Travel photography is all about capturing places, people and moments. When you master the skills taught in the best travel photography courses for beginners and intermediates alike, you become a storyteller. You create a feeling in your pictures in an attempt to inspire others to want to see the world because they first saw a glimpse of it through your lens.
You DO NOT need to be a professional to take stunning shots. You DO need to learn the basics.
Why Search For the Best Travel Photography Courses?
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I began to take photos when my daughters were babies. I wanted to capture every exciting moment. As they grew and we began to travel the world as a family, I wanted to record all of our adventures together. I wanted to develop my skills as a photographer beyond the “point and shoot” and “say cheese” moments. Travel and photography went together hand in hand.
In this post, I hope to inspire YOU to improve your travel photo skills by highlighting the best travel photography courses that teach travel photography tips for beginners and intermediates:
- Start with the basics and learning the manual mode on your camera
- Launch into learning Adobe Lightroom
- Understand light and composition
- Unlock the power of Adobe Photoshop
- Discover a few travel photography tips and tricks
>> Related: Tips to Take Better Travel Photos (and Look Good in Them Too!)
How to Find the Best Travel Photography Courses for You?
Professional travel photographer Tiffany Nguyen notes, “For me, [photography is] just one way to share my perspective on the world. I travel to different places, see the world through my lens and tell stories through photography.”
In my efforts to improve my photography talents many years ago, I began to scour the Internet for lifestyle and travel photography courses that would teach me how to take my picture-taking skills beyond the “Auto” button on my camera.
If you are similarly looking for ways to “UP” your travel photography skills, whether it is solo travel photos, travel food photography or travel street photography, let me save you time and effort and point you in the direction of a photographer who will help you to:
- Learn the basics of your camera
- Understand the settings
- Discover tricks for travel and lifestyle photography
- Find the beauty around you
- Learn how to organize your photos on your computer and in Lightroom
- Edit your photos in Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom so they don’t look edited
- Take travel photos that you can be proud of
Audrey Ann, the creative genius behind Live Snap Love, developed a love of photography much the same as you and I. She had a son and wanted to capture all of his “smooshy” baby goodness. Her talent behind the camera blossomed from there.
Whatever YOUR motivation for wanting to enhance your travel and photography skills, you’ve come to the right place to discover HOW to do it.
“I’ve done three full photography courses through various institutions before this, and going through yours I realised there was a lot I didn’t know that I didn’t know!! I am a huge fan of your work and your courses: you explain complicated theory so simplistically, it has been an absolute game changer. Keep up the great work!”
Mignon, student of Live Snap Love
The 5 Best Travel Photography Courses
You may not aspire to be the an award-winning photographer; you may simply want to improve the quality of your travel photos as well as the photos you take of your family. And then… feel confident in actually hanging your travel pictures on the wall or giving them as gifts.
>> Related: Travel Photos: 12 Creative Ways to Actually Share and Display Them
1. Auto to Awesome
Auto to Awesome is Audrey’s best photography online course. If you want to learn how to master your camera, this course provides the most comprehensive guide to upping your travel photography skills to professional quality photos. Audrey teaches you the basics of your camera.
In just 8 weeks, you’ll begin to transform your photos from amateur to awesome.
Download your FREE Photography Starter Guide and Checklist
2. Get Organized in Lightroom Classic
Organizing my files is the part that really stumped me for awhile. How do I set up the organization of my files and all of my travel photos? I needed one of the best online photography courses to give me some inspiration and find the system that worked the best for me.
Once you start taking loads of travel photos, you’ll need to create an organizational framework for saving your files.
Enroll in Get Organized in Lightroom Classic
3. Edit Like a Pro in Lightroom Classic
Once you have figured out the best organizational framework for storing your photos then you’re ready for the really fun part and learn how to begin editing. This can all be done in Adobe Lightroom.
“You’ll learn a complete end to end editing framework that will help you turn your images from “meh” to “wow”, without guesswork and random slider pulling!”
