How to learn photography? Does this question arise in your head multiple times as a beginner? There are a lot of ways in which you can learn photography and turn out to be a professional in just a matter of time.
You can capture almost everything in today’s world in the highest of resolutions. From a wedding ring in focus to a firework miles away in the sky. From a slow and lazy snail to a lightning-speed-esque F1 car.
Here we have finely curated a list of 10 best ways to learn photography without burning a hole in your pockets.
10 Best Ways To Learn Photography
- Online Courses
- Attend Workshops
- YouTube Video Tutorials
- Reading Books And Blogs
- Practice A Lot
- Read, Listen To Interviews Of Famous Photographers
- Apprenticeships And Internships
- Attend Photography Exhibitions
- Enter A Photography Competition
- Follow Photographers On Social Media
Let us look at each of the ways thoroughly and gain the prized knowledge.
1. Online Courses:
The internet today has made life really, very simple. You can simply complete a task sitting at home rather than going out, which you would have done 20 years back. Photography learning has also been made simple with the help of online courses.
An online course is the best option if you don’t want to attend physical classes. A well-crafted online course is enough to get you to know all the basics of the field of professional photography.
There are a number of websites where you can find best online photography courses. Courses related to wildlife photography, boudoir photography, wedding photography, nude photography, and more. Also, make sure that these teach the content you need for yourself.
You can refer to these for specific online courses:
- 10 Best Boudoir Photography Online Courses In 2022
- 10 Best Wedding Photography Online Courses In 2022
- 7 Best Online Nude Photography Courses 2022
2. Attend Workshops:
Attending workshops is a great way to learn photography. Joining an online course is fine, but attending a workshop makes your perspective clear in a much broader way. It helps you get a wider view of how you can start clicking good pictures as a beginner, improve your skills as an intermediate, and master photography as a professional.
Joining a workshop is beneficial when you find your preferred course and, on top of that, your favorite photographer. You have to filter out the best ones from a vast selection. Choosing can be cumbersome, but the result will definitely turn out to be the best. Also, the workshops can be expensive, so your research has to be extensive, thus finding a cheap and all-in-one workshop for yourself.
3. YouTube Video Tutorials:
One of the cheapest, easiest, and most effective way to learn photography is via YouTube tutorials. These are easy to find and are full of important information. The good thing about YouTube tutorials is that you can pause and play the video anytime you want. You can save the video and watch it again and again until you have reached the depth of it.
Yes, they are free of cost, but finding the best out of them is a tough job. YouTube has thousands of tutorials online which compete with one another, and hence picking the best out of them is not an easy task.
4. Reading Books And Blogs:
If reading is your habit, then reading books related to photography can become your thing. There are multiple books out there about mastering photography, some good and informative, some average. It is totally upto you which book you go for.
Reading books about photography is a whole lot different from watching video tutorials and joining courses. You teach yourself with the help of books rather than depending on an instructor or teacher.
Moreover reading blogs is cost efficient as they are completely free and don’t cost a penny whilst learning from world-class professionals.
You can refer to this blog for Nude photography books to read:
5. Practice A Lot:
This goes without saying, but still, we’ll remind you,”Practice A Lot”. Online courses, tutorials, books, etc., won’t ever work unless you put all the teachings and knowledge into work. Carry your camera wherever you go. Click pictures of butterflies, bollards, airplanes, ripples, skyscrapers, a pizza slice, and whatnot.
Clicking hundreds of similar pictures will help you out in spotting and finding where your skills are lacking behind that you are not able to get the perfect shot. As they say, “Practice makes a man perfect” you should capture every moment as only doing this would help you ultimately become a professional.
6. Read, Listen To Interviews Of Famous Photographers:
We often get influenced by elders or people who do a particular thing and are experts at doing it. That is why we suggest you to read or listen to the interviews of famous photographers. They tell you about their experiences when they were a rookie, how they overcame their failures, and ultimately climbed the ladder to success and fame.
Knowing about their struggles and the hardships they faced, beware you and let you dodge them. Reading and listening to interviews is considered to be one of the best practices if you want to be a good photographer. It lets you stay alert and take the steps cautiously.
7. Apprenticeships And Internships:
University courses, Online tutorials are all good till a certain point. They will give you all the theoretical knowledge about photography. But, if you want to gain more than just theoretical knowledge, you need to find a proper internship program for yourself.
Internships are a great way towards success. It comes as a boost to your photography career. You get to learn tons of different things when you are an intern and interact with several other photographers. And if you are lucky enough to be an intern of a famous photographer, well, there goes your career reaching new heights.
But, beware of these internship programs. You might fall into the trap and end up sitting behind a desk most of the time, answering phone calls, filling papers, and brewing a hot cup of coffee for your boss, which you clearly don’t want to happen.
8. Attend Photography Exhibitions:
If you are a soccer fan, you’ll definitely go to a stadium to watch a match; if you are an ice-skater, not going to a rink is impossible. Just like that, if you are a photographer or want to pursue photography as your career, going to a photography exhibition is a must.
It will count as a great experience for you since you’ll be able to see, analyze, and understand hundreds and thousands of pictures. You will immediately be able to spot where you are lagging behind and work on it more than ever. You can eventually end up with your greatest shots. And who knows, maybe one day your clicks will also get featured in the exhibition.
9. Enter A Photography Competition:
Entering a photography competition is a great way to know someone else’s view on your clicks. It really helps you have a third-person vision of your pictures, and constructive criticism is always welcomed for your personal growth.
Competition is always good since you have this feeling of fear and want to do better than your competitors. So, automatically you’ll learn from your mistakes and will try not to repeat them again.
Also, competitions earn you a hefty amount of money. So, talent wins you money in this world. But, be aware at the same time because a lot of competitions are more than showcasing talent. They are more like money-making machines. So, don’t pay more than $40 to get entry into a competition.
10. Follow Photographers On Social Media:
Social Media is one of the biggest platforms on which we waste our time. But, this form of procrastination can be turned beneficial. Instead of simply going through your feed on Instagram, try searching for famous photographers and following them.
Following the photographers and seeing what they post frequently will help you look at the pictures from their perspective. You might know about all the different segments in which a picture is divided and how you can make the best out of a shot.
Here is a blog which suggests you to follow famous photographers on Instagram:
Conclusion
So, in a nutshell, there is an ample number of simple ways in which you can learn photography or even improve it. There are a few that you might be performing already. But, yes, trying is the key. Trying things out will eventually help you get better.
These are the suggested ways that will help you improve. If you have some suggestions as to what helped you get better, feel free to add them in the comments below.
