Where to Begin
By Bev Anne Moynham
The Internet offers many learning opportunities for Photographers from beginners to professionals. Here are three highly recommended teachers.
John Greengo
If you are thinking of getting a new camera (or you have already bought one) there are several things to consider. To begin with all those numbers and dials on any DSLR camera are like a new language. A good place to start is with John Greengo, who has a FREE course on his website about choosing a camera that’s right for you called CAMERA BUYER’S GUIDE 2025:
https://shop.johngreengo.com/collections/all/products/camera-buyers-guide-2025
John is a great teacher and will take you through the pros and cons of the most popular brands of camera. When you decide which camera you want to buy, purchasing his guide to that particular camera is highly recommended. If you come into possession of an older camera you may find the guide for that camera on the Creative Live Website where there are guides to many older models that are also taught by John Greengo:
https://www.creativelive.com/catalog/photography/camera-fast-starts?via=site-header_0
When you have purchased your camera and become familiar with its basic functions you may need someone to guide you through the actual process of taking photos step by step. Here are a couple of teachers that are highly recommended.
Emma Davis
“A Year With My Camera” is a free course that takes you through 52 weeks of free lessons and assignments to help you get familiar with how to use your camera to take good photographs. The teacher, Emma Davis, is a British Photographer, with a Masters Degree in Psychology specializing in teaching creativity. You can receive all the lessons by Email for free and/or purchase her books on Amazon which complement the course. This course and links to her other courses can be found at:
https://ayearwithmycamera.com/
Nick Kelsh
Another highly recommend teacher is Nick Kelsh who can be found at:
https://www.howtophotographyourlife.com/
Nick has written several books and offers several courses including “Basic Photography” and “Going Manual” which are great resources for beginning photographers. He also has a vibrant community of his former students on Facebook. Nick offers in-person workshops in various locations which I can personally recommend as a life-changing experience.
These three teachers offer some free courses and/or newsletters on their websites so that you can get to know their teaching style before you purchase more in-depth instruction. Check them out — hopefully they can provide you with some tips and tricks to help you on your photographic journey.
*All images courtesy of Bev Anne Moynham