Free Photography Classes

Internet Photography Courses

Free photography classes are useful to the beginning photographer who's just bought a camera and only wants to learn the basics of good photography or the advanced photography student who want to start mastering the art of taking pictures and telling stories with them. I've found a collection of photographic courses to show examples of what you can find on the Internet if you want to learn photography for free.

Art of Color introduces the basic principles of color and how it's used in the visual arts. While the Art of Color is as useful for a film student or a painter as it is for a photographer, anyone interested in the photographic arts is going to want to absorb this information.

The Study of Documentary Photography and Photojournalism discusses the telling of stories through photographs, but it also dissects the photographic process in ways you won't hear discussed every day. Dwell on the question of why people photograph the world around them, what photographs mean to people, and various technical considerations most photographers are going to want to consider.

Still Images of a World in Motion is a photojournalistic project set up as a challenge to the beginning photographer. The idea is to document a small section of the world through photographs. Can you tell a story to people without describing the sounds, smells, and words of the people in your photographic study? While you do write a paper on your subject, the idea is to teach the photography student how to tell a story through pictures.

Digital Photography discusses the microelectronic methods used to collect images and digitize them. If you've ever wondered how your digital camera works, this course gives you a basic understanding of the technology and techniques used.

Picturing the Family is a free online college course I've discussed once before, but it has specific significance in the field of photography. This class teaches you how to study old photographs and what information you should be looking for when studying them.

Free iTunes Photography Courses

Access the iTunes under free college classes and you'll find a large list of photography courses at your disposal. The Cardiff School of Art & Design offers photography courses. So does Plymouth University, including downloadable courses on media arts, setting construction timelapse, and the question of why we study photography in the first place. Stanford also has a nice art program and is a leading institution in partnering with iTunes in providing free college courses.

Free Online College Courses in Photography

As is so often the case, The Open University and the MIT OpenCourseWare free online programs provide the best free college courses you're going to find. But if you're willing to sift through the many great lectures posted on iTunes by universities and colleges throughout the United States and United Kingdom, you can find excellent instruction to help you increase your knowledge, skill, and technique in the art of photography.