Online Photography Classes - 31 Best Picks for Beginners

The internet has contributed to a faster flow of information, resources, and services. This is never truer than in the realm of education and learning services. Once upon a time, to learn a skill you had to seek out experts in the field to teach you, enroll in a college or university, or grab a textbook. Today, online classes and courses offered by many platforms have made the process of learning easier, more accessible, and cost-effective.

From amateurs with YouTube channels to Ivy League university programs, the number of online photography classes available grows every year. Many of these are free photography classes online, but the highest quality courses need to be purchased or viewed using a subscription service. 

Which are the best online photography classes?

The answer to that depends on your learning levels, current skill levels, and the time and money you can invest in a photography class online. Here are the top 10 best online photography classes:

1. Beginner Photography Course Bundle from Creativelive 
2. Introductory Photography Course from Udemy 
3. Certificate in Photography from iPhotography Course
4. Your Road to Better Photography - Free Online Photography Classes by Udemy 
5. Portrait Photography Bootcamp from Creativelive 
6.365 Photography Course from PhotographyCourse.net
7. A Crash Course in Photographic Composition from Skillshare 
8. The Essential Guide to Photoshop from Craftsy
9. The Complete Guide to Photography from The School of Photography
10.DSLR Photography-Photography Course from Skillshare

Which are the best photography classes near me? This question has been made irrelevant by the vast selection of photography classes online that have circumvented the need to find learning opportunities near your location. You now have access to a plethora of quality content from around the world at your fingertips. The best online photography courses require a lot of time and knowledge to put together, and when done well, they can be just as useful as doing an apprenticeship or taking up photography classes near you. 

We have curated a list of the most popular online photography courses, that cover multiple areas and skill levels, to make you a better photographer. Here is an list of top photography website templates for your use. 

Here are the Best 31 Online Photography Classes:

1. Beginner Photography Course Bundle from Creativelive

A great offering on Creativelive's course platform is the four-course bundle for beginner photographers. These four courses, when taken together, cover everything from basic camera settings, composition, lighting, and digital post-processing. The Fundamentals of Photography is a learner-centred online photography class that encompasses 107 video lessons and is a great introduction to the basics of photography.

The following online photography courses are included in the bundle but are also available separately.

• Fundamentals of Photography by John Greengo

• Understanding Light by Mark Wallace

• Adobe Lightroom: The Complete Guide by Ben Willmore

• Practical Adobe Photoshop Basics by Khara Plicanic

2. Introductory Photography Course from Udemy

This hour and a half long video-based online photography class from Udemy offers a lot of value to shutterbugs who are at the start of their photography career. The course covers camera basics including controlling autofocus modes, exposure and metering modes, and the depth of field. The course goes beyond camera settings and introduces compositional concepts like the rule of thirds and leading lines.

The introductory online Digital Photography Course is just one of the online photo classes offered by Udemy. Many courses on the site cost around $10, but they offer a money-back satisfaction guarantee. Many of the online photography courses are about five hours long, but several masterclasses cover over 20 hours of material. Topics range from how-to guides like "Mastering Off-Camera Flash" to specialized niche topics like "Newborn Photography Secrets."

3. Certificate in Photography from iPhotography Course

iPhotography offers a wide range of online photography courses and editing courses that are designed for beginner and amateur photographers.

Its popular flagship course, iPhotography Course, is an in-depth 18-module course covering all the essentials of photography from the basics like camera settings, equipment, light, through to advanced posing, composition, camera tricks and editing in Photoshop.

Each course comes with a Certificate of Achievement, practical tutor-assessed assignments and access to an active community which includes photo contests and a photo feedback gallery that receives over 3,000 uploads a month. Students can upload their photos and receive feedback and ratings from tutors and fellow students.

iPhotography also offers a free photography course called The 30-Day Photographer which delivers a new class each day for 30 days. Each class takes less than 60-seconds to complete and teaches the basic principles of photography.

