Zoom Out: 50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Photography Skills

50 Free Resources That Will Improve Your Photography Skills: "

Photography is a wonderful hobby enjoyed by lots of people all over the world. It’s a very enjoyable passtime, but also a very technical one. There’s a bewildering range of cameras, lenses and accessories, and photographers also have to get to grips with computers and image editing software packages. It can get very confusing, especially for newcomers to the hobby, and there always seems to be something to new to learn, even for experienced photographers.

With this in mind we’ve put together a list of over 50 free resources that will be useful to anyone involved in photography. We’ve compiled a list of the best and most comprehensive websites that will help you get the most out of your photography equipment. You’ll find a gold mine of articles on equipment and technique, plus advice from some of the most active and well-known professional photographers practising today.

We’ve divided these websites into categories for easy reference, but please bear in mind that many of these websites deal with more than topic. Many talk about both photography techniques and camera equipment, for example. We’ve categorised them according to how we think you will find them most useful. The resources section at the bottom of the article has links to more articles about photography websites, so check them out.

Beginner’s Zone

These websites are an excellent place to start for beginners. They have content for more advanced users too.

Digital Photography School
Very comprehensive photography resource. Lots of inspirational and informative articles.

Photodoto
Click on the Photography 101 link for an excellent set of articles for beginners.

About.com: Photography
Photography articles and techniques from the team at About.com.

Inspiration

The EOScars
More and more digital SLRs are coming with a movie recording mode. The highest spec models rival the quality of high end movie recording equipment and have been used to shoot music videos and movie trailers. The EOScars compiles the best movies recorded with the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

Photography Now
Portfolios from past masters and contemporary greats.

World Press Photo
Anyone interested in photojournalism needs to check out this website. You can look at the winning images from the annual World Press Photo Contest and read interviews with professional photojournalists.

National Geographic Photography
Beautiful showcases of inspirational photography plus tips and advice from National Geographic photojournalists.

Exposure Compensation
Focusing on the work of inspirational photographers from around the world.

Technical Stuff

Cambridge in Colour
A series of very technical tutorials about aspects of digital photography such as camera sensors, histograms, colour management and autofocus.

Luminous Landscape
Another website with a comprehensive series of technical articles. One of the oldest and most prestigious photography websites around.

Depth of Field Master
Depth of field is commonly misunderstood. This website explains depth of field very well. You can also print out depth of field tables for your lenses - a must for landscape and architecture photographers.

Ken Rockwell
Straightforward technical advice from a pro photographer.

Canon Professional Network
Lots of technical advice for Canon users and inspiration from Canon’s Ambassadors - pro photographers using Canon equipment.

Canon Digital Learning Centre
More technical advice and tutorials for Canon users.

Nikon Digitutor
Camera specific tutorials for Nikon users.

Pentax User Magazine
The website of Pentax User Magazine, brought to you by the publishes of ePhotozine (another great photography resource), lots of useful info for Pentax camera owners.

Photo Notes
Technical articles. Some excellent summaries of camera specs - click the Lookup link to see them.

Photography Equipment

It’s stating the obvious but photography is impossible without the basic equipment of a camera or camera body and lens. There are hundreds of pieces of equipment and many brands to choose from. These websites will help you make sense of the choices.

Digital Photography Review
Comprehensive reviews on just about every new piece of digital photography equipment released over the last few years. The first stop for anyone interested in purchasing new gear or understanding more about the features of what they already own.

Radiant Lite
Lots of equipment reviews.

Photography and Photoshop Technique

Photo Answers
The official website of UK photography magazines Practical Photography and Digital Photo. Lots of news and technique to complement the magazines.

Strobist
All the information you need to use your camera’s portable flash unit to its full advantage.

Joe NcNally
Joe McNally built his reputation as a commercial photographer specialising in the use of Nikon’s portable flashes. He passes on his knowledge in his blog.

Photoshop Daily
Photoshop tutorials from the publishers of UK magazine Photoshop Creative.

Apogee Photo Magazine
Articles, tips, techniques and portfolios.

Photojojo
Technique and creative ideas.

Photography Blogs

Discussion about the topics and techniques that matter most to contemporary photographers.

The Online Photographer
Lots of articles about equipment, technique and the concepts behind photography.

Epic Edits
Lots of techniques and advice. The recent series about making fine art prints is very useful.

All Day I Dream of Photography
Lots of interesting photography articles.

Toy Cameras

Toy cameras have become very popular over the last few years. Learn all about them at these websites:

Holga Blog
All about holgas.

Toy Camera

Light Leaks
Print magazine featuring the best toy camera photography from around the web.

Square Frog
Life through a plastic lens - techniques and tips.

Four Corners Dark

Professional Photographers

One of the best ways to learn about photography is to study the work and ideas of professional photographers. Luckily, the trend for pros to blog about their work has created some priceless educational resources. Here are some of the best:

Chase Jarvis
Professional commercial photographer Chase Jarvis on the latest developments in the industry.

The Digital Trekker
Travel photographer Matt Brandon talks about his work and the ideas behind his photos.

Pixelated Image
Humanitarian photography David duChemin discusses his career and work.

Pixsylated
Syl Arena’s photography web magazine. Includes the excellent ‘Lessons I didn’t learn in photo school’ series.

Photo Smudger
London based snapper Tom Miles shares his real world experience. Essential reading for any student or photographer aspiring to work in London.

Digital Pro Talk
Social photographer David Ziser blogs about making a living in the competetive world of social photography.

Photocrati
Articles for photographers, by photographers. A wealth of information and insights from some of the world’s best pro photographers.

Interviews by Crash Taylor
Social and wedding photographer Crash Taylor interviews some of the best known names in the business. Essential reading for anyone who wants to break into wedding or social photography.

Other Useful Resources

Photo Compete
Once you’ve polished up your photography skills no doubt you’ll be tempted to enter a few photography competitions. Photo Compete has a listing of current photography competitions.

Photo Competitions
Even more photography competitions including the big name competitions from companies like Sony and National Geographic.

Pro-Imaging Photo Competitions
But make sure you read this before entering a photography competition. There are competitions that take away your copyright - this website lists the competitions that don’t.

Photopreneur
A ton of ideas for making money from your photos.

Photo Netcast
Photography podcasts bought to you by a team of passionate photographers.

Photographers who photograph need models, stylists and make-up artists. You can search for them at Model Mayhem and Purestorm. You can also search by geographical area there.

Purestorm

In light reports of photographers being harassed by security guards and police, it’s a good idea to know your rights. These websites have the information that you need:

Photographers’ legal rights - UK

Photographers’ legal rights - United States

Photographers’ legal rights - Australia