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The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Outdoor Photography - 2018 (Udemy.com)

Shoot and edit beautiful urban and nature photos. Capture street photos, cityscapes, sunsets, portraits, and more!

Created by: Josh Katz

Last updated April 2018

Our take

Based on the ratings of 807 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in April 2018. No course pays to be reviewed.

This is a beginner photography course built around shooting outdoors, in cities and in nature. Josh Katz, a New York photographer with a large YouTube following, designed it for people who would rather get outside than sit through theory. The 73 lectures run about 8.9 hours across ten sections. They cover gear, manual settings, composition, sunsets, panoramas, astrophotography, street and night shots, then Lightroom Classic and a section on building a portfolio and selling prints. You can jump around or go in order.

Reviewers like the short videos, the clear explanations and the challenges at the end of each section, which give you a specific thing to go and practise. One reviewer singles out the PDF summaries of the shooting guides as useful. Katz's teaching style draws a lot of warm comments. Complaints are few and mild. One two-star reviewer wanted more sample images showing how each setting changes a photo, and another found the intro and outro music grating. Of 807 ratings, 469 are five stars and only 22 are one or two.

The catch is age. It was last updated in April 2018, so the Lightroom walkthrough and the gear advice are dated, and the marketing and Instagram material has likely moved on. The basics of exposure and composition do not change much. There are no quizzes, so practice depends on actually going out with the camera. Beginners who want a fast, practical start will get plenty out of it. Anyone after current editing workflows should look for a newer course.

Best forImpatient beginners who want to grab a camera, go outside and shoot, then edit in Lightroom.
Skip it ifYou want current Lightroom and gear advice, or you already shoot in manual and need intermediate depth.

Pros

  • Short videos you can watch in any order, so it is easy to jump to street, sunsets or night shots
  • Three tiers of challenges per section give a concrete outing to practise on
  • Over 60 pages of PDF shooting guides to take along while out photographing
  • Katz is described as clear, pleasant and easy to follow

Cons

  • Last updated in 2018, so Lightroom screens, gear picks and social media advice are dated
  • One reviewer wanted more sample photos showing how each setting changes the image
  • No quizzes, and the course is pitched at beginners only, so intermediate shooters will outgrow it
Clearly explained, interesting, learned a lot and with the assignments to practice makes it a great experience
Calocero Travali, a student

True beginners with any camera that has manual settings. DSLR is the focus, with smartphone tips. Not for intermediate shooters.

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What you will learn

  • Shoot beautiful, dynamic images in cities and nature
  • Get comfortable with your camera’s manual settings
  • Choose the best affordable camera gear
  • Identify and photograph compositional elements
  • Understand optimal lighting (when / where to shoot)
  • Market your work, gain a following, impress clients, and sell prints
  • Build a strong photo portfolio website
  • Edit your shots in Lightroom

Course content

10 sections · 73 lectures · 9 hours of video

  1. 1Introduction 2 free previews2 lectures · 11 min
  2. 2Camera Gear9 lectures · 1.3 hours
  3. 3Using Your DSLR13 lectures · 1.6 hours
  4. 4Composition4 lectures · 26 min
  5. 5Classic Outdoor Shots8 lectures · 1.2 hours
  6. 6Getting Technical – 5 Techniques To Stepping Up Your Landscapes6 lectures · 38 min
  7. 7Urban Shooting9 lectures · 1.1 hours
  8. 8Lightroom15 lectures · 1.9 hours
  9. 9Going Pro: Market Your Work, Build an Audience, and Keep Progressing6 lectures · 38 min
  10. 10Bonus1 lecture · 4 min

Who it is for

The instructor says it suits

  • Beginners and hobbyists who are eager to devote themselves to photography but aren’t sure where to start
  • You own a camera or are considering buying one, but aren’t too sure how to use it effectively
  • You want quick, actionable advice to go outside and start shooting immediately. This course is fast-paced with actionable tips and lots of exercises.
  • You want to turn your interest in photography into a business by starting a website and selling prints
  • This course is a beginner level foundation in photography. It is not a good fit for intermediate or advanced level photographers.

