Photography is much more than just simply clicking the shutter to take some photos. There are numerous things involved that make it a complete study including the aperture, frame rate, ISO, light sensitivity, subject placement, focus, and more. Not only that, but you also need your creativity and an artistic sense to ensure that you are taking the photos that are lively, and close to reality.
These all factors combined sums towards capturing the perfect photos. Each photographer has a distinctive touch to its work and that is not easy to attain for people if you don't have the right guidance and knowledge.
You need to have the right patience and an eye for capturing the perfect photo from the right angle given the light and other factors a detailed consideration. You can learn photography from tons of schools for cinematic arts, art schools, and photography studios.
They are an excellent way for you to not only learn from the experts but also have hands-on practice in the field out there. But if you are unable to join them for any reasons, or prefer a more advanced approach towards learning photography, these online courses can help you greatly.
10 Best Photography Lessons for Beginners Review
1) MasterClass: Annie Leibovitz Teaches Photography
To achieve the title of chief photographer at Rolling Stone is not an easy task, and Annie shares her experiences being the first woman to get there in this course. She was the last person to take a portrait of John Lennon and she still remembers the day. You will get to learn some of the best experiences of her life in this course.
To learn from Annie is a dream for every photographer who is looking to try his luck with a camera and this is their first chance to get it. Annie has shared her philosophy towards photography, and how she develops concepts with her students in this course.
Over the course with 3-hour video lessons and 15 different subjects, you are going to get a deeper knowledge of working with different subjects, shooting with natural light, and bringing photos to life. You will start with learning portrait photography and move forward with creating concepts, working with different types of lights, the difference between a studio and location, and working with your subjects in this course.
2) MasterClass: Jimmy Chin Teaches Adventure Photography
Jimmy Chin lives his life on the edge and has made a successful career out of it taking photos at the top of the world. He has earned the cover of national geographic and several awards that are but well deserved, and you can have a chance to learn all that it takes to be an adventure photographer from him in this course. Jimmy Chin will give you a virtual tour of adventurous locations in this breathtaking course and help you understand what it takes to capture those breathtaking shots.
You will learn a different, creative, and workable approach towards natural and adventure photography in this course that will help you with your passion projects or commercial shoots. The course contains over 4-hours of video lessons that will help you get the right edge of adventure photography.
You are going to learn about the location: climbing photoshoot, portraits, and how to use natural light and reflections to your advantage. The course will also help you learn about different altitudes and the right angles that you need to understand if you want to make it big in adventure photography.
3) Udemy: Beginner Nikon Digital SLR (DSLR) Photography
With this course created by JP Teaches Photo, you are going to have an expert's insight on Nikon DSLR that is one of the best and most used cameras around the world. The course will help you learn how to use your camera intuitively and you will be learning with the help of practice exercises and not just concepts that you can memorize to forget later when needed.
The course helps you learn how to see your images in a way with the perspective of a professional photographer. You will be learning how to adjust the aperture and the right aperture you need according to the scene you are going to shoot. There are tons of other useful insights in this course including adding the right exposure, using natural light, recognizing the difference between depth-of-field blur and motion blur.
Besides, the course also helps you understand different modes found on Nikon DSLR and which mode to use according to the subject or photo you are planning to shoot. All you are going to need to learn from this course is a Nikon DSLR and your will to learn photography in a professional manner. Everything else is simply provided in the course.
4) Udemy: iPhone photography | Take Professional Photos on your iPhone
While you can have the best equipment, cameras, and lenses in your gear, it is all useless if you are not able to understand how photography works and have the right creativity.
This course spanning over 1.5-hour of on-demand video and a downloadable resource will help you learn the right skills that you need to make your photos pop-out on a simple iPhone camera. iPhone has a camera that wins over any other smartphone due to highly optimized software and you are going to learn to use it to its full potential with the help of this course.
Created by Dale McManus, you are going to learn how to take stunning photos by utilizing shot composition and create some professional-looking photos on your iPhone. You will also be learning to use natural and other light that is available to make your photos look lively than ever. This course also contains insight on editing your photos using lightroom on your iPhone to give them a more professional touch.
5) Udemy: The Complete Video Production Bootcamp
Photography is an art, but to take it to another level, you need to learn videography and video production. This course with Phil Fbiner, William Carnahan, and Sam Shimizu – Jones is the right choice for you if are interested in learning cinematography from the right experts.
