Photos by Raina Stinson

Photo by Kimberly Ransom

About Raina Stinson

Raina is an international award-winning professional photographer, born and raised in Portland, Oregon, USA. She received her first camera when she was thirteen years old; she had found her art. She grounded herself in film technique — in-camera and in the darkroom. After a 34 year career as a registered nurse, and raising two children, she embraced her life-long dream to become a professional photographer. In 2018, she moved to the Luberon Valley in France to pursue her passion as an artist.

She has transferred her film mastery to the digital camera. Her approach is “do the work in the camera, instead of spending hours in front of the computer.” Her specialty is portraiture which will be her focus in her workshops. She will teach you how to tell a story in a single image using composition, lighting, styling, and props.

Techniques are important in photography, but so is intuition. Raina’s workshops start with a meditation practice “to quiet your mind, deepen your awareness, and tap into your creative self.” That is Raina’s approach to her art. Photography is as instinctual as it is powerful.

Raina will also provide tips on travel photography to to raise the bar on all your shots, including your posts on social media.

 “I hope that you will come away from your week with increased confidence as a photographer, that you will be more aware of the art all around you, and that you will be inspired to create new and adventurous work. But best of all, we’ll have a lot of fun learning and experiencing the visually stunning Venice and The Veneto.”

Bring the camera that is most comfortable to you. If all you have is a cell phone camera, that is fine.

Raina Stinson has received numerous awards and has exhibited around the world. In 2014 Raina was a recipient of the Sixth Julia Margaret Cameron International Award for Women Photographers. She was awarded First Place for the single image category in the international LensCulture Exposure Awards 2014. Her work has been exhibited at the 2014 Third International Biennial in Malaga, Spain, the 2015 Photo London, London, UK, and in the prestigious 2016 Foto Biennial in Berlin, Germany.

All photos © Raina Stinson