Fundamentals of Photography I

The Great Courses - Fundamentals of Photography I
Joel Sartore
National Geographic Photographer


Photographs are more than just snapshots. When taken the right way, they become dramatic personal statements
with the power to last forever. They can transport you to distant landscapes, capture fleeting emotions,
recall cherished memories, reveal the beauty of daily life, and even change the world.


With recent developments in technology, we now take and share photographs almost instantaneously through
online photo albums and social media-making this unique form of personal expression more central to our
lives than ever before.

But when many of us take photographs, we simply point our cameras and click without being aware of what
we're doing, what we're seeing, or how we can do it better. In reality, taking great photographs requires
you to see as a professional photographer does; to train your eyes using the same fundamental techniques
and principles the experts use to create unforgettable images from the grandest (and simplest) of subjects.

With Fundamentals of Photography, you'll learn everything you need to know about the art and craft of great
photography straight from a professional photographer with more than 30 years of experience. Designed for
people at all levels, these 24 lectures are an engaging guide to how photographs work and how to make them
work better for you. National Geographic contributing photographer Joel Sartore has crafted a course that
will hone your photographer's eye so you can capture the greatest moments in nearly every situation and
setting imaginable, from a field of flowers to a friend's birthday party to a grand mountain range. Taking
you both inside the photographer's studio and out into the field, this course is a chance to learn, in a way
anyone can grasp, the basic insights and hidden secrets of photography.

Learn How to See Just as a Professional Does

The first and most important lessons you learn in Fundamentals of Photography involve seeing and
thinking just like the professionals who make taking perfect shots seem like second nature.

Mr. Sartore teaches you the three features any photographer needs to have in place before snapping a shot:

Great lighting
Solid visual composition
An interesting perspective on your subject

By paying attention to these aspects (with help from Mr. Sartore's award-winning portfolio), you'll be better
able to take the kinds of photographs that surpass their original situation and actually mean something to
you and others.

Peek inside the Photographer's Toolkit

In the first half of Fundamentals of Photography, you'll become better acquainted with the basic features
of cameras and how each plays a role in creating great photographs. Using nontechnical language, Mr. Sartore
explains essential tools such as shutter speed, aperture, and lenses.

In the second half of the course, you'll learn to apply the basics of photography to the kinds of photos that
people commonly take-and how to take them better than ever.

With Mr. Sartore as your guide, you'll be learning from a master of the craft; a professional photographer
whose work has appeared in prestigious publications. So start making your own photos more lasting and
meaningful with Fundamentals of Photography.