The Ultimate Guide to Freelance Photography

Charlie Borland

UPDATES: 9/23 Introduction to Generative AIUPDATES: 8/23 Virtual Staging for Real Estate PhotographyUPDATES: 7/23 Exploring Generative AI FillUPDATES: 5/23 6 New videos on using digital backgrounds in portrait photographyUPDATES: 4/23 2 -videos on Photoshop MaskingUPDATES: 2/23 5 -videos on Photoshop TechniquesUPDATES: 1/23 7-videos on photographing a black liqueur bottle and compositing it into an ad layout

OVER 400+ videos, 50+ With some of my course ratings at 4.8, including several best-selling courses, this course is designed for YOU if you want to be a better photographer creating amazing images. And while this course has something for every photographer, no experience is required.

With 50+ hours of training, this course will teach you the art and technique of photographing a wide range of subjects including landscapes, adventure, people, architecture, products, businesses, and more. It must be the most comprehensive photography course on the web, and you will have all the tools you need to start a photography business, if you wish, and learn how to process in Lightroom and Photoshop, learn ways to dig into your creative mind and build images that WOW people and clients.

Master the Art of Photography

Today, there are photography courses everywhere, but none like this one with such in-depth tutorials on subjects that many photography educators don’t understand. If your desire is to start a photography business or just enjoy photography, this course is loaded with insight from a photographer who has worked in the profession for 35+ years.

While many of these tutorials were filmed as the photo session occurred, some couldn’t be filmed and are illustrated with 3D lighting diagrams, so you know exactly what light was used, where it was positioned, and the lighting effect that was created.

In this course you will learn:

· How to fully master your camera, lenses, and accessories

· How to master photography fundamentals: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, menus, and more

· How to master creative strobe lighting for all your subjects

· How to photograph portraits, places, architecture, corporations, products, and more

· How to be an expert on lighting with wireless flash

· How to set up your business if that is your plan

· How to be a creative and in-demand photographer

Learn about clients, portfolios, marketing, and making money.

· How to find clients

· How to plan an awesome portfolio website

· How to market your business

· How to master self-promotion

· How to price for profit

· How to market and sell your photography

This is the most complete online training in freelance photography.

This photography course has all the tools you need to meet the demands photographers experience every day. But what makes this program uniquely different is that many of the photo examples used in the course are from real-world photoshoots, on real assignments, and photographed for real clients. If we did not shoot it for a client, we shot it for ourselves and this course, so you can see exactly how we did it.

This course covers everything a passionate photographer might want to photograph:

· Nature, Landscapes, Night Sky, & Long Exposure

· Portraiture: Studio and Location

· Products: Studio and Location

· Architecture and Real Estate

· Corporate

· Advertising

· Fashion and Beauty

· Travel and Adventure

· Lifestyle

· Editorial

· Stock

· Lightroom and Photoshop

Improve your photography skills today and be in demand tomorrow. This Freelance Photography course was created as an in-depth, accelerated, and intensive program to meet the needs of aspiring photographers who wish to work in photography. It is a demanding business, requiring a precise set of skills and knowledge of creative and technical processes, and is designed to take photographers of all skill levels from novices to pros with an inspiring portfolio of images. And this course could save you thousands and thousands of dollars on tuition when compared to photography college.

I will help you how to start a photography business (if you want) and nurture your passion for image-making.

If your plan is a photography business, this course shows you how to budget for your studio, create marketing materials, design a portfolio, determine your photography rates, bid on jobs, price stock photography, find clients, seek a stock photo agency, and a lot more. By the end of this course, you will be trained and have learned enough to go out and compete as a photographer.

You will be trained to build a portfolio website of amazing images and live the dream you have been visualizing.

You only need a DSLR camera, a tripod, a few lights, and a passion for getting started. Simply watch the intro video for examples of what is covered.

· over 400 videos

· Section assignments

· Downloadable cheat sheets

· and you can expect many more video updates on cool and interesting techniques.

Who’s the Instructor?

There are many courses on how to be an amazing photographer, but how many are taught by professionals who have decades-long careers working as a photographer?

