Fundamentals of Photography

Class Preview

Go beyond “point and click” and start thinking like a photographer! Explore fundamental concepts such as composition and light as you learn to create unforgettable images.

Making Great Pictures

What makes a photograph iconic? What three things must every picture have to stand out from any old snapshot? Joel Sartore starts class with these two core questions. He’ll also show you that a great picture doesn’t rely on equipment. Instead, it starts with the ability to take in your surroundings and think critically about them.

Camera Equipment: What You Need

Good equipment leads to quality photographs. Here, get a no-nonsense guide to finding photography equipment–including cameras, tripods, and camera bags–that fits your needs. Also, take an in-depth look at your camera’s controls and settings for everything from aperture to shutter speed.

Lenses & Focal Length

Joel believes lenses are the most critical tools of photography. In this lesson, he takes you into the field and shows you different camera lenses in action. You’ll learn about options like 70-200 mm lenses (good for blurring out distracting backgrounds), rectilinear lenses (great for photographing things with minimal distortion) and wide-angle lenses (perfect for both landscapes and shooting subjects in tight quarters).

Shutter Speeds

Your camera’s shutter speed controls how much light enters the lens in a shot. With Joel by your side, you’ll master working with this critical photography tool. Discover when to use fast or slow shutter speeds, study each speed’s unique effects and uncover different techniques — such as panning and ghosting — that can add great artistic touches.

Aperture & Depth of Field

What do numbers such as f/1.4, f/2.8 or f/16 mean? In this lesson, Joel will demystify your camera’s aperture settings, which can help create eye-popping visual effects and solve specific compositional problems. Then, examine some work from his portfolio to see the dramatic relationship between aperture and a photograph’s depth of field.

Light I: Found or Ambient Light

In this first lecture on ambient light, you’ll explore shooting in light that isn’t created in a studio. Joel will lay out how to adjust your camera to make the most the light you find as well as the best kind of ambient light to shoot in. You’ll learn the benefits of photographing in front lighting, hatchet lighting and even zebra lighting.

Light II: Color & Intensity

Continue exploring light and photography with a look at color: both the “color” of different types of light and the hues as they appear in your photographs. Then, focus on the differences between hard light and soft light, and learn how to adjust your camera to maximize the potential of these key photographic elements.

Light III: Introduced Light

Joel discusses a tricky type of light: man-made (or introduced) light. You’ll learn tips for manipulating different sources of light (including firelight, car taillights, reflectors, and spotlights). You’ll also see why your camera’s flash setting isn’t a pesky button but rather a powerful tool for creating breathtaking effects in your photography.

Composition I: Seeing Well

How do you truly capture the beauty of the three-dimensional world around you? The answer lies within composition, a fundamental photography building-block. In the first of three lectures on the subject, you’ll analyze a series of pictures that will give you a basic understanding of how framing works.

Composition II: Background & Perspective

Great composition also involves paying attention to background and perspective. In this lesson, you’ll receive numerous tips and strategies for finding the perfect background, examining the benefits and drawbacks of particular perspectives, and avoiding compositional mistakes that can hinder even the most perfectly lit photograph.

Composition III: Framing & Layering

Frames, leading lines, the eyes of your subject, layers: Learn how paying attention to compositional elements like these can isolate the true subject of your photo and add a strong sense of dimension.

Let’s Go to Work: Landscapes

It’s time to apply the information you’ve learned, starting with rural and urban landscapes. Follow along as Joel shares great tips like surveying your shooting location ahead of the prime light you want to shoot in, using wide-angle lenses and a little height to suggest grandeur, and focusing on a subject you’ll have repeated chances to capture.

Let’s Go to Work: Wildlife

Explore techniques for photographing wildlife, whether it’s birds in your backyard or lions on a safari. Learn how to set up a blind to conceal you from your subject, where to find the best places to photograph flora and fauna, common mistakes to avoid and more.

Let’s Go to Work: People & Relationships

Learn how to use your camera to best capture joy, sadness, anger and other emotions without interfering with your subject’s behavior.

Let’s Go to Work: Mundane to Extraordinary

A key skill for any photographer is the ability to capture the special aspects of even the most mundane subjects. You’ll develop and strengthen this talent as Joel lays out how to make great frames in seemingly “boring” places, from hotel rooms to hog farms.

Let’s Go to Work: Special Occasions

Special occasions are loaded with moments that beg to be captured on camera. Taking the knowledge you’ve gained from previous lectures, you’ll explore methods to anticipate and prepare for candid photography that captures the range of emotions, moods and scenes found at any wedding, party, holiday event or beyond.

Let’s Go to Work: Family Vacations

Transform the way you think about and take photographs during vacations. How can you avoid taking the same dull pictures like other tourists? What are some good ways to capture the story behind a famous landmark? Who can you ask for advice on where you’ll find the best photo opportunities?

Advanced Topics: Research & Preparation

Despite what you may think, research is an important part of any well-planned photo shoot. In the first of multiple lectures on advanced photography topics, you’ll learn from Joel’s own diverse shoots around the world and discover best practices for research and preparation in more complicated situations.

Advanced Topics: Macro Photography

Take the steps you need to capture the remarkable and often overlooked beauty in miniature subjects such as insects, flowers, eyes or even a pile of money. Learn the best equipment to use, lighting techniques for shooting miniature features and common mistakes to avoid such as not getting enough depth of field.

Advanced Topics: Low Light

Low light used to be the bane of Joel’s photography. Now, it’s all he wants to photograph in! Learn how to take advantage of low-light situations by picking the right gear (including lenses that give you wide apertures) and techniques such as using objects to block bright spots in your frame.

Advanced Topics: Problem Solving

In order to be a better photographer, you need to be a visual problem solver. Using his own career experiences, Joel guides you through a variety of more complex situations such as shooting in Antarctica, on a snowy road or throughout a massive city. Through these images, you’ll see why problem solving is so important.

After the Snap: Workflow & Organization

Every photographer needs an effective system for organizing their pictures. In this lesson, you’ll get practical tips on everything from storing film negatives and naming your digital pictures to touching up your shots and archiving all of your work.

Editing: Choosing the Right Image

Hone your editing skills by combing through groups of images to select the ones that stand out. It takes time and practice, but you’ll be able to narrow your photographs down to the best of the best, sharpen your critical eye and improve the way you shoot.

Telling a Story: The Photo Essay

Close out class by learning to tell stories through your photos. Using personal photo essays of Alaska’s North Slope, people at Leech Lake and dwindling biodiversity, Joel will leave you with a greater appreciation of the fact that photographers are not just observers but actual storytellers.