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Photographer's comment about Ron's work
A sample of the images Ron shot this year
Turn your portraits into paintings
Video library

PortraNET went online April of 2003 and is an on going seminar for the advancement of professional portrait photographers and those who want to learn pro portrait skills. Members gain one on one experience with Top Senior Portrait photographer "Ron Kramer" as he teaches his techniques used in posing, lighting, conventional and digital retouching, and print enhancement. Ron has owned and operated "The House of Photography" for 24 years and has 3 decades of personal photographic experience.

Unlike message forums where people exchange the basics, Ron reveals all his tricks n tips and personal secrets to the questions you have with answers you can use to improve your daily work. Step by step explanations and detailed example photographs are used to convey topics so that you can see the difference. Take what you've learned from Ron and apply it in your work, then post your images using these techniques so that Ron can personally critique and refine what you've created to allow you to improve at a faster rate. Occasionally we will share video clips as visual training aids. These will show clips from portrait sessions and will document the steps taken during Photoshop print enhancements.

Learn from seeing others work as Ron points out how to improve the compositional flow, correct color and use digital software to get that snappy look out of your every day work. In addition to learning the rules of posing and lighting, you'll be taken BEYOND - learning what rules to break or bend to build more natural poses.

Advance your studio by learning ways to market your work for little or nothing. Learn what works and what doesn't. Learn how to make your own promotional materials in Photoshop. Get the assistance you need to create brochures and fliers that gain your customers attention with bold graphics, and great composition, balance and color.

You'll generally pay $100-$200 for an afternoon seminar, or $500-$800 for a weekend or seven day class as just another photographer in the audience. Even pay $300+ just to be listed as a member of a professional association. Our new method of on-line training costs you nothing in travel expenses and allows you to sit and learn from the comfort of your home or studio. No where else can you get a year of one-on-one questions and answers with an instructor as you practice what you've learned. This allows you to progress quickly over days, weeks, months throughout the entire year! No more paying for seminars, then going home and not being able to get the results you hoped for. We'll actually "put into practice" what we preach!

New! We've added a free public area! Register (real names only, please - no handles) to be emailed your password. Log in and get free pointers, talk to my students and more. Click here to enter PortraNET!

Because we wish to keep the instruction on a personal level, memberships will be limited. Annual enrollment is $1795 for a full year of instruction. This includes everything, all videos (around 100 as of this writing) your own personal project folder, Ron's personal critiques and mentoring of your work and studio operations.

You'll easily make this back 100X in offering superior work and this investment will be recouped in just a few photo sessions. Of course you learn at your own pace. Show your lighting setup and results, and Ron will examine your photos and explain what you need to do to improve your work. All the "elements" that comprise a great portrait image will be discussed so that you can put all the elements together to create consistently awesome work. Best of all, it's a business write off.

PortraNET is mainly a place to learn "Fine Portraiture" while a good basic foundation of "photography" would be helpful, we have taken students from total beginners in photographer who knew nothing more than how to use a point and shoot camera into a top pro portrait photographer in only a few months. You will learn the trade, no matter what your current skill level may be.

Sample our Content
A fraction of what you'll learn

Project Folders
Member feedback and their work

Feb 9th, 2005 Time for an update: Due to word-of-mouth from my students, PortraNET has grown far beyond my expectations. I honestly felt I would have 12-15 members by the end of the first year. Instead I had 96. It has grown since then to 18 students joining during December and 30 (yes, THIRTY!) new students joining during the month of January. I also want to point out that while it would be good business for me to offer my students enticements for referring new students to PortraNET, I want to be sure that their referrals to non members are 100% honest and from the heart, and not done for personal gain. So even though I would love to thank them in some way, I do not and will not offer any sort of referral program. All referrals and comments you see here are because students truly love PortraNET and find it the best value in the industry.

PortraNET HAS and IS growing at a rapid rate. Not only my student body, but also the content... which in some ways has not been totally positive in that so much content can be difficult to manage, sort and find for new students. With these growing pains I've had to raise prices a little to slow enrollments. This is giving us time to re-think the structure and format of PortraNET. We've found the solution was the creation of a "Table Of Contents" which allows students to look up the information they need to learn and link directly to that area in the PortraNET "encyclopedia."

The difference between PortraNET and seminars, workshops, books magazines or forums?
We tell you what we do and HOW WE DO IT. Ever notice that "How to" Photoshop books contain 99% of things you won't ever need or use and only 1% useful information? And that you had to spend several days or weeks reading it to find the helpful crumb that applies to every day studio work! Seminars and workshops are great, but they are only a day, or week... I'm sorry but it is NOT POSSIBLE to get every piece of the puzzle in a day or week, or even a month! Why waste time on forums trying to learn from people who are there trying to learn from you! It's a well known fact that you do get what you pay for. Now that you see what we have here, it's up to you to take the step that will move you to not only the next level, but levels above all your competition! Or simply the skills to move into a profession that will make you many times what you are making now, doing something that YOU ENJOY! (And without risks of down sizing!)

Okay - Sign me up!