This is a complete video production course focusing on video production, planning, cinematography, editing, and distribution. Over this 9-hour long course, you will be learning how to feel comfortable making your own videos from conception and production to editing.
The course enables you to shoot videos using any camera you might have and make it work. You will learn how to make videos with the best story, and gain the right skills to shoot those videos using any camera that you might have. The course also contains elaborative guides on how you can edit those videos for an after-camera touch.
6) Udemy: Photography Masterclass: A Complete Guide to Photography
This is one of the best online courses you can get on photography out there. You will learn how to take amazing photos and the course material, pace and structure suits all the beginners to expert level photographers.
Created by Phil Ebiner, William Carnahan, and Sam Shimizu-Jones, this course would let you dive deep into the world of photography so you can learn what is required of you as a photographer to use the camera, and your instincts to take some truly stunning photos.
You can learn how to impress your family and friends using your photography skills or start a career as a professional photographer with the help of this course. You are going to get a remarkable photography experience with help on shooting different scenarios like family portraits, landscapes, products, wildfire, nature, and more with this course.
Not only that, but the course also contains a whopping 22-hours of on-demand video, 63 articles, and 31 downloadable resources. It is all that you are ever going to need to learn photography.
7) Udemy: Your Road to Better Photography
This is a crash course on photography that does not waste time over some theories and concepts that you are going to forget but allows you to learn practical tricks on the camera that are going to help you greatly while working with any camera.
The course is only for 28 minutes with a full practice guide on any manual camera that would help you use it with full features easily and confidently. You just need to have a camera to follow the instructions along when you are taking this course and that will make you practice everything that you are ever going to need while shooting.
If you are stuck with operating your camera in auto mode and are unable to use it to its full potential, then you definitely need to take this course and grow your skills behind the camera.
8) Udemy: Cinematography Course: Shoot Better Video with Any Camera
Cinematography is another important skill that you must have, and this course will help you learn the professional cinematography so that you can get in the field and make a successful career out of it. This course is going to help you shoot beautiful videos with ever camera and know all about ISO, Shutter speed, and aperture. You will be able to light your set like a professional director of photography.
The course will help you know what types of videos you want to shoot, what equipment you need for your goal, and how to use it properly to shoot some stunning scenes.
9) Coursera: Photography Basics and Beyond: From Smartphone to DSLR Specialization
Photography is a broad subject. It reaches from an ordinary smartphone camera to DSLRs of high-end specifications. But none of that is useful for you if you don't have what it takes to shoot some breathtaking photos that would leave the viewers awed, and that is what precisely this course is focused on.
Developed by Michigan State University, this course focuses on skills that are required to take your photography to the next level. You can start with the camera on your smartphone to learn the basic concepts and move all the way upwards to have the right knowledge and skills to use those DSLRs.
This is a 6-months long online specialization that would allow you to learn those skills that are imminent for any photographer to have. Once you have completed the course, you will be able to take some truly mesmerizing shots no matter what camera you have in your hands. From camera controls to creativity, and subject information, you are going to learn tons of new and exciting stuff in this course to brush-up your photography skills.
10) Coursera: Cameras Exposure and Photography
If you are not in for a specialization that would take months and just looking for a crash course to run through some basic skills that will enable you to understand the right essence of photography, then this course is a perfect choice for you. With the help of this course, you are going to learn a concise and practical approach to using different types of cameras and how you can operate them to have remarkable photos.
The course is designed by Michigan State University to facilitate the online medium of learning for every enthusiast who is looking to get a better learning approach towards photography.
In this course taught by Peter Glendinning, you are going to learn all that you need to know about cameras, exposure, and photography. Exposure being the core focus of this course, it matters considerably when it comes to photography. The exposure of your subject, the light behind it, and the one falling on it, all need to be calculated and you need to develop an eye for the right angle if you want to make your photos count.
Choosing the Best Photography Lessons for Beginners
Photography is not just a skill that you can learn overnight. It is a combination of creativity, knowledge of the equipment, and how to use it along with some natural eye for things you want to shoot. These are some courses that can help you not only with basic photography skills and knowledge but also how to enhance your skills behind the camera. You can choose from these courses based on the reviews and your requirements to have the best online photography learning experience.