What you need before you start

  • This course starts from the VERY beginning of a photographer’s journey – no prior knowledge necessary. All you need is an interest in photography and outdoor adventures.
  • Any camera with manual settings will work for this course: DSLRs, point & shoots, and smartphones are all OK. While DSLR photography is the course’s primary focus, I’ve included tons of tips for smartphone photographers.
  • You’ll learn how to edit photos using Lightroom Classic (month-long free trials are available). No need to have this software downloaded in advance. I’ll walk you through a step-by-step tutorial for how to install and use this software on your computer. I’ll also be suggesting free alternative apps for DSLR and smartphone photography editing.

How it compares

Against the other 275 rated Udemy courses in Photography on CourseDuck:

  • Rating4.5 out of 5higher than 44% of them
  • Reviews807#69 of 276 by number of reviews
  • Length8.9 hourslonger than 89% of them
  • Last updatedApril 2018earlier than 84% of them

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Course Description

If you are interested in shooting, editing, and promoting your photos like a pro, this is the course for you. I’ve created this course for the impatient artist – those who are eager to start shooting immediately, rather than spending hours studying the history of photography.

While most courses are cumulative and take forever to get to the good stuff, The Ultimate Beginner's Guide to Outdoor Photography is quick and to the point. This course is designed so you can jump around and learn the concept you want right away, whether it’s street photography, astrophotography (star shots), portraiture, cityscapes, long exposures, HDRs, or more. You can also follow the course in its original order for a more traditional educational experience!

This course is designed for beginner photographers who want to:

  • Learn when and where to buy affordable, high-quality photography gear

  • Master the exposure triangle – shutter speed, aperture, and ISO

  • Uncover the use of every button on your camera

  • Frame beautiful images with the most effective composition rules and my signature layer cake photography analogy

  • Plan photoshoot styles, locations, and subjects (in nature or the city!)

  • Shoot a perfect sunrise/sunset photo with HDR (high dynamic range) photography

  • Create gorgeous panoramas to capture a vast landscape or cityscape

  • Shoot stunning portraits in the city, woods, or mountain tops

  • Capture the Milky Way and stars with astrophotography

  • Document cities and towns with techniques like street photography, cityscapes, bokeh, and night photography

  • Create an online photo business with a polished website and dazzling Instagram to sell prints, book gigs, network with influencers, and more

In Lightroom Classic, my preferred photo editing software:

  • Import, organize, edit, and export your new photos

  • Use the HSL tab, sharpening, local adjustments, and more to refine your images

  • Efficiently edit photos with snapshots and presets (including some of my own, available for free download!)

  • Develop your own workflow from start to finish

Why Learn Outdoor Photography?

Whether you’re traveling the world or wandering your town, outdoor photography fosters a new way to explore, makes you observant and appreciative of your surroundings, and connects you with nature, cities, and people like never before. Outdoor photography is adventurous, great for beginners, and doesn’t require much extra equipment.

This course is full of activities that put everything you’re learning to the test. I always include 3 tiers of challenges – base, bonus, and mega – to accommodate a variety of skill levels and incorporate numerous skillsets. For example, section 7’s activities range from shooting a simple cityscape to a portrait, with a cityscape in the background, to create a bokeh effect. 

There are also over 60 pages of downloadable PDFs with step-by-step guides for every shooting concept I cover, so you can take them while out photographing. I have also included several links throughout the course and PDFs to enhance the learning experience. Some of these links will be affiliate links.

Many photography teachers like to give you a bunch of vague tips, expecting you to figure the rest out. Instead, I like to walk you through step-by-step, helping you immediately shoot advanced concepts, like astrophotography, that would typically be challenging to figure out as a beginner.

I also make a living as an influencer, and have so much to teach you about being a photographer influencer, from building your site to collaborating with other influencers on Instagram. This is the best online photography course you'll find! 

Fire up your passion for photography. Enroll now!

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Instructor Details

Josh Katz

Hey, I’m Josh! I’m a photographer, influencer, and traveler who’s been obsessed with cameras and making YouTube videos since I was nine. Since then, I’ve amassed over 350,000 YouTube subscribers, 100,000 Instagram followers, and over 3 million views on my photography YouTube videos for shooting tutorials and camera gear reviews. I’ve worked with brands such as GoPro, Adorama, Squarespace, Mountain Dew, Axe, and Boosted Board. 

Living in New York City, I specialize in urban shooting, like street photography, cityscapes, and portraiture. These are just a few of the many concepts covered in my first comprehensive beginner photography course. I’m also obsessed with road trips and nature, having visited 22 U.S. National Parks (and some international ones) to shoot my other greatest photographic passion: landscapes. I’ve traveled the world shooting photos in places such as Italy, Spain, Iceland, Mexico, Canada, the UK, and more, but I believe you can shoot a phenomenal photo in any location.

