they review the images with her, compare choices, agree on editing boundaries and finish the photographs together.

Learning how to photograph during a date supports this process. Comfort, trust, timing and mood shape how your girlfriend looks and feels in front of the camera, helping produce an image she will want to keep.

Course Details

Course code

SLOP1810

Level

1

Semester

Semester 1

Teaching period

22 February 2027 – 28 May 2027

Delivery mode

In person, on campus

Convenors

Lion Yuu · Neko Azusa

For attendance, academic integrity, extensions and support, see thepolicies and support page.

Teaching Format

All teaching is delivered in person on campus. Each week combines a face-to-face lecture with a practical session built around photographing, reviewing or planning with classmates. These exercises develop methods students can apply when photographing their girlfriends. There is no online teaching stream; material on this website supports preparation and revision but does not replace participation in class.

Students should bring a phone or camera when requested and arrive ready to alternate between photographer, portrait partner and reviewer. Exercises are designed around communication and consent as much as camera technique.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students will be able to:

1. plan short photographic moments within a date around shared intent, consent, location, available light, weather and their girlfriend's energy;
2. understand and apply their girlfriend's preferences through a reusable Partner Photography Profile;
3. use camera height, working distance, focal length, framing and available light to make deliberate portrait decisions;
4. guide their girlfriend through actions, movement and conversation while maintaining comfort and trust; and
5. compare their own selections with their girlfriend's, agree on editing boundaries and finish photographs she genuinely wants to keep and share.

Course Philosophy

Your girlfriend's response is the primary measure of success. A technically impressive or artistically ambitious portrait has still missed the point if she does not like how she is seen in it. The photographer's taste matters, but it does not overrule the person the photograph is made for.

The experience of the date matters because it shapes that photograph. Attention, comfort and trust make genuine expression possible; pressure and over-direction work against it. Knowing how to prepare, when to take the camera out and when to put it down is therefore part of learning how to make an image your girlfriend will love.

Course Structure

The twelve-week sequence develops in five stages:

1. Weeks 1–2 — Foundations and planning. Establish what makes a photograph feel successful to your girlfriend, then plan how photography will fit into the date: intention, consent, timing, location, weather and a realistic shooting window.
2. Week 3 — Equipment and lenses. Learn what phones and cameras do differently, how focal length and working distance change a face, and how to choose practical equipment for the date rather than carrying everything available.
3. Weeks 4–8 — Core photographic skills. Build control of composition, background, camera height, perspective, exposure, focus, movement and available light through repeated portrait exercises.
4. Weeks 9–10 — Communication and direction. Learn how to ask what your girlfriend likes, give clear prompts, respond to comfort and confidence, and guide expression without making her perform as a professional model.
5. Weeks 11–12 — Selection and post-production. Compare both people's shortlists, agree on cropping and retouching boundaries, then complete colour, skin tone, export and sharing decisions together.

Weekly lectures and tutorials support preparation and revision. Threeassessment milestones track the move from individual decisions to a complete set of photographs chosen and approved together, while marked tutorial participation rewards steady practice from Week 2 to Week 11.