A list of 10 best online photography courses with all of the pro photographers to help you learn all the fundamentals of photography.

Photography, like any other skill, can be learned. It’s a two-step process: gaining off-field technical knowledge and accumulating on-field experience.

Earlier, you had to seek out photography specialists to teach you or enroll in a college course. However, in this day and age, learning the essentials of photography has never been easier.

There are online photography courses and lessons available to help elevate both your creative skills and business acumen. These courses make learning more straightforward, affordable, and cost-effective.

In this listicle, we’ve compiled a list of the 10 best online photography courses featuring pro photographers to help you grasp the fundamentals of photography. From composition and lighting to camera settings and editing, there’s much to delve into.

The listed photography courses are under $100, making them affordable and accessible to almost everyone.

1. Panorama Photography Masterclass

Panoramas are the most unique way to showcase a landscape or any other scene. This Panorama Photography Masterclass by professional photographer David Johnston will teach you to create perfectly photographed 180-degree panoramas.

Through the in-field practical process of capturing the photographs and off-field Adobe Lightroom editing, you will be able to confidently shoot and merge your own panoramas within a few hours.

The course is divided into 9 segments where you will learn to

  • Plan, shoot, and edit panoramas in real time.
  • Step-by-step editing workflow in Adobe Lightroom.
  • Shooting during both the day & night and with different lenses.
  • Overcome motion issues while merging.
  • Limitations and more.

“Great course that takes you all the way through the steps of creating a beautiful panorama image. It has all the tips and tricks you’ll need in the field from when you’re actually capturing images to when you’re sitting in front of your computer editing. It’s really cool that the editing is shown over multiple case studies, so by the end, you’ll be confident in any situation. The editing is done in Lightroom, but the fundamentals will apply to any editing software”, says Robert Kadelka.

2. Conceptual Photography Course

Conceptual Photography is a type of photography that illustrates an idea and this course teaches you to develop good ideas and how to shoot them.

The author and instructor of this course Linus is a film photographer, born and raised in Raleigh, NC. He will teach you the difference between conceptual and experimental photography, how to shoot at night, lighting techniques, and various camera settings to bring your ideas to life.

The Conceptual Photography Course is divided into 9 segments with over 2.5 hours of learning material.

“I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to make work that is outside the box. Seeing how Linus works is both extremely insightful and entertaining. As someone who loves conceptual photography, watching Linus create 3 ideas and bring them to life is amazing and really inspiring. Seeing how his mind is constantly working to make the most of both the best and worst of situations he finds himself in really adds some perspective in the sense that it’s okay to work a scene for some time before you settle with composition and shots you like. I really can’t recommend this lesson enough so do yourself a favor and watch this genius show you how it’s done,” says Dylan Mannarino.

3. The Summer Photography Workshop

This photography course includes 2.5 hours of learning materials that will take you through the journey of the deep blue waters of Mexico and the mountains of Montana to perfect your photography.

Alex Strohl, instructor of the Summer Photography Workshop will guide you through organizing photo catalogs, creating and using color presets, building a workflow, and much more.

The course is divided into 12 segments with 6 in-field real-time lessons and multiple Lightroom presets for editing.

Alex will share with you the photography gear and accessories you need to carry, and how to plan a productive shoot in a remote location with limited resources. finding the right angles, his post-production and color grading techniques along with his detailed process for scouting locations from the comfort of your home via the internet.

“Alex’s pictures bring depth and colors other photographers don’t capture,” says Forbes.

4. Journey Into Studio Photography

This course by Aundre Larrow is a great starting point to learn the basics of shooting in the studio. These 2.5 hours of lessons will help you create stunning images in the studio.

The entire course is divided into 9 segments where you’ll learn to light your scene, how to photograph dark skin tones, photography gear and accessories you need, post-production workflow, and much more.

The instructor of this course, Aundre Larrow is a talented portrait photographer who has worked with various known brands like Adobe, The North Face, CNN, Skillshare, Walmart, and Uber.

This course is perfect for anyone who wants to get the most out of their studio shoots.

“I’ve been shooting studio work for years and just winging it. This course broke it down so easily and Aundre is so well-spoken and cool. Thanks, Aundre for such a great workshop. I can’t wait to get into a studio again soon”, says Cody Turner.

