March 26, 2020

5 Best Free Classes For Photography!

5 best free classes for photography!

Taking Photos

Nowadays we capture every moment of our lives on our DSLRs, cameras or simply smartphones. We live in an era where every bit of our memories can be documented, captured. We have to no longer rely on our minds that are often more forgiving than we may think.

Disclaimer: This blog post was sponsored by Skillshare. They are an amazing service where you can learn everything from photo editing to painting. You can find a class on literally any subject there.

I am an affiliate with them – meaning I’ll get compensation after you join them through my link. You don’t have to pay anything though, just enjoy the 2 months free premium and if you like it, renew the subscription.

Read my disclosure policy here.

Why You should check these classes out

Photography and photo editing has become an important part of many people’s lives. Content creation is a billion-dollar market, and we all know it highly relies on impressive visuals and good technique.

Even though our cameras have become better and better with each release, there’s still something missing. A hint of reality, liveliness, something vital that makes a picture a good replica of our memories.

That’s the moment where photo editing steps in. Thousands and thousands of apps on app stores, often offering unlimited possibilities (sometimes beyond reality) of editing your pictures. However they often offer the same thing – maybe some low quality filters and simple toolbar, that’s truly disappointing.

Editing can make or break a picture

Editing in professional programs can be costly but it’s highly effective. Using good apps for touch-ups is not inherently wrong – you just really need to get used to decreasing quality with each edit, each opening in a new app.

Professional software such as Lightroom and Photoshop offer to edit the pictures in, raw format. Thus making it possible to edit each color, change everything about how the picture was taken and eliminate mistakes we did while shooting.

That’s why I decided to review a couple of Skillshare photo editing classes. I definitely learned a lot of new things and I can’t wait to use them on my photos.

If you are interested in Skillshare – I’m giving you 2 months PREMIUM for FREE. You can cancel anytime before the two months period, you’re not obligated to pay anything. So, if you’re thinking about trying this service out, give it a try today!

1. Instagram-worthy photography: shoot, edit and share to social media

First class I want to share with you is by Brandon Woelfel. He’s especially famous for his beautifully crafted photos on Instagram. I remember I started to play with my camera and settings more when he became so popular and try to mimic his edits.

His class is full of tips on his whole process of choosing location, preparing the model and of course taking the actual photos. Brandon’s editing is quite popular because he uses complimentary colours and changes the overall perspective of the photo to more magical and fairytale-inspired look.

Author: freelance photographer Brandon Woelfel

Who is it for: beginners, intermediates

Keywords: how to pose, how to edit photos, how to edit photos at night, how to use props to make photos more interesting

Length: 1 hour 9 minutes

Link: Click for the direct link to class

2. IPhone Photography: how to take Pro photos on your phone

This is quite a short course on a very popular topic which is iPhone photography. Taking photos with the smartphone has become a new norm, not only for influencers or regular folk but also for photographers that specialize in this field.

Dale shows us his complete setup and creative process on crafting beautiful images that look like they are straight from the NatGeo magazine. And he does it all on his phone!

Dale also shares a lot of “hacks” that I personally didn’t know. Some of them are really necessary to achieve that stunning image that requires almost no post-processing.

Some of these tips and tricks were almost a clicking moment for me when I realized I was doing something wrong and why should I fix it.

Author: Photographer and videographer Dale McManus

Who is it for: all levels, especially beginners and people who don’t want to spend too much money in their gear

Keywords: how to edit on your iPhone, how to take stunning photos with only your iPhone, how to optimize the smartphone (iPhone) camera settings for taking best photos, how best photographers tell stories in the photos

Length: 51 minutes

Link: Click here for the class

3. Fundamentals of Photo editing

You may think you know the basics of photography and editing. But Justin Bridges, a professional photographer, approached this topic very intensively. I really loved how he showed us a strategy on how to approach an edit.

In my opinion, that’s the most important thing you need if you take pictures and edit them. He talks about the balance between accuracy (or how the photo looks like in real life), creativity (how much you want to change it) and mood (basically how do you want the photo to look like, to feel like).

This class taught me a lot of things I haven’t really used in my editing process (which I learned by myself). It gave me more of a structure and the strategy to make each edit more coherent and easier.

There are also many tips on actual photo shooting, so you know – wouldn’t have to edit so much afterward.

Author: professional fashion photographer Justin Bridges

Who is it for: Everybody who wants to take their photos on the next level, all levels.

Keywords: how to edit, how to edit in lightroom, how to correct mistakes during the shoot in the post,

Length: 1hour 33 minutes

Link: Link for the class

4. Documentary Photography: Capturing Places and people

Ami Vitale shares a class about her taking documentary pictures. She starts her class with a different attitude, like a calmer mood. She also tells us what kind of mental preparation she does. This is important for someone like her because she is always approaching people for taking pictures.

She shares her style of asking and who to approach and who you shouldn’t which is really interesting. Ami explains how she records their email addresses and then send them photos afterward so they can sign the release. If you’re an amateur photographer and struggling with legal stuff, there are probably many points you would like to know.

Ami also teaches how to take photos in sunrise and sunsets and the difference between them. She shares her equipment and differentiates between practicality and sort of intimacy with her photo subjects.

She shares her experiences in war zones and shooting violence and beauty in the heart of it. Her class is more about journalism and documentary-styled photos but we all can benefit from it, even as bloggers or influencers.

Author: photographer at National Geographic Ami Vitale

Who is it for: all levels

Keywords: how to prepare yourself for a shoot, how to take photos of people without making them annoyed, when to take photos of people, how to mentally prepare yourself for a shoot, difference between morning and evening – for a documentary photographer

Length: 35 minutes

Link: Click here for the class

5. Lifestyle Photography: capturing inspiring visual stories

Marte is very inspiring young self-taught photographer who enjoys taking pictures, creating coherent feed and similar. In her class she shares her equipment, her ideas and her creative process.

I really like how different her ideas on flatay and food photography were and I can see myself totally implementing them here in my blog or on Instagram.

Author: Marte Marie Forsberg

Who is it for: all levels, especially bloggers and influencers

Keywords: how to take lifestyle photos, how to do food photography, what camera to use for food photography, using natural lighting to achieve beautiful photos, how to edit photos to get that food blogger look and feel

Length: 20 minutes

Link: Here

In conclusion

Prague has lots of things to offer. It’s very nice cultural city. After all, Prague can often be seen as a gateway to Eastern Europe (culture-wise). Many people go to Prague just for boozy vacation but it’s such a pity. To sum up, Prague has many magical places to offer and this post was describing 5 of them.

Hope you enjoyed the post!