Audrey Ann
Sound intriguing? This is one of the travel photography courses that was a game-changer for me. While Adobe programs are not always easy to learn, they are definitely worth the effort to begin mastering.
Enroll in Edit Like a Pro in Lightroom Classic
4. Mastering Natural Light
Do you consider yourself to be beyond the beginner stage yet still need an understanding of how to enhance your images?
“You’ll dive deeper into advanced lighting and composition techniques to get more creative, take your portraits to the next level, and turn the mundane into the magical.”
Audrey Ann
You will learn how to:
- Increase your confidence in shooting in low light areas, indoors, or in harsh midday sunshine.
- Shoot with the light that you have available
- Discover how to “see” the light and make it work for you
- Feel confident taking pictures at any time of the day and in any location
- Be more creative in planning artistic images
Enroll in Mastering Natural Light
5. Unlock The Magic of Photoshop
This is definitely the next of the travel photography courses in MY travel photography journey.
Every year I buy the “Photography Plan” from Adobe because it is a good deal and it includes both Lightroom and Photoshop. This is the year that I need to learn Photoshop and stop relying on my daughter to make the edits I need!
What about you? Is this your year to master a new skill?
This step-by-step program unlocks the Magic of Photoshop and teaches you fundamental skills to get started as well as “advanced editing techniques that will help you add artistic flair, polish and creativity to your images.”
Enroll in The Magic of Photoshop
Note * Many of the Live Snap Love Courses are open for enrollment at certain times of the year only. If you find that your class is not currently available, don’t be shy, join the waitlist. You‘ll be notified of the next start date.
Discover Quick Travel and Photography Tips and Tricks
Whether you are a traveler extraordinaire who hopes to take better travel photos, you want to explore the world of posting on social media, you are a mom who snaps pictures of her family wherever you go, OR you want to UP your photography game, learning a few of the basics will help to improve the quality of your photographs.
Here are a few quick travel and photography tips to remember:
- Plan your shots
- Edit photos and be willing to delete (sometimes that’s the hardest thing to do)
- Avoid visiting popular sites at popular times
- Avoid crowds and tour groups if possible
- Be patient
- Have your camera settings dialed in and act fast
- Have your phone ready to go as a backup
- Stand so people in the background are hidden from view
- Take day trips to lesser known destinations
- Simply ask people to move
- Use the crowd in your shot
>> Related: Tips to Take Better Travel Photos (and Look Good in Them Too!)
Travel and Photography Gear
If you are hoping to “UP” your travel skills beyond using your camera phone (though I still keep mine handy), you will definitely need some upgraded camera gear.
- Canon Powershot G1 X Mark III – A point and shoot with Manual mode options
- Canon t8i plus a lens kit – Perfect for beginners
- Canon EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS – My favorite lens for the Canon t8i
- Canon 6d Mark II DSLR – An upgraded camera for intermediate photographers
- Canon EF 24-105mm f/4 L IS USM Lens for the Canon 6d Mark II
You can see more of my photography recommendations on my Amazon Storefront.
20 Travel and Photography Quotes for Instagram to Inspire You
- You just have to live and life will give you pictures. ~ Henri Cartier Bresson
- We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.
- When was the last time you did something for the first time?
- Just go.
- Every moment in life is captured with one click.
- People forget years and remember moments.
- Enjoy moments first, photos later.
- If you look like your passport photo, you probably need the trip.
- It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see. ~ Henry David Thoreau
- Everything has beauty, but not everyone can see. ~ Confucius
- Photography is a love affair with life.
- Every picture has a story to tell.
- Photography is a language more universal than words. ~ Minor White
- Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film, is capture forever…it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything. ~ Aaron Susan
- The camera basically is a license to explore. ~ Jerry Uelsmann
- The whole point of taking pictures is so that you don’t have to explain things with words. ~ Elliott Erwitt
- No one ever takes a photograph of something they want to forget.