I was formally trained at Brooks Institute in the 1980s and have worked every day since. I have photographed for Fortune 500 companies, been published in countless magazines (YES, you’ve heard of many), had over 1000 pictures in calendars, and photographed Hollywood actors, pro athletes, politicians, hotels, well-known products, real estate, and more people, places, and things than I can recall.

I have taught photo workshops across the USA and the Middle East. Founded two stock photo agencies and sold thousands of my own stock photos. I love to teach and want to ensure you succeed and love photography as much as I do.

You can trust me to teach you photography.

And this is important: You get full unlimited access to this course forever including all future video lectures. And in case you did not know, Udemy has an unconditional 30-day money-back guarantee and it is not your standard guarantee. It's my promise to you that you will have the needed information to succeed as a photographer.

See what my course subscribers say:

5 stars. Nicholas A.

This has been one of the best photography courses I have taken. There is about 50 hours of content and they are all relevant. Guy A.Charlie, I would like to thank you for sharing your expertise with me throughout this course. When I finish a photoshoot or finish retouching a photo in Photoshop, I am amazed at how much I have learned. A year ago I could not have imagined that I would have experienced so much.

Best regards,

Lidia

I asked my friend Sarah to model for me to practice my lighting. The gym she goes to saw the pictures and asked me to shoot one for an ad, which is a before and after-shot of Sarah. If I hadn't taken this course, I would have never had this opportunity. Thanks, Charlie. Karen B. (Canada) Charlie, Thanks for your support, this was a great course. Being really honest, it's my biggest dream to open my own studio. Now, I have to still learn, but I'm looking for possibilities for doing it. Mostly I'm interested in creating shots of people or models. Once more, thanks for your course.Ivana K. (Czech Republic)

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What's inside

Learning objectives

Become a master of photography
You will learn to photograph people, portraits, products, architecture, corporate, stock, nature, special efx, and adventure.
You will become a master lighting technician with the insight to add light to any subject, using flash, strobes, and natural light.
You will learn the art of composition, lighting, exposure, and subject arrangement
You will learn the fundamentals of processing, editing, and compositing your images using adobe lightroom and photoshop

You will learn learn how to start and operate a photography business
You will master photograhic marketing and self-promotion
Learn how to price photo assignments and create estimates
Work as a freelance photographer
Hone your skills with the photography assignments

Become a master of photography
You will learn to photograph people, portraits, products, architecture, corporate, stock, nature, special efx, and adventure.
You will become a master lighting technician with the insight to add light to any subject, using flash, strobes, and natural light.
You will learn the art of composition, lighting, exposure, and subject arrangement
You will learn the fundamentals of processing, editing, and compositing your images using adobe lightroom and photoshop
You will learn learn how to start and operate a photography business
You will master photograhic marketing and self-promotion
Learn how to price photo assignments and create estimates
Work as a freelance photographer
Hone your skills with the photography assignments

Syllabus

This first section includes whats in this course, who am I, what makes great photography, and more.

00-2

See why I feel professional photography is the career of a lifetime.

In this video lecture, we will cover the concepts behind great photography and explore what's in this course.

Todays technologies have created amazing teaching tools and I explain how I will use them in this course.

In this section we will cover cameras, lenses, and accessories. If you are confident in your camera knowledge please move to the next section.

Welcome to this section on cameras, lenses, and accessories.

In this video lecture, we explore the camera and its basic functions.

In this video lecture, we look at focus and ways to use auto-focus.

Exploring the cameras menu items

The cameras LCD panel has many features and we will cover them and offer tips on settings.

Shooting modes control how the camera functions and is important, so we will explore which modes are best for which types of photography.

This lecture covers sensors and camera resolution. And includes a print size chart for download.

There are many lenses available and we explore in this video lecture, the difference in lens speed and perspective of different focal lengths.

There are many accessories that can be invaluable for photography. So we explain a few that maybe you did not think of.

Some accessories you may not think of are included here.

More accessories? Yep and we will show them to you.

