If you’re new to photography or just want a better grip on the basics, you’re in the right place. Smartphone, DSLR, mirrorless, drone…it doesn’t matter what you shoot with, the next 43 days will take you through a learning adventure and improve your skills. Just take it one day at a time and you will see a positive change in your photos!
My name is Peter West Carey and I’ve been teaching photography since 2008 after starting in wedding photography in 1990. I love helping anyone and everyone get hooked on photography.
Now then, roll up your sleeves and subscribe to this blog to receive a six week’s worth of fun, enlightening photography education. I’ll be right here the whole time, so feel free to ask questions in the comments section of each post or send me an email directly at peter@peterwestcarey.com.
Additional Content: If you want some experiments to help this knowledge sink in, try my other series of posts 40 Photography Experiments.
Core Photography Concepts
Day 1 – The Number One Law Of All Photography- Day 2 – 9 Rules You Should Learn To Break
- Day 3 – The Exposure Triangle
- Day 4 – How Your Camera Works
- Day 5 – Understanding Shutter Speed
- Day 6 – What Is An Aperture?
- Day 7 – And Then, ISO
- Day 8 – Photography Jargon
- Day 9 – Metering Modes: How Your Camera Sees Light
- Day 10 – Camera Modes
- Day 11 – White Balance: Making Colors Correct
- Day 12 – How To Take A Shot
- Day 13 – Exposure Compensation/Bias: A Very Powerful, Easy Tool
- Day 14 – The Magic Of Histograms
- Day 15 – The Rule Of Thirds
- Day 16 – A Rule Of Thumb To Help Stop Photo Blur
- Day 17 – RAW & JPEG Can Coexist
- Day 18 – How To Hold A Camera
- Day 19 – Flash Basics
Day 1 – Creative Photography Ideas
- Day 20 – Sunsets
- Day 21 – Waterfalls
- Day 22 – Go Wide, Get Close
- Day 23 – Panning Blur & Capturing Motion
- Day 24 – Shooting Photos At Night
- Day 25 – Cityscapes
- Day 26 – Moon Photos
- Day 27 – Travel Portraits
- Day 28 – Fun With Light Trails
- Day 29 – Low Angles
- Day 30 – Fill Flash And Good Times To Use It
- Day 31 – Bounce Flash
- Day 32 – How I Edited It
- Day 33 – Photography: Doing It With A Drone
Day 20 – Photography Gear Ideas
- Day 34 – Help Me Choose A Good Camera
- Day 35 – Picking A Lens(es)
- Day 36 – Why You Might Want A Reverse Graduated Neutral Density Filter
- Day 37 – Travel Gear Recommendations
- Day 38 – Traveling With Gear
- Day 39 – Neutral Density Filters – A Primer
- Day 40 – The Difference A Tilt-Shift Lens Can Make
- Day 41 – Tripod Use and Abuse
- Day 42 – What Do DSLR, Mirrorless, etc… Mean
- Day 43 – An Example Of Why You Might Want To Use A Polarizing Filter At Sunrise In Seattle
Day 36 – Why You Might Want A Reverse Graduated Neutral Density FilterBonus Material
- Day 44 – Multiple Exposure
- Day 45 – Negative Space
- Day 46 – Storytelling in 3 pictures
- Day 47 – Shooting Abstracts
- Day 48 – Do’s and Don’t’s
Weekend Experiments
- Weekend 1 – Speed & Light
- Weekend 2 – Find Some Light
- Weekend 3 – Moody
- Weekend 4 – Panning Blurrrrr
If you enjoy the series, consider learning photography first-hand on a professionally led international photo tour in Nepal or Bhutan. More information can be found at Far Horizon Photo Tours.
Hello Peter! I have done photography off and on for years. Not much time but I keep coming back to see if your lessons are still here and very glad you are. Hoping to be able to start your lessons and use them to challenge a friend.