These online courses may be free, but they still come packed with useful information for budding photographers.
If you’re looking to dabble in the art of photography and have little to no experience, it can get overwhelming pretty fast. Instead of having to sift through every available online tutorial, class, video, or lecture related to photography, we’ve simplified your search.
Our curated list contains some of the best free online photography classes you can take. All of them will either help you establish a solid set of skills, or build on your existing knowledge.
Skillshare is a platform that offers courses on pretty much everything you can imagine. You can sign up to Skillshare for free and, as soon as you do, you get access to its vast library of free online classes.
However, there is a caveat. When signing up, Skillshare forces you to enter your credit card information for a free trial of its Premium version. If you’re not interested in the Premium version, you’ll have to cancel it after you finish signing up, but you’ll still get access to Skillshare’s free courses, like the one we’re talking about now.
This free DSLR Photography course covers everything you need to know about shooting with a DSLR camera. It offers 11 videos that teach you how to work with your camera while photographing anything from stunning landscapes to emotive portraits.
If this course doesn’t appeal to you, you’re sure to find another that does on the Skillshare platform.
This is another course you can find on the Skillshare platform. It caters to those who want to be photographers but can’t afford a professional camera.
Newer iPhones have an excellent camera, so it’s no wonder why so many people are dabbling in smartphone photography. This class offers 22 lessons that take about an hour to complete.
The course teaches you how to take the best shot using nothing other than your smartphone. You’ll learn how to adjust your settings, create the best composition, and tell a story with your images.
For the Android users out there, many of the principles in this course also apply to Android devices. So, if you have a device with a decent camera, take a look at this iPhone Photography course.
Strobist is a fantastic resource for photographers who want to get better at using their flash.
This isn’t a general course that teaches in broad strokes about photography. Instead, it’s a specialized one that aims to improve a specific skill that you’ll need to use a lot as a photographer: lighting. Lighting is a key part of a good image, so every photographer should do their best to perfect their skills.
Strobist’s Lighting 101 course grants you an excellent foundation, and given that it’s free, it’s definitely worth exploring.
This Udemy course offers invaluable guidance for beginners. It helps young photographers overcome the fear of no longer using Auto mode on their camera, and instead changing the settings themselves.
You not only get taught how to tweak your camera settings, but you’ll also learn important compositional concepts, like the rule of thirds and how to use it. The course covers how to choose the best backgrounds and tips for framing as well.
Udemy’s Introductory Photography course offers excellent practical lessons that are sure to expand your knowledge and help you gain the confidence to stop using Auto mode. What’s more, it’s free!
As a photographer, you should know how to use Photoshop and Lightroom to further improve the quality of your images. The Phlearn platform offers to help you with that. It boasts over 450 free online tutorials that aim to hone your photo editing skills.
The tutorials offered are thorough and often include sample images to better your understanding. The free tutorials cover an array of helpful topics, like how to remove people from your vacation photos, fix aged images, add steam or smoke to a picture, and more.
Explore all of the topics covered on Phlearn, and you’ll see just how useful they can be.
The Alison platform offers courses on almost anything you can imagine. It also has a section dedicated to free photography courses that you can dive into and explore.
The photography classes are short but thorough. They cover anything from managing your camera settings to composition, exposure, and even more advanced concepts like bracketing and focal length. As a beginner, you can find courses to help you with the basics and then go from there.
To gain access to the courses, you have to sign up for the site. A downside to consider with Alison is that even though the photography classes are free, you have to pay for certification if you want to receive a digital, print, or framed certificate for completing the course.
In any case, whether you perceive photography as a hobby or a profession, Alison’s free classes are worth considering.
Photographers from every level can benefit from the Creativelive platform.
As a beginner, you’re sure to find How to Choose Your First DSLR Camera of immense help. When you’re new to photography, you might not know what to look for when buying equipment, so getting advice on what you need is vital.
This photography class includes 16 video lessons, spans around five hours, and offers plenty of handy advice. You get taught what to look for in lenses, how sensor size affects the quality of an image, and how different photography styles benefit from different features. Knowing all this, you won’t waste money on equipment you don’t need.
This is one of the only free online photography classes on the Creativelive platform. If you don’t think this specific one will benefit you, you might want to consider investing in a paid class on the platform.
It’s never too late to learn a new skill. And with all the available resources online, nothing’s stopping you from delving into the art of photography. Find a class that you like, and hone your skills.
Whether you see photography as nothing more than a hobby, or as an income-generating profession, don’t be scared to embark on the journey to learn.
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Simona is a Writer at MakeUseOf, covering various PC-related topics. She has worked as a professional writer for over six years, creating content around IT news and cybersecurity. Writing full-time for her is a dream come true.
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