24 resources to learn photography online and for free

I learned a lot about photography already, and I still have a lot more to learn. I don’t think it will ever stop and that’s why I love it so much. If I’m not learning about photography, I’m learning about Lightroom, or trekking skills, or how to interact with people, or… to share the knowledge, I made this list of resources to learn photography online.

You get it, there is so much more to photography than just clicking that little button on top of your camera. That’s why I decided to list up the main sources I use to learn about photography. Well, not all sources. The free ones. I can’t include all the classes I followed or the online courses I purchased. But this should already help you.

Bonus: Follow me on Twitter and Pinterest to discover even more photography resources.

8 Blog resources to learn photography

Having a good read once in a while can help you a lot. These blogs have tips and tricks about every aspect of photography: ranging from smartphone-photography to that one super specific niche you might be interested in.

Digital Photography School: Allround tips, gear, and post-processing. These guys cover your photography start to finish on their blog. They also provide paying courses.
Fstoppers: Tutorials and work by other photographers. They cover all niches in photography, so there surely they will be an inspiration for you.
PetaPixel: News about new technology, simple tutorials for difficult tasks, and reviews. Definitely a one-stop shop for your photography information.
The Shutterstock Blog: This goes way beyond photography. It also includes design, the business-aspect of being a freelancer and how to use social media.
Outdoor photographer: Everything about gear and techniques, but also photographers who share their opinion and views. That one makes it especially valuable because that’s how you grow as an artist.
DIYPhotography: All information to just do it yourself.
Lightroom killer tips: Everything you need to know to work with Lightroom effectively. From organizing, to editing and exporting.
SLR Lounge: This is a paying website, but they have a lot of free articles that you can use.
Canva: This website is a great tool for people who want quick (templated) designs, but also for photographers that want to learn a bit more. They have an extended page with several guides to learn more about photography in all its forms.

A bonus resource, for the people that are really beginning, there is this ultimate beginners guide to photography by hobbyhelp.com. It’s pretty thorough, which is exactly what you would need as someone that’s starting out.

13 YouTube-channels to expand your knowledge

Nothing beats watching some video’s in the evening to relax and learn. I already made a list of my favorite photography vloggers, but this list goes beyond that. How-to’s, small tutorials, quick tips, behind the scenes,… . These just had to be on the list with resources to learn photography.

Adorama: A mixture of small tutorials, full vlogs from photographers and product reviews.
Andrew Marr: Like any good landscape photographer, Andrew goes out a lot. And he doesn’t mind to take you with him.
COOPH: This channel provides you with small and easy tutorials for a wide range of photography niches.
Kai W: This guy focusses mainly on gear, but that’s a very important aspect of photography.
Mango Street: Focussed on portraiture, this couple helps you get the most out of any shoot.
Manny Ortiz: Looking to get better at portraiture? This channel will definitely help you with that.
Peter McKinnon: Vlogs, opinions, and tutorials. This guy will help you out with photo and videography. Overall, he’s just very entertaining to watch.
Phlearn: This channel puts its focus on tutorials for photoshop. It can be a standard retouch of a portrait to full fantasy compositions.
Sean Tucker: The video’s this guy makes are art already, but then he hits you with useful insight and little tutorials.
Serge Ramelli: Business, shooting and photoshop. He covers everything you need to know as a (freelance) photographer.
Thomas Heaton: A vlogger that takes you with him on his trips. He teaches you about his settings, composition decisions and how to treck.
TravelFeels: Video and photo tutorials and insights. It’s also just fun to listen to this guy and get infected by his enthusiasm.
Visualrev: A young guy that takes you with him on his adventures. So keep an eye on him!

3 Netflix series to inspire you

I mentioned these series in a blog post about must-watch series for photographers before, but I’m also putting them on this list of resources to learn photography. Some shows actually follow the photographers, others just show amazing imagery which should inspire you to make better compositions.

Planet Earth: Probably my favorite show ever. This won’t teach you anything about settings, but all about great compositions and pushing to the limit.
Tales by Light: This show follows several photographers on their shoots around the world.
Abstract: Only one photographer in the show, but this will help you develop yourself as an artist.

Which blogs, channels or other resources to learn photography do you follow already? And which ones did you discover that you can recommend me? Please let me know in the comments!