5. Capturing The Perfect Candid Moment Every Time

This course on capturing the perfect candid photographs by Andrew Kearns and Sonora MindWerl will teach you how to shoot portrait images that feel natural.

The course is divided into 13 segments with 115 minutes of learning materials, Andrew Kearns Iceland guide, Sonora MindWerl’s directing tips, and a Lightroom shortcuts cheat sheet.

After taking this course, you will be able to

  • Confidently pose and direct your subject.
  • Use basic shortcuts and tools in Lightroom to speed up the editing process.
  • Select clean backdrops for natural-looking portraits.
  • Color-correct images.
  • Stitch multiple images together for wide images.

“Awesome course. I would consider myself a beginner, and this course was absurdly helpful in understanding how to set up a shot beforehand. Loved seeing the photos he was taking and the adjustments he made on-site to get the exact photo he was looking for. And the modeling segment was so helpful”, says Lindsey Parkhurst.

6. How To Capture And Edit NEXT LEVEL Car Photos

This car photography course under $100 is worth every penny if you want to learn everything about planning, shooting, and editing eye-catching car photos.

Tom Kahler and Elliot Simpson together created 3 hours of learning material divided into 8 segments. The course is filled with detailed knowledge and information that will help you confidently pose a car for jaw-dropping images, capture images of cars in motion, and use the right gear and location.

Whether you want a memorable shot of your car or are looking to get into car photography, this photography course is for you.

“Great content, lots of value for beginner and intermediate photographers or who want to expand their skills”, says Ruvim Kerimov.

7. High Fashion Photography: Shoot and Edit Stunning Visuals With Color Theory

Fashion Photographer Natasha Wilson created 4.5 hours of learning material for anyone who wants to plan and execute high fashion shoots.

The course is divided into 7 different segments where you can learn the do’s and don’ts of pre-production, on-set shooting, high-end photo retouching, and implementing Natasha’s color theory guide to improve and streamline your fashion photography workflow.

More than 300+ students are enrolled in the course and already learning to be better photographers.

“This course has been so helpful and so technically strengthening, it is everything I was hoping for. The instructions and techniques were clearly explained and easy to follow. I feel like I have seriously built up so many more tricks in my editing arsenal and I cannot wait to put them into action. I definitely recommend this course for anyone wanting to expand their abilities with fashion photography”, says Skyler Contreras.

8. Understanding Light With Mark Wallace

What differentiates a good photographer from others is his/her understanding of light and how it affects the look and feel of the captured images.

In this course, Mark Wallace will educate you about hard, soft, directional, and diffused light and how you can easily manipulate them with tools like reflectors, diffusion panels, and softboxes.

15 hours of learning material will make use of light to shoot more efficiently and capture well-lit professional-looking photographs.

The course is divided into 9 segments that will help you learn:

  • The science of light and how it works.
  • To use strobes and speed lights.
  • To read and use natural light whenever possible.
  • Manipulating light with tools like reflectors and diffuse panels.

9. How To Shoot For Brands – Jumpstart Your Photo Business

This photography course by Joel Hyppönen teaches you how to plan and execute shoots for brands.

The course walks you through the process of pitching to your client to shooting, lighting, and editing. The instructor takes you to several locations showing his process of shooting both indoors and outdoors.

You get 2.5 hours of learning material that’ll teach you how to:

  • Plan a shoot for a brand
  • Think like a brand and deliver images they’ll love
  • Direct poses that feel natural to the brand
  • Edit branded images

“A really great course, I’m really very surprised. It was my first course at the moment and it will definitely not be my last. The course really gave me added value and many topics were addressed that were important to me. Joel explains everything very calmly and well”, says Tim Koendgen.

10. Documentary Photography: Shooting Environmental Portraiture with Vuhlandes

Vuhlandes in his photography course takes you into the city of Detroit to teach you his process for framing, shooting, and editing photos.

After this course, you will master the art of storytelling through photography. The course is divided into 11 segments with 1.5 hours of learning material including Vuhlandes presets for color grading.

You will learn:

  • Capture people in their own environment
  • How to capture the story
  • Make your subjects feel comfortable
  • What gear to use
  • Framing and composition

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