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Reviews

4.5

807 ratings on Udemy

Select a bar to show only those reviews.Select the bar again to show every rating.

By Ran Sitbon on 3/18/2024

you should show us more samples and settings and how setting changes effects the image

By Patrick A. Kelley on 1/8/2021

I loved every minute of this course. Udemy will only allow me to rate Josh's course with a max of five stars. I think it deserves ten stars. I am certain I will return to sections of it again and again to refresh my memory and to take up some of the challenges I skipped on my first trip through. Well done, Mr. Katz!

By Kristýna Bednářová on 4/23/2020

The course is glorious. Love the way Josh teaches and explaines everthing perfectly. The structure is exquisite. Also the challenges at the end of each section is very helpful. I can go out with a specific topic and practise. The only thing I actually did not enjoy was the intro and outro song. It drove me nuts. But, that's just me being pedant. Haha... It does not takes out of any credit to the informative side of the course. I lovet it, it was above my expectations, so I highly recomend.

By Bruno Dias on 1/22/2020

The course content is great. Josh is also great at explaining the concepts and theories behind his workflow. In general, is a great course if you're starting in photography and is looking for some useful tips. The only downside is that Josh doesn't show too much of his theory in practice. There are some long videos of him talking and talking but with no b-roll footage showing how he puts that in practice. Other than that, it's a good course where I could learn some useful tips, especially the ones in Section 9. I hope he comes with some updates on this course showing more of his workflow in practice.

By Alana Rosenberger on 8/13/2019

Josh had a great way of explaining everything in a fresh way. I wasn't bored with him once while watching his videos. He even had me chuckling quite a few time throughout the course. Plenty of thing to learn in this course. I have so much inspiration to go out and shoot some great new photos! I also loved the last section on Going Pro. It answered all my questions about what the next steps should be in my professional photography journey.

By Simon Schrammel on 7/19/2019

Tolle Präsentation von einem offensichtlich coolen jungen Mann. Toll gemacht! Der Inhalt ist interessant auch für mich, der schon seit 30 Jahren mit Spiegelreflexkameras unterwegs ist. Ich habe viel gelernt und kann den Kurs an alle Fotografiebegeisterte und auch an Anfänger empfehlen.

By Luis Garcia on 2/7/2019

Josh makes it so simple to learn basic photography. I'm learning gear setups; composition; focusing techniques; subject position when taking portraits; panorama and more! This beginners course not only inspires me to learn more on how to take the best possible photos but also inspire me to go out with my camera and create. Way to go Josh! Thank you for all your tips. Great course! Highly recommend.

By Jane Courtois-Robbins on 7/19/2018

Good so far. Josh is really funny. Like his way of teaching. Can't wait to finish! Wow! This was a great course on photography. Josh Katz is a great instructor and very funny. I learned a lot and I like how he threw in little challenges for you to do. Thank you Josh for a great course. Can't wait to see your other courses. Jane Courtois

By Nelia Laborte on 6/16/2018

I know nothing about photography even if I have tried enrolling in short courses (2 hour per course). Here, I just love that I can go back to the video tutorials again and again. I look forward to the day when I can be proud of the shots that I take and have it signed/copyrighted. (If instruction's not here, I will look for it in youtube.) I want to give photos to my close friends as a gift and brag a little to some of my friends who are professional photographers.

By Shilpa Prakash on 6/13/2018

Thanks so much for this course, Josh! There's lots of great information and I love the enthusiasm and energy you have put into this. You are clearly passionate about photography and it shows. It was sad to finish the course, but all good things have to come to an end. I enjoyed your casual and fun style and I'm actually going to miss your face :) The only suggestion from my end would be to slow down the pace of the course a little bit. It was a bit too fast paced for me. Having said that, I'm glad I can revisit this course anytime, and apply what I have learnt. You genuinely want us to learn and do well and I am excited about trying out all the things you taught in this course. Hoping I can share my photos with you soon and would love your feedback. I'm a big fan of your photography style.. your compositions are very creative and unique. You have a great eye! I'm just going to end this by saying that you are totally cool and awesome :)) And finally... you made it so easy!!!

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Overall Score : 90 / 100