Your Road to Better Photography (Udemy.com)
Photography Made Simple!
Created by: Corey Reese
Last updated June 2024
Our take
Based on the ratings of 3,875 students, a sample of their written reviews and the syllabus, as the course stood in June 2024. No course pays to be reviewed.
This is a short, focused primer from instructor Corey Reese on the three settings that control exposure: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. It runs 11 lectures across two sections, most of it under an hour, plus two field assignments so students practice with a real camera or even just a phone. The syllabus and the audience notes both say the same thing: it is built for someone who owns a camera, has never left auto mode, and wants the basics explained plainly rather than buried in jargon.
Reviewers mostly say Reese explains things clearly and that the settings finally make sense. Several beginners, including one who called herself a severe novice, said it was the first course that made the settings make sense. The complaints center on depth: a few students wanted scene-by-scene settings, aperture and shutter priority modes, or more hands-on assignments to lock in each concept. One low-star review said the content overlapped with free YouTube videos and found Reese's camera hard to see on screen in a darker shot.
At 46 minutes of content, this is a quick warm-up rather than a full photography curriculum, and the rating breakdown backs that up: mostly 4s and 5s with a small cluster of 1s and 2s from people expecting more depth. The course was refreshed in 2024, so it is not stale. For a true beginner who just wants the exposure triangle to stop being confusing, it does the job fast. Anyone past that stage should look for something broader.
Pros
- Breaks aperture, shutter speed, and ISO into short, plain-language lectures
- Two field assignments, including phone-only challenges, force real practice
- Refreshed in 2024, so the material is not outdated
- Works for total beginners, even one reviewer who is legally blind
Cons
- Very short at under an hour, so it stays surface-level
- No coverage of aperture priority, shutter priority, or scene-specific settings
- Some footage is dim enough that camera settings are hard to read on screen
This short course made it much easier for me to understand the elements of using my cameras as i really struggling figuring out the best settings to use
Fits true beginners who own a camera and have never left auto mode, not more advanced shooters.
What you will learn
- Operate the Camera in full Manual Mode
Course content
2 sections · 11 lectures · 46 min of video 4 articles
- 1Aperture, Shutter Speed, ISO 1 free preview9 lectures · 34 min
- 2Bonus Material 1 free preview2 lectures · 12 min
Who it is for
The instructor says it suits
- Photographer's that's still unclear of the relationship between the Aperture, Shutter Speed and ISO should watch the easy to learn samples of how to work with all three. Photographers that already understand and control all with no problem will not need this training.
What you need before you start
- Students should have a camera in order to follow along the course to gain full understanding of the subject matter.
How it compares
Against the other 275 rated Udemy courses in Photography on CourseDuck:
- Rating4.3 out of 5higher than 20% of them
- Reviews3,875#13 of 276 by number of reviews
- Length0.8 hoursshorter than 93% of them
- Last updatedJune 2024more recently than 69% of them
Course Description
Are you stuck operating your Camera in Auto Mode?
Do you have a camera ready to learn but can't seem to find the right training that makes photography simple?
This Course is dedicated to simplifying the 3 elements that will put you in creative control over every shoot that you have. Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. What I found is that most times starting out, photographers think they understand the concept of how to use aperture, shutter speed, and iso until there put in a dark room and asked to take photos. Not good right???? In this training, I help you understand when to use the 3 and what part of the image that decision effects.
Feel free to follow along with your camera to truly retain the instructions. I suggest you watch the training videos first and then follow along so that you will fully get the concept. If your able to focus in and follow along the first time that will be A-Okay.
In this 30 minute course, I will make sure to give you a clear understanding of how to control the lighting in any situation. Taking you from Automatic mode to fully manual mode in no time. The practice is the key to learning and creating a truly wonderful experience for yourself.
Class includes 4 video lessons, 2 field assignments to practice the techniques learned in the training.
Once you understand you will be able to create very nice photo's with any camera. Within 2 of the assignments, I challenge you, to use just your cell phone that forces you to not get overwhelmed with the tool or camera used but allowing you to focus on the message of what you're looking to convey to your audience.
You should take this course if you want an easy to understand the concept of controlling lighting better.
This course is for Beginners to Photographers still struggling with the concept of how to control the Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO.