4. Your Road to Better Photography - Free Online Photography Classes by Udemy

This free online photography class offered by Udemy, encourages students to get out of the automatic camera modes they've been experimenting with and explore the world of manual control. By teaching you to master the exposure triangle for aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, you can enjoy complete creative freedom with whatever type of camera you pick up 

5. Portrait Photography Bootcamp from Creativelive

If you are looking for a more hands-on, specific course for portraiture then look no further. Lindsay Adler's course is a well-thought-out lesson that covers all of the essentials of shooting portraits and is an excellent reference for all photographers. From the basics like camera settings, lighting, and lens selections, to advanced posing techniques for individuals and groups, this course covers it all. Creativelive offers quite a few specialized online digital photography classes in photography, as well as a few general beginner's courses for aspiring photographers. No matter what topic you are interested in or what skill you need to master, Creativelive has a specialty course for you.

6. 365 Photography Course from PhotographyCourse.net

If you’re looking to make a commitment to your photography abilities and learn a little every day, this course is the right fit for you. The daily bite-size lessons are taught by award-winning photographer Kevin LJ, who has been an industry leader for over 30 years and is a master teacher himself for close to a decade. The course guarantees a solid understanding of how to use your camera in every lighting scenario imaginable. What sets this course apart from others is the one bite-sized lesson you receive every day along with a practical challenge to test what you learned.

365 Days of Photography will help you:

• Gain a solid knowledge of your camera
• Develop your camera-operating speed and accuracy
• Understand different types of light
• Compose your photographs confidently
• Identify the best time to take your photos
• Learn to work in any situation; with the use of natural lighting or flash

7. A Crash Course in Photographic Composition from Skillshare

Another great photography course online offered by Skillshare focused entirely on composition. In over two hours of videos and materials, the course covers all aspects of composition, geometry, and lines.

8. The Essential Guide to Photoshop from Craftsy

Among the many online digital photography classes offered on Craftsy, this Photoshop essentials course is a gem. No list of online photography courses would be complete without at least one Photoshop course. Even if you don't personally use the program, chances are you will use it to address the skills and attributes at a job or at some point in your photography career. Other photo editing software programs that you might use have undoubtedly been designed to look and feel like Photoshop, so learning Photoshop has become a de facto requirement for being a digital photographer.

This course, presented by Skott Chandler, consists of 14 video sections and covers basics like using Bridge and Camera RAW to organize files and import camera RAW files. Retouching is divided logically by the type of photograph you are working with, be it portraits, landscapes, or vintage photo restorations.

9. The Complete Guide to Photography from The School of Photography

The team at The School of Photography has been teaching since 2002 and the extensive experience shines through in their courses. Their flagship photography course focuses on teaching you the technical aspects from the ground up. This in turn will give you full control over your camera and the visual effects of photography that all good photographers need. They also offer courses in Photoshop, Lightroom, studio lighting, and other specific genres of photography. This is your go-to place if you are looking to learn professional photography from expert academics.

10. DSLR Photography - Photography Course from Skillshare

Skillshare is a diverse community of online video courses. The site offers many free online photography courses to try out, but a reasonable monthly subscription fee gets you access to over 24,000 classes. The site provides a one-month free trial, so you can probably even complete one or two of the best online photography courses it offers for free.

The DSLR Photography course consists of 11 chapters of videos that cover using your camera for everything from street photography to portraits. Even the free online photography classes like this one on Skillshare have a lot to offer. Additionally, there are several introductions to photography courses, as well as several Photoshop and Lightroom tutorials. Classes include projects which you can share and compare with others in the Skillshare community.

Each lesson takes less than 5 minutes to complete, with an aim to make learning part of your daily photography journey.

11. Photography Basics and Beyond from Coursera

Coursera is a leading online platform provider for MOOCs, or massive open online courses. Many of the MOOCs offered on the site are provided by accredited universities and colleges. The photography specialization is available from Michigan State University. This is a seven-month program with flexible deadlines and scheduling to meet your needs. Upon completion of the program and the hands-on projects, you earn a certificate in photography, which is excellent for your resume and employment options. As a freelance photographer, certifications help bolster your marketability and credibility with clients.  Here is the guide for how to build a resume website.

