Photography lessons
31 short lessons, each built around one technique and one assignment you go shoot. Read anything here free — when you’re ready to place a shot, here’s how it works.
Foundations
Photography starts with seeing, not settings. These four shoots keep the camera on Auto and train your eye on what no dial can teach: how…
4 lessons, easy to ambitious
Aperture
Aperture is simply the size of the opening inside your lens — but it's the control that decides how much of your photo comes out sharp, from…
5 lessons, easy to ambitious
Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is how long your camera holds its eye open — a thousandth of a second, or a slow ten-count — and it's the most dramatic tool…
5 lessons, easy to ambitious
ISO
ISO is the third pillar of exposure, next to aperture and shutter speed — how sensitive your sensor is to the light it's handed. The idea is…
3 lessons, easy to ambitious
Manual Mode
This is the graduation. You've learned each control on its own — aperture for depth, shutter for motion, ISO for the dark — each in its own…
5 lessons, easy to ambitious
Composition
Every other tree is about capturing light; composition is about what you do with the frame once you have it. It's the deliberate choices —…
5 lessons, easy to ambitious
White Balance & Color
Light has a color. Candlelight is warm and orange, open shade leans cold and blue, midday sun sits somewhere neutral — your eyes adjust…
4 lessons, easy to ambitious