- If happiness is the goal—and it should be—then adventures should be a priority. ~ Richard Branson
- Veni. Vidi. Cepi. I came. I saw. I captured.
- A photograph is the pause button of life.
>> Related: 15 Popular Photography Gadgets
Travel Photography Hashtags
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Frequently Asked Questions
Does Live Snap Love focus solely on travel photography?
No. In fact, Audrey Ann focuses on lifestyle and family portraiture, but the techniques and tips for learning the basics of your camera are the same. However, these will be the best travel photography courses to jumpstart your photography talents.
I do not have any experience with photography, will these courses still help me?
Yes. It will help you a lot to start with the basics in the Auto to Awesome course where you learn about Aperture, ISO, Exposure and ALL things related to your camera and taking the best pictures.
How can I improve my travel photography?
Begin with these travel photography courses and then practice, practice, practice. As you continue to learn more and practice your skills, many of the techniques become second nature. The beauty of the Live Snap Love courses is that you have lifetime access, meaning you can take them over again and again and refresh your skills as needed.
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Final Thoughts on the Best Travel Photography Courses for Beginners in 2024
One of the amazing things about travel is being able to take pictures and keep the memories alive from your favorite adventures.
Learn how to maximize your photography skills, take your skills from “Auto to Awesome“, enhance your editing techniques and improve the pictures you take with the best travel photography courses for those who are beginners and beyond.
>> Related: Travel Photos: 12 Creative Ways to Actually Share and Display Them
These look very informative! Thank you for sharing
I love the way you provide detailed overview of each course you’ve featured in this post. A wonderful list for people who love travel photography. Thanks for sharing this awesome post!
Such a good read! Will be saving this for our next trip, thank you.
I’m always surprised that you need different tricks for different types of photography.
Great post! I especially appreciate the recommendations for travel photo gear!
Thanks for this list, will take a look at those courses, need to move expland my photography skills to the next level!
I’ve been thinking about stepping up my photography game, so this post is exactly what I needed. Thanks!
Great post! Thanks for sharing!
You make a great point, setting ourselves up for succès is important and courses a great way to do that. Thank you for the tips on choosing the best course depending troupes of travel and photos we take. Photos make such meaningful memories.
I was contemplating taking a course to up my photography skills. You did the research for me 😉 Thank you for all those great options!
As a photographer, this is perfect for anyone learning how to jump into photography. Moving from a darkroom and 35mm film to digital was a huge learning curve for me. I struggled with lightroom and was so glad to have some courses available to me.
Great collection of resources. As a content creator and daughter of a photographer I always love to find new tools!
Thanks for sharing! I would love to get better at travel photography so will definitely look into taking a few of these courses.
David had a lot of experience as a photographer and I have learned so much from him. But every now and then I am looking for some new insights. So it was good to see this list of courses for photography. The Art of Light sounds like something that may help sharpen my skills. We make sure we plan our photography to minimize people in the shots. People sometimes wonder when we travel. Good thing we are early risers.
Great tips on how to improve your photography skills. This is definitely something I’d like to improve upon and learn.
What a great post. Everyone should take the time to improve their photography, and this is a great place to start.
Thanks for the article! I am always looking to improve my photography skills and appreciate you gathering these together for us!
I actually need to learn to use my camera properly with all of the different modes so I’ll be looking into a couple of these in the coming months.
I’m happy to share my camera is now an extension of my right hand! But when I learned about photography I learned it mostly myself. A guide and course like this would have helped so much!
These sound like really great photography courses for travel photography. it’s so important to really know your camera and how to post-process for good travel photos. Love your quotes and tips, too.
This post is so much helpful as I am testing my hands on photography. The overview about the courses and what it offers is what I exactly need right now as there are so many courses out there, it could become a little overwhelming.
I love learning more on my camera to capture the beauty surrounding me! So many cool ideas! This was a very helpful blog post!
Figuring out Lightroom is on my to do list so this was a very helpful overview!