4 Excellent Photography Courses for Beginners

July 20, 2018 · Nate Kay

Whether you’re picking up a DSLR for the first time or just looking to improve your photography skills, one of the best ways to learn is to take the advice of an experienced photographer. Depending on your creative style and professional aspirations, it could be as simple as following a workshop or reading a blog, or as in-depth as a long-term mentorship or year-long university course.
Whatever your photography goals are, there are plenty of great resources readily available. Even if you’re short on cash, you can find the information you need online. You don’t have to take an expensive, week-long workshop or go back to school for a photography degree. All you need is an Internet connection and a dedication to learning and growing as a photographer.

One Google search will give you many fantastic resources and articles to help you improve your photography skills. In addition to blogs like ours, you can take online classes through companies like Udemy, which connects industry experts with students. As one of our partners, we routinely use their courses to help further our own photography skills as well as recommend them to our readers to help further their own expertise.
Founded in 2010 as a global marketplace for learning and teaching online, Udemy now has over 65,000 courses in over 50 different languages. There’s something for every level and interest. Best of all, you get to decide your own pace and learn from home. You don’t have to rearrange your schedule to learn a new photography skill; you can move forward whenever you have time.

Beginner Photography Classes

Here’s a list of some excellent photography courses from Udemy that we recommend for beginners or even casual, Instagram photographers. Know someone who could benefit from a few photography tips and inspiration? Share this list with them, since friends don’t let friends post bad photos!

Photography Masterclass 2.0: A Complete Guide to Photography

This course is built to teach you the ins and outs of photography. It’ll help you create unique and interesting images in a range of scenarios, like family portraits or landscape photography. You’ll learn how to operate your camera manually, use natural and flash lighting, incorporate the rules of photography in your shots, and much more. The course includes over 20 hours of on-demand video, 60+ articles, 30 supplemental resources, assignments, and lifetime access.
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The Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Outdoor Photography

From beautiful landscape sunsets to incredible cityscape compositions, this course allows you to jump directly to the concept you want to learn right away. You can browse through an array of genres, such as street photography, astrophotography, cityscapes, long exposures, HDRs, and more. The course includes over 9 hours of on-demand video, 20 supplemental resources, and lifetime access.
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The Beginner’s Guide to Classic Portrait Photography

One of the best areas to start improving as a beginner is in portrait photography. Good portrait-taking skills will not only dramatically improve your everyday shots of friends and family but also make it easier for you to become a professional photographer. Even if you’re wanting to get into architecture or landscape photography, it’s becoming increasingly important to incorporate a human element in every genre. This course offers over 3 hours of on-demand video training and lifetime access for those looking to establish a comprehensive foundation in classic portraiture.
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Ultimate Beginner’s Guide to Photography Entrepreneurship

One of the most difficult challenges of being an artist and photographer is figuring out how to make a consistent living doing what you love. In this course, you’ll learn from experts on how to monetize your passion with a variety of services and products. By the end, you’ll know how to effectively market and brand yourself online and in person, as well as set up your own photography workshops and courses. With 5 hours of on-demand video, supplemental resources, and lifetime access, you’ll kickstart your adventure and begin the journey to becoming a professional photographer.
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With all the photos available online today, it’s important to work hard at standing out from the crowd. With the classes above, you can push yourself to reach a higher level of photography and, hopefully, have a lot of fun in the process.