“This picture is worth a thousand words.” Every photographer would probably like to hear such a sentence once in their lifetime. It would be the best compliment they could ever receive for their commitment and work. But before that, a long way of hard work and training is waiting for them. Some people are just born with a natural talent for taking beautiful photos whereas others decide to go to a photography school to learn the ropes. For some people, this is only their hobby and a perfect way of spending their free time, for others- their job and the main source of income.
These days, to become a photographer, you don’t need a lot. It’s enough if you have a computer with Internet access and enrol on free photography classes. Websites are competing with one another to offer various online courses ranging from beginners to the advanced, and that’s all for free. Impossible? See for yourself! Even if you already have some knowledge from this field or innate skills, you can significantly improve yourself and obtain diploma or certificate courses on digital photography.
The Complete Guide
If you’ve just come up with the idea of taking up photography, but you don’t have a clue what it’s about, you can start from the very beginning. Many courses offer the explanation of the basics of photography on which you will learn how digital camera works and how to operate with it, using its automatic and more advanced manual settings. Something that seemed to be black magic at first glance suddenly will turn out quite tolerable and learnable. Of course, the first attempts may end up with failure, but the most important is not to give up and keep going. The more tutorials you watch, the more experience you gain. To have even more fun, you can take these courses with a bunch of friends.
Photography rules
Thanks to free online photography training, you can also acquire many useful rules that professionals learn about at school. For example, one such thing may be the rule of thirds, also known as a “rule of thumb”, which applies to the process of composing visual images, in this case, photographs. According to this principle, the image should be divided into nine equal square parts by two horizontal lines and two vertical lines. It’s a common technique used by many photographs since it creates more tension, energy, and interest than simply centring the subject. However, self-educated people won’t know it unless they take an online course, most of which provide the participants with this popular method of photography. Among them, there are also such rules as balancing elements, leading lines, viewpoint, depth or background which will be comprehensively explained as well.
Understanding your camera
Another crucial element of photography is familiarising yourself with the equipment you are working with. It’s incredibly important to know your camera because not all cameras are the same, they may slightly differ from each other, and you should be aware of all these little differences. Online courses will teach you what type of lens you use and how to take a photo session in a variety of ways. Also, It’s always good to explore different kinds of professional cameras and not to limit yourself only to one type and brand.
Photoshop
Once you learn how to take excellent photographs, you’d probably like to know how to edit and tweak them so that they would surprise even the most demanding clients. Having the best photography workflow software is beneficial in more ways than one! For that purpose, you need to know the secrets of Photoshop. The program provides you with all the post-production tools that help you make your photos perfect. Although many people think they can use Photoshop themselves since it’s not difficult at all, they are mistaken. To acquire Photoshop skills, you need some time and persistence. And online training will ease your task as self-learning may be too time-consuming. But keep in mind that all the professional programs, like Photoshop or Lightroom, may be a high investment, but worthy in the long run. Of course, if you think about photography seriously.
Making a portfolio
All online courses will also prompt you to make your portfolio with the best works. This catalogue may have two forms, one physical and one online version. Why? Since it’ll function as your resume. To convince a potential client or encourage anybody to engage your services, you have to provide them with some exemplary photographs. Nobody will buy a pig in a poke. If they need a wedding photo session, they won’t take a risk and hire someone without experience. But to make such an effective portfolio which will catch people’s attention, you have to follow the tutors’ tips.
The source of inspiration
Finally, free online training gives you something more than only learning. It gives you inspiration. While watching some videos, you may be inspired by the work of famous modern photographers from Italy, France, or any other city in the world. Then, you can follow them on social media to observe their careers and pieces of work. Looking at different artists’ photographs can also have a massive impact on your job.
To conclude, if photography is your real passion and you can’t imagine your life without it, don’t lose your time. It’s never too late to sign up for a free online photography training and make your dreams come true.