The following five courses are included in the Photography Basics and Beyond specialization.

• Cameras, Exposure, and Photography

• Camera Control

• Principles of Photo Composition and Digital Image Post-Production

• Photography Techniques: Light, Content, and Sharing

• Photography Capstone Project

12. Professional Diploma in Photography from Shaw Academy

One of Shaw Academy's stated goals is to "reskill and upskill the world." Their professional diploma programs are accredited by the European Qualifications Framework. Their courses and programs vary from photography and video to design, marketing, and even health and wellness. 

Here are a few popular professional online photography courses:

The Wedding Photography course will teach you professional techniques and in-depth skills to ace wedding portraits. 

The Professional Online Video Production and Cinematography Course offers basic skills to create videos, understand compositional techniques and movement, syncing the audio with video, and shooting fully manual to have complete creative control over your videos and to become a professional cinematographer.

Specifically, their Diploma in Photography consists of five modules, each taking four weeks of study time. The first module alone includes many of the basics skills photographers might be looking to master, including composition, lighting, and equipment basics. The first seven days of membership with Shaw is free, and then each month is billed as a membership.

Once you have mastered the Basics in the Diploma Course, you can go on to Intermediate and Advanced courses in Photography, to learn about types of photography and hone your skills to create stunning images. Shaw Academy also offers Online Courses on Lightroom, Photoshop, Smartphone photography. Read more in detail here.

13.  Beginner Digital Photography - Online Photography Classes by Alison

Alison is an Irish-based web learning company that offers diploma and certificate courses online. Their online classes are free and wide-ranging. From learning a foreign language to master web design, Alison has great courses available to be taken anytime. Alison offers a photographer career path that includes 16 different photography classes.

Alison offers several free online photography courses with certificates, including a diploma program for digital photography. Beginners can try out their course offerings by taking Digital Photography for Beginners course. This online photography class covers basic image composition, using and picking digital cameras, and other great tips to help you get off on the right foot.

14. Beginner Photography Courses from Sleeklens

Sleeklens is a Danish-based company with a well-known reputation in Lightroom Presets & Brushes. Since 2018 they have extended their product range to list online photography courses.

Discover the "Beginner Photography Course" by Sleeklens, covering a broad range of topics relevant to photographers today,

This is an 8-hour course split into eight different modules, covering from gear basics to composition, working with external flashes, photo editing in both Lightroom and Photoshop – and if all that weren’t enough, offering detailed guides on Landscape, Portrait, Real Estate, Food, and Travel Photography. Here is a top real estate photography tips from the industry.

The course is authored by Jordan Younce, a professional Real Estate Photographer with more than ten years of experience in the field.

15. The Practicing Photographer from Lynda

Lynda is the professional training website from business social media giant Linkedin. Lynda's courses feature high-quality video training of any number of topics to help you build marketable skills and expand your knowledge base. These are some of the best online photography courses out there, but they do come with a price tag. Luckily, Lynda offers a free month to try out their courses so you can see if it's a good fit for you before beginning a subscription.

The Practicing Photographer is a quick 30 minutes web course designed to give students a feel for what it's like being a working photographer. This overview course quickly dives into different styles of cameras, lighting techniques, and post-processing programs. For a quick session, it covers a lot of ground.

If you are interested in getting more in-depth information, Lynda offers learning paths specifically tailored to photography. Their photography lessons online feature hands-on projects and learning assessments to ensure mastery of the material. What's more, their photography section includes over 600 courses and more than 25,000 video tutorials.

16. Beginners Start Here from Kelbyone

Kelbyone, the website started by a professional photographer and author Scott Kelby, is full of the best online photography classes. Fifteen courses are available if you sign up for a free membership, the rest of the 1,000 plus video catalog requires a paid Plus or Pro membership. Industry-leading photographers and expert academics teach classes, so there are probably a few instructors whose names you'll recognize.

