Fundamentals of Photography

Sometimes we point, shoot a picture, and get lucky. The rest of the time, we wished we knew what we were doing. This is the way how.

Course Overview (Course No. 7901)

Taught by a contributing photographer for National Geographic magazine, this course will show you how pictures work and how to make them work for you. You’ll learn the basics of operating a camera and get dozens of practical tips to take your photography to the next level, illustrated with real-life examples. You’ll also learn about all the elements that come together to make a good picture and how they relate. After each lecture, you can complete the suggested homework assignments to help you put the principles of this course into practice, making them second nature. Anyone interested in photography with any level of experience can benefit from this course.

What You’ll Learn

For those just starting out or thinking about upgrading their equipment, there’s an entire lecture devoted to researching and purchasing equipment. Instead of focusing on the bells and whistles of camera technology, you’ll see how to find just the right tool for the job at hand. You’ll learn the basic dials and buttons found on most cameras and how to use them to get the effects you want in your images. You’ll also learn how to choose the right equipment for different photographic situations.

The course covers the nuts and bolts of exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. You’ll see how these three elements affect the final image and when to vary what. The course’s twin centerpieces are in-depth, three-lecture discussions of composition and lighting. You will explore composition techniques, such as framing and the rule of thirds, that are easy to remember and apply and can be used with any kind of camera, from an advanced SLR to a simple point-and-shoot. The lectures on lighting cover finding and getting the most out of natural light, recognizing how color and intensity affect your pictures, and using and controlling artificial light sources.

On-Location Shoots & Advanced Topics

This course features a number of on-location shoots to show you how a professional photographer thinks through a variety of real-life photographic situations. The later lectures cover advanced topics and share professional methods for research and preparation, low-light photography, and macro photography. You’ll also conquer macro photography and find out how to capture the tiny world that’s so often overlooked in pictures.

Digital Workflow & Storytelling

To round out the fundamentals of photography, you’ll learn how to curate your own images. You’ll see a demonstration of digital workflow, with each of the steps in the process explained. As a capstone, you’ll learn how to put together photographic stories and essays, moving beyond the individual still image to photographic narrative.

Course Lectures

1. Making Great Pictures (34 min)

What makes a photograph iconic? What three things must every picture have to stand out from any old snapshot? These two questions form the core of Mr. Sartore's introduction to the course. You'll also discover that a great picture doesn't rely on equipment-but on being able to see and think critically about your surroundings.

2. Camera Equipment—What You Need (29 min)

To take a picture, you need to have good equipment. 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 a camera's controls and settings for everything from aperture to shutter speed to ISO (your film's sensitivity to light).

3. Lenses and Focal Length (28 min)

According to Mr. Sartore, lenses are the most critical tools of photography. In this lecture, he takes you into the field and shows you different camera lenses in action. Among them: 70-200 mm (good for blurring out distracting backgrounds), rectilinear lenses (great for photographing things with minimal distortion), and wide-angle lenses (perfect for both landscapes and for shooting subjects in t...).

4. Shutter Speeds (32 min)

Your camera's shutter speed controls how much light enters the lens in a shot. Learn how to become a master at working with this critical tool of photography. You'll 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.

5. Aperture and Depth of Field (30 min)

What do numbers such as f/1.4, f/2.8, or f/16 mean? Finally make sense of your camera's aperture settings, which can help create eye-popping visual effects and solve specific compositional problems. Then examine some of Mr. Sartore's acclaimed work to see the dramatic relationship between aperture and a photograph's depth of field.

6. Light I—Found or Ambient Light (38 min)

In this first lecture on one of the two building blocks of photography, learn how to tap into the power of ambient light, which isn't created in a studio but is found around you. Look at how you should adjust your camera to make the most of found light, and learn the best kind of ambient light to shoot in and why. Explore front lighting, hatchet lighting, and even zebra lighting.

7. Light II—Color and Intensity (32 min)

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

8. Light III—Introduced Light (35 min)

Mr. Sartore 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). Also, you'll start to see your camera's flash setting as not a pesky button but a powerful tool for creating breathtaking effects in your photography.

9. Composition I—Seeing Well (31 min)

How do you truly capture the beauty of the three-dimensional world around you? The answer lies within composition-photography's second building block. In the first of three lectures on the subject, analyze a series of pictures to get a basic understanding of how framing works.

10. Composition II—Background and Perspective (28 min)

Great composition also involves paying attention to background and perspective. Here, Mr. Sartore offers you numerous tips and strategies for finding the perfect background, examining the benefits and drawbacks of particular perspectives, and avoiding compositional mistakes that can ruin the power of even the most perfectly lit photograph.

11. Composition III—Framing and Layering (30 min)

Frames. Leading lines. The eyes of your subject. Layers. Learn how paying attention to-and using-these and other compositional tools can isolate the true subject of your photo and add a strong sense of dimension.

12. Let’s Go to Work—Landscapes (32 min)

Now start applying the information you've learned. Your first assignment: rural and urban landscapes. Some tips you'll discover include surveying the ground 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 can get repeated chances at capturing.

13. Let’s Go to Work—Wildlife (35 min)

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 that wildlife photographers should avoid, and more.

14. Let’s Go to Work—People and Relationships (31 min)

Using touching photographs of family and friends, Mr. Sartore demonstrates how to use your camera to best capture joy, sadness, anger, and other emotions-without interfering with your subject's behavior.

15. Let’s Go to Work—From Mundane to Extraordinary (34 min)

A key skill for any photographer is the ability to capture the special aspects of even the most mundane subjects. Focus on developing and strengthening this talent alongside Mr. Sartore, who teaches you how to make great frames in seemingly “boring” places from hotel rooms to hog farms.

16. Let’s Go to Work—Special Occasions (34 min)

Special occasions come loaded with moments that beg to be captured with a camera. Taking the knowledge you've gained from previous lectures, investigate ways to anticipate and better prepare for candidly photographing the range of emotions, moods, and scenes that can be found at any wedding, party, or holiday event you attend.

17. Let’s Go to Work—Family Vacations (30 min)

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 help about the best places for photo opportunities in your destination?

18. Advanced Topics—Research and Preparation (32 min)

Despite what you may think, researching is an important part of any well-planned photo shoot. In the first of several lectures on advanced topics in photography, learn from Mr. Sartore's own diverse shoots around the world about ways to research and prepare for photographing in more complicated situations.

19. Advanced Topics—Macro Photography (31 min)

Examine how to capture the remarkable (and often overlooked) beauty in miniature subjects such as insects, flowers, eyes-even a pile of money. Learn the best equipment to use, lighting techniques to capture specific features of your miniature subjects, and common mistakes to avoid (such as not getting enough depth of field).

20. Advanced Topics—Low Light (27 min)

Low light used to be the bane of Mr. Sartore's profession. 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.

21. Advanced Topics—Problem Solving (28 min)

In order to be a better photographer, you need to be a visual problem solver. Mr. Sartore, using his own career experiences, takes you through varying levels of difficult situations-such as shooting in Antarctica, on a snowy road, or throughout a massive city-to illustrate the importance of mastering this skill.

22. After the Snap—Workflow and Organization (29 min)

Regardless of whether you're shooting with film or on a digital camera, you need an effective system to organize your pictures. Here, 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.

23. Editing—Choosing the Right Image (32 min)

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

24. Telling a Story with Pictures—The Photo Essay (35 min)

Close out the course with a fascinating look at telling stories with your photographs. Using his photo essays on Alaska's North Slope; people at Leech Lake, Minnesota; and dwindling biodiversity, Mr. Sartore leaves you with a greater appreciation of how photographers are not just observers but actual storytellers.