Photography Essentials: Light, Landscape & Product

By the end of this course, you'll be able to identify and work with natural light in your home, create mood and visual storytelling through styling and props, compose compelling portraits from creative angles, and confidently direct your subject to capture authentic, expressive images. Join photographer Cassie Zhang as you discover how to create beautiful lifestyle portraits using only natural light and the spaces you already have. Instead of relying on expensive studio equipment, Cassie shares a practical, creative approach that transforms everyday rooms into inspiring photography sets. Through hands-on demonstrations, you'll learn how light, composition, styling, and subject direction work together to produce polished, professional-looking portraits. This course is ideal for beginner photographers, content creators, and hobbyists who want to improve their portrait photography without investing in a studio setup. By the end of the course, you'll have created a series of natural-light lifestyle portraits and developed a repeatable process for planning and photographing portrait sessions at home. To be successful, learners should have a basic understanding of how to operate a camera or smartphone camera and a passion for experimenting with creative photography techniques.

By the end of this course, you’ll be able to confidently follow a proven field workflow for photographing landscapes, choose the right camera settings for any scene, achieve sharp focus from foreground to background, and capture well-exposed images with less trial and error. Join professional landscape photographer and Nature Photography Academy founder Meredith Fontana as she takes you into the field to demonstrate the practical techniques she uses to consistently create compelling landscape photographs. Rather than focusing on isolated camera settings, this course teaches a complete, real-world workflow you can apply every time you head out to shoot. Designed for beginner and intermediate photographers, this course is ideal for anyone who understands the basics of using a DSLR or mirrorless camera but wants to move beyond Auto mode and gain confidence making creative decisions in the field. To be successful, you should have a DSLR or mirrorless camera (any brand or model), with a tripod recommended for the best results. Through hands-on demonstrations, you'll learn how to manage exposure, focus, white balance, ISO, aperture, and shutter speed while evaluating your images on location—helping you capture stronger landscape photos before you ever open your editing software.