Free Online Digital Photography Courses
Photography is now a very competitive field, and you need to be continually learning if you want to stand out!
If you do photography as a hobby, there is nothing more rewarding than seeing your images improve. This motivates you to work even harder.
If you are a professional, you know how competitive photography is. You need to keep your skills honed and your ideas fresh.
There are some very helpful online photography courses and tutorials out there. Many are for free, and others are reasonably priced.
I have checked out all these digital photography classes below and made sure that they are still available and are of good quality for you.
All the online photography courses listed in this blog post are free. They are listed in no particular order.
1. Udemy
Udemy is a wonderful online learning platform. Their free learning digital content is extensive. They have an introductory photography course, shooting in manual mode, even ‘green screen’ is covered by Dave Cross. There are best practices for exposure, secrets of magazine model photography, do’s and don’ts, and many others.
They also have shorter, standalone tutorials at no charge.
https://www.udemy.com/topic/photography/free/
2. r – Photo Class
The content on this site has been put together by award-winning photographer Alex Buisse. The information is extensive and put across clearly. The only disadvantage is there are no videos, it’s all notes. It isn’t updated anymore and I’m not sure how secure the site is. If you are a beginner, it is still worth a visit. You can also learn at your own pace.
3. Cambridge in Colour Digital Photography Tutorials
They call themselves “a learning community for photographers” and they are just that. They have a great collection of visual tutorials for beginner through to advanced photographers.
Categories include concepts and terminology, photo techniques and style, editing and post-processing, using camera equipment, colour management and printing. The illustrations are clear and useful but there are no videos. The website is informative and well worth a visit.
https://www.cambridgeincolour.com/learn-photography-concepts.htm
4. Alison
Alison was founded in 2007 and has become one of the world’s largest free learning platforms. They offer over 4000 free online courses.
In the photography section, they have beginner, intermediate and advanced digital photography courses, photo-editing, landscape photography, video production, and much more.
If you purchase anything from the above link I will get a small commission at no extra cost to you.
5. DIY Photography
New content is constantly added to the site. It’s not so much about courses but rather short tutorials on specific topics. There are also inspirational articles, and they do equipment reviews too.
https://www.diyphotography.net/category/tutorials/
6. Strobist
This course is mostly about lighting and is geared more towards intermediate to advanced photographers. You also need a flash to get the most out of this free photography course.
https://strobist.blogspot.com/2006/03/lighting-101.html
7. Creative Live
As its name implies, this site is all about creativity. They have over 10 million students, so they are onto something. The information Creative Live cover is not what you typically find on other sites; it is different and stimulating. You need to sign up (no charge) to receive their free live and on-air events. If you subscribe you then have access to over 2000 classes!
8. Professional Photographers of America (PPA)
Through its digital photography school, PPA offers around 1000 free online photography classes. They also have videos, monthly webinars, business tips for photographers, recommended reading, and more. Their format is structured and there is lots of help at hand, making this a great site.
9. Jerad Hill
Jerad is a wedding photographer, and his course is all about learning to shoot in manual mode. Learning digital photography with him is great for people who don’t have a lot of time because his course is just over 4 hours long.
https://learnwithjerad.com/p/ditch-auto-start-shooting-in-manual
10. PetaPixel
PetaPixel has a huge variety of tutorials that will appeal to both beginners and expert photographers alike. They publish in-depth tutorials on a wide range of subjects, from how to shoot Africa’s big five safari animals to how to convert HEIC into JPG. New tutorials are constantly added. I can’t think of anything these guys haven’t covered! There is a news section, reviews, advice for buying equipment, etc.
https://petapixel.com/topic/tutorials
11. Karl Taylor
Nearly 300 000 photographers have participated in Karl’s courses. He is a professional photographer who can explain the artistic and technical side of photography clearly and concisely. There is a free eBook and cheat sheets to download, a photo quiz, and 10 free video classes. If you are new to photography, this is a great place to begin.
If you are an advanced photographer this is also a brilliant site. You’ll be in for a monthly fee but will then have access to high-quality content.
https://karltayloreducation.com/free-photography-course/
12. Phil Steele training
Phil doesn’t have a free online photography course but has free online videos which are well worth watching. He is one of my favourite online teachers because he is an ethical guy who is also a brilliant teacher. I highly recommend him!
https://www.steeletraining.com/photo-tutorials.htm
YouTube
There is a lot of free photography content on YouTube as well. Try searching for First Man Photography as a starting point.
Conclusion
There is no shortage of free photography content online so I hope I have managed to point you in the direction of some websites you never knew about. Happy learning!
If you would like to know when my next blog is published, or you want me to cover anything specific in future blogs please email me at deeadamsphotography@gmail.com