Download this PDF for some ideas on practice exercise

This is the technical chapter of the course. Learn shutter speeds, aperture, ISO, depth of field, and much more.

Welcome to this section on the Fundamentals of Photography

In this video lecture we look at shutter speed and how it works.

Shutter speed is part of the creative triangle and we will explore different ways shutter speed can create special effects.

In this video lecture, we continue looking at ways that shutter speed can imply motion or stillness in your subjects.

Aperture is not only a key part of the Exposure Triangle but also the Creative Triangle

Depth of Field is one of the major tools available in creative photography.

Depth of Field is a creative tool that allows you to convey your creativity when capturing photographs.

Now that you understand depth of field, we push the limits in this video lecture.

In this video lecture, we provide a clear case on why you should shoot RAW for optimum digital files.

Not all light is the same color, so this video lecture provides detailed information on lighting color and how to photograph in it.

Please download the PDF.

Download this PDF for some ideas on practice exercises.

Students will learn how to obtain perfect exposures using some amazing tools in the came

Welcome to this section on understanding exposure.

The exposure triangle includes three things that work hand in hand to achieve proper exposure. We will tell you all about them.

Correct exposure is important when capturing digital photographs and this lecture shows you how to get perfect exposures.

This video explores dynamic range, the ratio between the brightest and darkest parts of an image, from pure black to brightest white.

The histogram is powerful for obtaining precise exposures.

This lectures defines the strategy of exposing to the right.

Try some of these practice exercises on the exposure triangle.

Download this PDF on exposure

Try some of these practice exercises on histograms.

Download this assignment PDF on exposure.

In this chapter, students will master creativity as we dig deep into composition and ilghtin

This section will cover creative photography and thoughts and processes surrounding the idea of creativity.

Here we dig deep into the concepts of creative photography.

This lecture introduces you to compositional concepts and techniques.

This lecture explores the visual techniques for creating effective compositions.

This video lecture continues the journey exploring effective composition strategies.

This video lecture gives you an idea of how to Isolate or Illustrate your subjects and scenes.

This lecture digs deep into different typs of light and how to find the best light for your subject.

This lecture digs deep into different types of light and how to find the best light for your subject.

Try some of these practice exercises on composition.

Practice these exercises on lighting.

The flash is a complex tool and these videos will help make sense.

Welcome to this section on flash

This lecture provides and introduction to the value of flash in photography.

Here we cover flash concepts and techniques.

This lecture shows you how to add light to subjects that need a little more.

Flash is a great tool for a variety of subjects.

Using direct flash at your subjects can create a flat quality of light that can be harsh in appearance. Bounce flash can be a better solution while photographing indoors. In this Quick Tip, I demonstrate the simplicity of using bounce flash at a family reunion.

This video lecture gives you an introduction to the Canon 600EX-RT flash unit and the flash head and exterior sensors. From here you should be able to compare to your flash for comparable functions.

This video lecture explores the various flash modes from ETTL to M, Multi, and more.

This video demonstrates multi-flash, flash exposure compensation, and LCD symbols.

This video lecture demonstrates how to use manual flash range and range points.

In this video lecture you will learn how to change flash range with ISO, high speed sync, rear curtain, and external flash metering.

This video lecture covers external flash metering and the flash accessories like filters.

Wireless flash is a powerful alternative to strobe lighting and on-camera flash and in this lecture, we will introduce you to some of the options.

There are many wireless triggers available and this lecture looks at cheaper options to fire your wireless flash.

Introduction to wireless flash.

Learn how to set up the menus for the Infra-Red wireless signal. Hopefully, this helps you set up the same infrared triggering on your flash brand.

Learn how to set up the menus for the Inra-Red wireless signal.

Learn how to set up the Canon 600EX RT for wireless flash.

Learn how to set up the Canon 600EX RT for wireless flash Pt 2.

Learn how to set up the Canon 600EX RT for wireless flash pt 3.

Learn how to set up the Canon 600EX RT for wireless flash pt 4.

Learn how to set up the Canon 600EX RT for wireless flash pt 5.

Yongnuo is a manufacturer of low-cost flashes and this lecture is a demonstration of how they work.

