“Photography Masterclass – Your Complete Guide to Photography” is one of the more popular photography courses on Udemy. We had a close look at the course.

At first glance, this class can appear slightly overwhelming. It contains 232 lectures and 13.5 hours of video instruction. The good news is that all this is broken up into easy-to-digest bites. The course is conducted so you can take it at your own pace and you have lifetime access to the lessons. This makes it possible for everyone to take the time they need to fully comprehend a Lesson before moving on.

There are several downloadable resources, assignments to complete and quizzes to test understanding. Once you complete the course, you receive a Certificate of Completion you can proudly display.

Topics for the course include all you need to get a decent grasp of the field of Photography. There are the actual techniques such as:

• Exposure
• Depth of field
• Composition

There are also sections that explore:

• Landscape Photography
• Night Photography
• Wedding Photography
• Pet and Child Photography
• Action Photography
• Smartphone Photography

The course also explores a few of the most popular DSLR cameras in-depth so you can understand your particular camera. This is something that is missing in many classes and can be very frustrating because you may never get to explore what all your camera can do. The different lenses and filters are explained, which help students know what is best for specialties such as macro photography. Finally, you learn how and when to properly use a tripod.

Knowing that even under the best of conditions, post-production work in some program is often necessary to transform a good photo into a great one, the instructors offer lessons in several photo manipulation programs including Photoshop and Lightroom.

Finally, you learn how to take your skills and work towards making money with your photography. This instruction includes everything from how to protect your rights to where to sell and how to gain exposure.

Instructors

The course is taught by professional photographer, Phil Ebiner with help from Cinematographer Sam Shimizu-Jones. Unlike many professionals who assume you automatically understand everything, these instructors enter the lessons assuming you are a complete beginner, yet they also give you credit for having a brain and don’t talk to you like a child. Mr. Ebiner is available for questions and answers promptly, unlike many online instructors who never seem to be around. Confidence is quickly established in the skill of these men.

Room For Improvement

As with any class, there is always room for improvement. The lessons are opened as you complete previous ones. This wouldn’t normally be an issue but the lessons covering how individual cameras work is later in the course. It would have been better to have these instructions near the beginning so students could become more comfortable with their camera of choice early on. Other than this, There is nothing that speaks of needing to be changed or improved.

Final Analysis

This is a very impressive course. It rivals first semester courses taught at places like the Art Institute, which are designed for those entering Photography as a career. The scope of material is incredible and the instructors are knowledgeable and easy to work with. This course includes things other courses don’t feel are necessary, such as smartphone use or deciding exactly what to include in your personal photography kit. The learn at your own pace approach is excellent and yet you have the feedback you need with quizzes and assignments. Finding another course of this magnitude could easily see you paying two or three times the cost, if not more.

New photographers will gain the most from the Photography Masterclass, but there is something to be gained for anyone who chooses to take it. This course even offers a lesson in taking silhouettes, which is something that is almost never seen in other classes. The assignments are varied and fun and the downloadable resources are handy to keep with you until the skills become ingrained. Having lifetime access to the lessons is also something that you don’t find often, and it is helpful for those times when you have neglected one area of photography to concentrate on another and need a refresher. This is a class worth taking if you have the chance.

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