As a photographer, I am frequently asked for recommendations for the best resources to learn photography, where to start learning manual mode, and what a good startup camera is for beginners, or just folks on a budget.
Our current day photography market is saturated with photography courses, mini courses, digital courses, free downloads, free resources, freebies, and more. There are posing, lighting and editing courses, and just plain old courses on “camera basics 101.” It’s amazing how easy it is to learn anything nowadays, by simply typing a question into a search engine and letting the internet do the work.
It can also be utterly and extremely overwhelming to know where to start, which courses to buy, and which photographers to listen to.
When I first started learning how to use a camera, I felt a *lot* lost. There was SO much I didn’t know. I didn’t know the first thing about using our Canon Rebel XTI, and as for manual mode, I was clueless. So I went on a journey. A journey of finding out everything I didn’t know.
The definition of ISO.
Understanding Aperture.
And what does 50mm 1.4 mean?
As I asked questions, I began to get answers. It was my goal that once I started learning I would never stop. And that applies to everything in life, not just photography.
If You Want To Learn Something, You Will Find A Way
To be honest, I hardly spent a dime on paid education. Almost every single thing that I learned about photography, camera mechanics, Lightroom, etc. came from *free* resources that I found online — YouTube videos, blog posts, free downloads, subscribing to other photographer’s email lists, studying images that I aspired to have one day, and applying everything that I learned to the best of my ability.
I don’t have a long list of course recommendations, nor do I have a complete guide to entertaining with Tofu.
Start and Don’t Stop
My best advice for learning photography would be to start and don’t stop. Research. Eat up the freebies. Watch free classes, lectures and webinars. Read blog posts, binge watch YouTube, and discover as many resources as you possibly can. There’s no limit to free content. The best way to learn for free is to simply learn for free.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with buying a paid course. Paid courses are excellent, and the reason they are helpful is because they are succinct. Instead of running all over the internet to find information, course creators simply compile the resources and charge a fee.
However, I am convinced that everything there is to know about photography already exists on the internet. It might take a little prodding, but it’s out there.
I personally have learned a whole lot from Katelyn James Photography. Her YouTube videos have been a tremendous resource for me, and I continue to be amazed at all of the free content that she supplies for other photographers. Even though I did not personally enroll in any of her paid courses, I can speak from experience to her incredible content.
Practice Makes Perfect
I am a kinesthetic learner, which is a fancy way of saying that I am touchy feely. I have to do in order to learn.
There was one particular instance that stands out clearly in my mind while learning about ISO.
I took my camera outside and adjusted my ISO. 1600 was utterly blown out and overexposed. 100 proved to be underexposed.
That particular experience was memorable for me. It was like a light bulb going off in my head. I finally understood those cumbersome three letters strung together and practically knew how they would affect my image. That solidified my approach. In order to ground a concept in my mind, I needed to do it, feel it, and experience it. I wouldn’t just learn the abstract concept of aperture and fstop. Rather I would figure out how to adjust those settings on my camera (implying that I would research where the “fstop button” was on my Canon Rebel XTI), and proceed to take a photo at the different apertures on my camera.
We all learn differently. Some learners are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic (like myself). It’s best to find the way that you learn best. I am a firm believer in practical application, no matter what type of learner one may be. Practice, practice, practice.
Experience is the best way to learn, in my experience. 😉
Cautions to Buying a Course
My advice before buying a $400 course is, make sure you *really* want it. Be desperate to learn and hungry for knowledge. Don’t buy it because other folks are learning photography or because it has great course reviews. Invest because you need it, you want it, and you’re hungry enough to follow through and eat it up.
A lot of folks don’t follow through. If you have to go on a journey and discover your own resources, there is a much higher likelihood to be consistent and plow ahead, even when the going gets tough. I know this from experience. When I want to know something, I grab at every straw, uncover every aspect of that topic that I can find. Whereas when the complete package is given to me all wrapped up, I procrastinate, put it off, and don’t follow through.
Courses I Recommend
On that note, courses I would recommend are:
Amy and Jordan’s:
Posing Course
Shooting and Editing Course
AJ Business Course
Katelyn James’s:
Lighting and Location Course
KJ Posing Course
KJ Consistency Course
I feel like I should give a huge disclaimer and say that I have not taken any of these courses except Amy and Jordan’s Business Course. You might wonder why I have the audacity to recommend courses that I haven’t taken.
My answer: If I was just starting out and had money to spend on courses, I would 100% take either Katelyn James’s Lighting and Location Course or Amy and Jordan’s Shooting and Editing Course. I’ve heard great things about both of them, for sure!
I also highly recommend KJ All Access for those of you who aspire to be wedding photographers. It is exceptional, practical information that helped me so much when I was first getting into weddings.
I hope this was helpful! Let me know any thoughts or questions in the comments! I love to hear them.
Joyfully,
Lauren
4 thoughts on “My Best Advice to Learn Photography on a Budget”
Love this post, Lauren! I’ve taken the AJ Shooting and Editing Course, and it was super helpful for me, and I’ve been working through the AJ Posing course, though now, looking back, I realize the AJ business course would help me be farther along than the posing course. But live and learn. 😄
Thank you so much for sharing, Lilly! Yes, the order of taking courses can be super important! Do you plan to invest in the Business Course next? 😁
Yes, I do! I think the business course will be helpful to figure out how to get my business running. But I also need a better computer, so I’m not sure which will come first!
Awesome! I enjoyed the business course, and it helped me get started! Oh, tough choice. A good computer is super helpful as well.