Fundamentals of Photography by Joel Sartore

Fundamentals of Photography Reviews

• 
  Roy Lotz

  Photography—especially in the age of social media and smartphones—is a strong candidate for the most democratic of art forms. Virtually everyone takes photos these days; and even the most modest among us can share these photos to an audience of dozens, if not hundreds. But this does not mean most of us do it well. In my case, I bought a basic DSLR a few years ago for my trips around Europe. Yet I did not bother to learn how to properly use it, merely leaving it on auto and pointing it with wild abandon. This course was therefore long overdue. It is perfect for those who, like me, want to learn more about photography than how to push a button.
  
  Joel Sartore is a photographer for National Geographic, most known for his Photo Ark project documenting endangered species. I was quite excited about this. From the first time I opened that great magazine, I was blown away by the quality of the photography. Over the course of these lectures, Sartore shows us scores of his own photos, the best of which are among the loveliest I have had the pleasure of seeing. Added to this, Sartore is both a good teacher and a very personable presenter. The course is filled with demonstrations, examples, and stories that entertain and instruct. It is short, sweet, and to the point.
  
  Much of Sartore’s advice was unexpected for me. I had, for example, naively assumed that photographers should search for the most possible light. Bright sunny days (not hard to find in Spain) seemed ideal. But Sartore spends a good deal of time admonishing us to avoid harsh, direct light; and his own photos capture why soft, indirect light often leads to more beautiful results. I also assumed that it was best to keep everything in focus with a deep depth of field. Sartore demonstrates, however, that a shallow depth of field, with only one object in focus, can be used to achieve much cleaner, more elegant photos. As yet another example, I assumed that it was best to use a shutter speed sufficiently fast to avoid camera blur. But Sartore shows us many examples in which slow shutter speeds were used to create extremely expressive photos, even if they do contain blurs.
  
  If you have any experience with photography, you will likely know most of this. This course is pretty basic—which is why it was so useful to me. Sartore also does not have much to say about fine-art photography (and its many sub-genres), mostly covering the basic situations that everyday photographers might encounter, like landscapes and events (which, again, was perfect for me). I admit I did not scrupulously do the exercises included at the end of each lecture. Even so, I think that I have already improved somewhat as a photographer, and will continue to try to get better.
  
  If you are curious about my extremely unimpressive work, you can see my instagram:
  
  
  https://www.instagram.com/lotz_in_tra...
• 
  Ahdom

  I had taken photography courses in the past and thought this would be a great resource to review what I knew and perhaps learn something new as well. I found plenty of helpful information here and plenty of resources. I think this is a great way to learn the basics of photography if you're new to it or want a crash course in the fundamentals. What better way than to learn from a professional at National Geographic?
• 
  Clairette

  First photography book I've ever read in it's entirety because it isn't overly technical or camera-specific, but is truly covers the fundamentals of photography. This author has contributed to NatGeo for years and is certainly a master of his craft, but comes off as down-to-earth, which helped to make this primer accessible.