Top 10 High Income Skills of 2025 (Based on Real Data)
Published 7 Oct 2020
Free vs Paid Photography Courses: The Difference Explained
Candlefox 
Should You Really Pay for a Photography Course?
There is the misconception that free courses are useless, and you wouldn’t learn anything from them – because if they had all the information people needed, no one would pay for a photography course, right?
However, it’s a little more complicated than that. Free courses do have value, teaching students crucial, generally introductory information on digital photography. This could include anything from learning about the importance of natural light, to understanding depth of field.
When it comes to the similarities between the two types of courses, both usually consist of a variety of video tutorials run by professional photographers on the fundamentals of photography. Yet, there are clear differences that you need to know when deciding to choose between the two. Here’s a complete guide to help you understand the difference between free and paid photography courses.
Free Photography Course
There are plenty of free tutorials that provide high-quality material to hone in on your photography skills. Many free courses focus on developing one area of photography in particular. For example, one course might look primarily at Lightroom or other Adobe programs. However, most free courses take a sweeping approach, teaching students the basics in:
A free course allows you to go at your own pace, though some paid courses allow for this as well.
A free course is great for people who are interested in photography but are still unsure whether they want to delve further, along with those who just want to learn about the basics of photography before they sink money into a course that’s a bit more in-depth.
While you can’t get your work graded by qualified teachers, you can use communities on social media for feedback.
Paid Photography Course
As was mentioned previously, the main difference between paid and free courses is that:
While you can obviously get feedback in other ways, having a teacher at your disposal is handy. It means you can continue going back to them to ask for clarification. You’ll also be getting feedback from someone who’s qualified in the field.
Going off on that, while free courses mainly rely on videos and other downloadable resources, many paid photography courses provide online classes to its students, where you’ll be able to ask your teachers questions in real-time.
You’ll be assessed through a wide range of means, such as:
Some of these paid courses can also help its students establish industry contacts through placement, giving you a head start when you’re looking for employment.
Additionally, finishing this course will provide you with a certificate that proves your understanding of the material.
It should also be noted that some online courses start off as being free, but you might need to pay for extra modules. For example, one course might teach you about composition and how for free while having more specialised modules on photo editing behind a paywall.
At tafecourses.com.au, there are a number of online photography courses to choose from which you can get a proper qualification. When you start looking for jobs, most companies will want some proof of your work, and having a certification will show how skilled you are in the field.
Not sure which course to choose? Let us recommend the best courses to suit you!
Subscribe to Our Newsletter
Get expert advice, insights, and explainers on tricky topics — designed to help you navigate your learning journey with confidence.
By submitting this enquiry I accept the "Privacy Policy" and "Terms of Use"
