A free photography course for complete beginners

One short lesson by email every week for a year, written for adults who own a camera they do not fully understand.

No jargon, no deadlines and nothing to pay.

Over 100,000 people have taken the course since 2016. Unsubscribe whenever you like.

After trying to learn how to use a camera from many different books, A Year With My Camera had me shooting off auto within less than 6 weeks. - Christine

What happens after you sign up

Lesson one arrives straight away, and after that a new lesson lands in your inbox each week for fifty-two weeks. Each one introduces a single idea, explains it in plain English and gives you a small piece of practice to do before the next one arrives.

The first six lessons take you off Auto. After that the course alternates between the technical and the creative, so that the two build together rather than one waiting on the other. You cannot fall behind.

There is no deadline and nothing expires; if you miss a week, or take a month off, or read a lesson twice before moving on, the course simply waits for you.

If you have tried to learn photography before and it did not stick

You are not unusual, and the problem was almost certainly the teaching rather than you. Most photography instruction introduces three or four ideas at once and assumes you will assemble them yourself; this course introduces one idea at a time, in an order that has been tested on more than a hundred thousand beginners, and it does not move on until you have had a chance to practise.

FAQ

Is it really free?

Yes, the whole fifty-two week course. There are optional workbooks, a video version of the course and an app for people who prefer those formats, but the email course is complete in itself.

Do I need a particular camera?

Any camera that lets you adjust aperture, shutter speed and ISO will work, which covers most DSLRs, mirrorless cameras and many advanced compacts. If you are not sure, sign up anyway; the early lessons will tell you.

How much time does it take? One short lesson a week, and a small piece of practice you can do in half an hour.

Is it suitable for a complete beginner?

Yes; that is precisely who it is written for. No prior knowledge is assumed.

Written by Emma Davies ARPS, author of the Amazon number one bestselling A Year With My Camera workbooks.