Kelby's own "Beginners Start Here" course covers the basics of photography, and several other free courses cover topics of interest to aspiring photographers. You will find classes that include every aspect of photography, from lighting and composition to business techniques and equipment reviews.

Check out the site for free weekly webinars and some popular webcasts on photography, plus discounts on memberships.

17. Ditch Auto - Start Shooting in Manual from Jerad Hill’s Courses

Jerad Hill is a wedding photographer and website designer with an eye for the business of making money online from photography. In this well-designed yet free photography class course, you'll learn the basics of camera settings and all that you need to master the exposure triangle and light. Jerad Hill's website also includes other courses, some paid and some free. Many courses cover topics like using Foursquare or Instagram to promote your business, which is extremely handy for photographers looking to start their own companies.

18. Reddit Photo Class by Alex Buisse

Designed initially for Reddit, lifestyle photographer Alex Buisse put together this immensely popular class on his website. The text-based course takes the student through thirty lessons, from "What is a Camera" to "Sharing your Work" and "How to Go Further." The course is easy to follow and covers all the essential basics, plus some professional-level insights into RAW files and using tools like the histogram function in your camera. Each lesson includes an assignment to hone your skills. Alex's stunning photos help illustrate points. Best of all, the site isn't bogged down by advertising or sales gimmicks.

19. Photography Courses by David

David Molnar is a celebrity and advertising photographer whose clients include Google, Pepsi, & Sony among many others. David is now focusing on sharing his knowledge with others by being a photography mentor and creating world-class photo education, inspiration & resources. David's photography courses are structured for beginners and span the entire spectrum of learning photography from mastering your camera, understanding lighting, and composition and learning how to edit and organize like a pro.

20. Masters of Photography

 Masters of photography brings you some of the best online photography classes created by the most celebrated photographers in the world. They currently have courses by three photographers, namely Steve McCurry, Joel Meyerowitz, and Albert Watson wherein you get lifetime access to hours of content. Once you have finished the course from them, you will also get a personalized certificate.  

21.  Basics of Digital Photography from Craftsy

Craftsy is a website dedicated to educating craft makers and artists using quality video lessons. Topics on the site are wide-ranging: from knitting and cooking to gardening and photography.

The Basics of Digital Photography course was created in collaboration with the Santa Fe Photographic Workshop and features nine HD video photography classes given by instructor Rick Allred. Topics included in this online digital photography course cover light and exposure, shutter speed, aperture, ISO, lenses, and composition and creativity.

22. The Elements of Effective Photographs from Lynda

Another photography course from Lynda's extensive catalog, The Elements of Effective Photographs covers more of the creative side of the art. This course is taught by Natalie Fobes, a National Geographic photographer. It covers topics like composition, leading lines, and exposure. The course also highlights the use and control of light, whether in the studio or outdoors. This focus on compositional elements, using movement to capture the emotion, and proper lighting will be refreshing if you're getting bogged down in the technical side of camera settings and equipment.

23. School of Visual Arts Photography Lectures

The School of Visual Arts has created a YouTube playlist that serves as a free photography class for beginners. It contains more than 100 lectures related to photography and is presented by their Masters in Photographic Studies program. This free online photography course is called i3: Images, Ideas, Inspiration, and includes lectures by experienced photographers in various fields like fashion photography, documentary photography, etc. 

24. Continuing Education in Photography from the School of Visual Arts

There are two online photography classes provided by Continuing Education.

Creative Seeing: This paid course focuses on the creative vision of the photographer and aims to expand it. The course includes photography exercises as well as those which focuses on seeing. Photographers in their early stage and those who want to improve their perspective of how they see the world can enrol in this course. 

Queering the Portrait: The course will teach portrait photography that is far from average. It also includes subjects such as lighting, direction, and location choosing. Weekly and long projects will be assigned to you, and feedback will be given for it. 