Instructor Details
- 4.3 Rating
3,875 Reviews
Corey Reese
About
One of The Fastest Growing New Instructor
Corey started creating Photography Tutorials on YouTube back in 2011 where up & coming photographers immediately gravitated to his teaching style with well over 423,173 video views. In July 2015 Corey partnered with online teaching platform where now over 56,256 happy students across 181 different counties are now enrolled in Corey's courses learning photography on the platform. In a world where camera techniques can seem so complex, Corey's method of teaching not only breaks down the camera in simple bit size pieces, but helps photographers understand how they can apply the concepts real time to improve their work.
"I used to sit and stare at my camera hoping it would whisper these things, thanks Corey you did it." Catlyn Watson
Understanding the need to give back to the next generation of talent looking to take the technical knowhow and use it to build an actual photography business, Corey continued his training success creating Photography Clients Unleashed teaching photographers how to build and grow a consistent, scalable profitable photography business.
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Reviews
By Frank T. West on 1/10/2025
A good, simple introduction. I would have liked to learn a little about the shutter (S) and program (P) modes on my camera as well as information regarding aperture priority and shutter priority. Thanks!
By Molly A. Block on 2/11/2019
I'm a severe novice, who is visually impaired, (legally blind my whole life.) I was hoping that my first DSLR camera would 'open my eyes' to a new world I've not been able to see. This course is the first course I've taken, online or otherwise, and I have found it to be very helpful so far! I'm looking forward to the next class!
By İsmail murat koç on 1/22/2019
Every thing was perfect despite of the name or contents. Because the name of the course sounds like we can see all areas of photography but its just about portrait or studio shooting. Maybe the name can be changed or it needs additional contents about different types of photograpy
By Mohammad Mohsin Reza on 3/6/2018
This course is really good for basic photography things as a beginner. I sepcially get helped to understand to control light for getting better photography. Light is very important role and the basic first things what must have to understand as a beginner. And ofcourse find a good viweing angle is more important to nice photo and everything is possible if you get good tips and lots of experiments. Thanks Corey Reese.
By Anas Hamra on 2/7/2018
Thanks for the course. The Bonus part was what I like most. It was so practical and useful, so I hope you add more in this section about Light issues. I also liked the way you show us in practical the shutter speed by taking off the lens and when you explain the F numbers with the lens off. It was a great way to clarify these subjects. I am sorry to tell you that I had a little problem with concentrating with your voice when there was a music background. I am glad it wasn't all the time :) Hope you the best.
By Kamal Siddiqi on 5/21/2017
Hi, I am from Karachi, Pakistan. I like the course content and the way the instructor has explained each chapter topic with real world demonstrations. But I guess its a long way to go, until I become an adept photographer. I am extremely thankful to Corey Reese and Udemy to give us the opportunity to learn basic concepts of photography, for free.
By Brenda Harrison on 1/22/2017
The presentation of the basic concepts was clear and understandable. Wish there was a few more examples along with discussion of Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO. For the basic newby to photography, this course was a great appetizer. Will need to check out other courses for a little more in-depth information.
By Terry on 10/2/2016
He's too the point instruction. No miscellaneous babbling (for lack of a better word) looking for words to use up time. Simple and does not try to make photography so technical and difficult like you are in a math class,... that you just wanna take you camera back to the store....like many photo classes do....too many instructors waste time trying to impress people with what they know rather than show you what to do...I like his style
By Olan Fletcher on 2/22/2016
This is a good course. I really enjoyed it and learned a lot. The instruction was presented in a clear and concise manner. No stuttering or stammering, very good articulation. The instructor presented the class in a well organized manner whereby learning did take place. I truly recommend this course to others.
By Bennett Morrow on 9/8/2015
I knew most of this stuff, and I came into the course knowing most of it. The information was helpful and really helped with my basis of the knowledge. I was wishing for more than just the super basics, but that's what this is, Just three basics for camera settings. I was annoyed that each video had such a long intro, had to skip past it every time, but overall it was an okay course. I'm glad I took it, but unfortunately won't be paying for his "Main" course that he advertises at the end as it just doesn't suit me right now, and I don't think it will be worth the money after reviewing this course here. I was going to give it 3 stars, but the bonus video at the end really did help, and I though it bumped it up another star.
Quality Score
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Overall Score : 86 / 100