See how wireless flash was used in these assignments and stock photo shoots.

Try these exercises on flash photography.

You are welcome to download the FREE Pocket Guide that sells with my eBook; Outdoor Flash Photography. This pocket guide helps with setup and techniques for outdoor photographers using flash. Please note that this guide references the Canon 580-EXII and the Nikon SB900 flash units only. While there are MANY flashes brands and models out there, it's not feasible to obtain every brand of flash and create a pocket guide for each. You can easily translate the approaches demonstrated in this guide with your specific flash unit.

This chapter focuses on creating beautiful nature photography using specialized techniques

This section is on nature photography.

There are many compositional techniques and lighting approaches for landscape photography and we will explore them in this lecture.

Here is a PDF on Landscape Photography

See how I photographed Fern Rock Falls in Oregon

Winter photography can be challenging and this lecture explains the problem and solution.

In this lecture, we will introduce you to portrait and people photography outdoors.

Welcome to this section on outdoor portraits

In this lecture, we will introduce you to portrait and people photography outdoors.

In this lecture, we will introduce you to portrait and people photography outdoors. including lighting approaches.

See how we compare using a reflector vs a flash in outdoor portraits.

In this video, we take our photo subject into the shade to lower ambient lighting contrast by using a flash and beauty dish.

In this lecture, we will photograph a family in the park using a flash and a light box.

08-07

In this video, we demonstrate how we photographed an outdoor portrait of a high school senior.

In this video, I am location to photography a family of 5 with a wireless flash.

Good to know

Know what's good

, what to watch for

, and possible dealbreakers

Designed for those with a passion for photography, this course can help you build your confidence as a photographer

The instructor, Charlie Borland, provides real-world examples with photoshoots from actual clients

This course is packed with information, including 400+ videos and downloadable cheat sheets

Suitable for all levels, it will not only teach you the basics, but also advanced techniques and methods for starting a photography business

Upon completion, you will have a strong foundation and portfolio to showcase your skills

Comprehensive, covering various photography disciplines like nature, portraits, architecture, and marketing

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Activities

Be better prepared before your course. Deepen your understanding during and after it. Supplement your coursework and achieve mastery of the topics covered in The Ultimate Guide to Freelance Photography with these activities:

Review Basic Photography Concepts

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Ensures that you have a solid understanding of the foundational concepts of photography.

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Review your notes from previous photography courses or workshops.
Read articles or blog posts on basic photography concepts.
Watch online tutorials or videos on camera settings and composition techniques.

Gather Photography Tips and Techniques

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Provides you with a valuable collection of resources to support your learning.

Browse courses on Photography Techniques

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Search for articles, blog posts, or videos on photography tips and techniques.
Create a document or folder to organize and store the resources you find.
Review the resources regularly and incorporate the tips and techniques into your photography practice.

Read The Photography Handbook

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Provides a foundation in photography that will support your learning in this course.

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Read the book from start to finish.
Take notes on key concepts and techniques.
Review your notes regularly.

Four other activities

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Show all seven activities

Learn to Use Adobe Photoshop for Photo Editing

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Provides you with the skills needed to edit and enhance your photographs.

Browse courses on Adobe Photoshop

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Find online tutorials or courses on Adobe Photoshop basics.
Follow the tutorials and practice using the software.
Experiment with different editing techniques and effects.

Connect with Experienced Photographers

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Provides guidance, support, and insights from professionals in the field.

Browse courses on Mentorship

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Attend photography events or workshops to meet other photographers.
Join online photography communities or forums.
Reach out to photographers you admire and request mentorship or advice.

Practice Taking Photos in Different Light Settings

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Develops your understanding of how light affects a photograph's composition and quality.

Browse courses on Lighting Techniques

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Take photos in various lighting conditions, such as sunlight, shade, indoors, and at night.
Compare the results and analyze the impact of different lighting on your photos.
Experiment with different camera settings to control the exposure and white balance.

Create a Portfolio of Your Photography

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Allows you to showcase your skills and improve your understanding of composition and editing.

Browse courses on Portfolio Creation

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