25. Annie Leibovitz MasterClass

Annie Leibovitz's world-famous photographer known for photographing people such as John Lenon. Her iconic photographs appeared in magazines such as Vanity Fair and Rolling Stones. She believes in telling stories through photography. Her years of experience are taught through this MasterClass that allows students to get an online peek into her studio and live shoots. This online portrait photography class contains fifteen video lessons.

26. Jimmy Chin adventure photography MasterClass

If you are into adventure photography, then this online photography course is for you. Jimmy Chin is well known in the world of adventure. He is a National Geographic photographer who teaches how to plan, capture and edits the adventure photographs taken by you. Whether it is for a commercial shoot, editorial projects, or your passion, Jimmy teaches you to take your photography to a new level. 

27. Seeing Through Photographs

As the name suggests, this free online photography course wants the learner to understand the photograph, not just look at it. When a photo is made, there are different ideas and approaches, which the course will help you understand. The course provided by the Museum of Modern Art also aims to help you understand the different ways a photograph is seen and used, whether as a way of documentation or as a way of artistic expression. It is one of the best free online photography courses that can be done in 16 hours and is suggested to be divided into six weeks. 

28. New York Institute of Photography

The New York Institute of Photography (NYIP) offers professional photography courses. These courses are taught by illustrious photographers, who will mentor students throughout the comprehensive program, course study, and assignments and help them improve their skills and take better photographs. They have a special limited-time offer on the photography courses listed here. 

Do check out these online photography courses, that are aimed at inspiring photographers to improve their creative skills. We had put together an article listing 25+ Creative Photography ideas and techniques to try in 2021. Some of these courses are available for free throughout the month of April. With stay-at-home and lock-down orders going up all over the world, you can also use the time to learn something small that will be of value to you later. It is a perfect time to use your camera in a new way! For more ideas, do read our list of 10 Things for Photographers to do while in Covid-19 Lockdown.

29. Nikon School - Online

Designed to inspire creators, these courses will help you journey from the fundamentals of photography, to intricacies of portraiture, child and pet photography,  macro photography, to exploring dynamic landscape photography and the art of making videos. The classes are available through live video streaming on Nikon’s official handles of Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram. These in-depth videos offer great tips and techniques to help you take your photography game to another level!

30. Free Online Photography Classes by Creativelive

Besides the above-mentioned classes, Creativelive is offering Free Photography Classes for the creative community. So if you are looking at mastering key photography skills or glean industry insight from experts, there are lots to learn for every skill level.

31. Free Online Photography Courses by Leica 

Leica Akademie is offering free courses and talks for photographers. Their series of free Instagram live discussions will be led by renowned photographers, musicians, actors, and other creative professionals.

32. Home with Olympus Sessions

Home with Olympus sessions is designed to connect users with Olympus technical experts. You can either sign up for a one-on-one session or participate in a group session to get to know about Olympus cameras or talk about specific photography genres and gain insights from industry experts.

Conclusion 

The above-listed photography classes for beginners aren't the only online photography courses out there, but they will provide a great foundation for your photography knowledge base. Photography is a varied field with many specializations and areas where we can all learn more. Thankfully, online learning has empowered us all to keep learning and to keep improving our skills. What skill do you want to learn next?

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I start learning photography?
The easiest way to start learning photography is to find “the best photography course for you.”  If you are really struggling to find the best course, we have curated a list of “Top 31 Photography Courses” to help you get started.  

Which online photography course is the best?
If you are new to photography one can start with courses such as “Beginner Photography Course Bundle from CreativeLive”. On the other hand, if you want to learn something niche in photography, refer to courses such as “Portrait Photography Bootcamp from CreativeLive.” 

How do photographers make money?
The digital world made it easier for photographers to generate multiple revenue streams and make a huge sum of money. Photographers make money by selling stock photos and prints, organizing workshops and tours, collaborating on different projects, editing, and retouching photos, etc.

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