Take photos you’re actually proud of.
A self-paced travel photography course. 60+ lessons, direct email access to me when you have questions, and a 2,000+ student community to learn alongside. Lifetime access, one payment of $129.00 USD.
Join 2,000+ students · 30-day money-back guarantee
What students are saying
“I’ve taken other photography courses before but none of them were able to explain things in a way that I can follow clearly. Taking this course by Laurence was my last desperate try at learning travel photography. And boy was I glad I did! The instructions and teaching were easy to comprehend and I loved how Laurence was (and is) always just an email away for help. People now always comment on how beautiful and professional my blog and Instagram photos look. I give full credit to this wonderful course!”
Viola
“The course covered all the essentials of photography. I noticed my photography skills improved leaps and bounds just one month into the course. What’s great is you can take the course at your own pace, so you never feel overwhelmed – and you have Laurence and other students at your disposal to get your questions answered at any time. I’m so glad I took this course and made the leap away from auto!”
Brian
“I decided to purchase a camera because of a trip I would be taking around the world. Finding the right camera can be daunting. Once I found my camera, learning how to use it was the next challenge. This course not only teaches you how to take full control over your camera and composition, but it also opens your eyes to things around you that you may not have noticed before! It’s a great program where you can go at your own pace!”
Michael
What you’ll learn
- How your camera actually works, and how to get the most out of it.
- Every camera setting, what it does, and when to use it. The same approach works on smartphones, DSLRs, compacts and mirrorless.
- Composition, light, exposure, and the principles that turn a snapshot into a photograph.
- How to shoot in different situations: portraits, landscapes, wildlife, evening scenes.
- How to choose gear that fits the way you actually shoot, without overspending on what you don’t need.
- How to get great results from your phone, including which mobile editing apps are worth your time.
- A complete editing workflow on computer and phone, with video tutorials throughout.
- Advanced techniques like HDR, time-lapse and astrophotography.
- How to sell your photos and earn from your photography.
- Photography skills that work everywhere. Holidays, home, weddings, wildlife, or whatever else you point a camera at.
About me
My name is Laurence Norah, and I’m a full-time professional travel photographer and travel blogger. I run the travel blogs Finding the Universe & Independent Travel Cats with my wife Jessica.
I’ve been a passionate photographer for over thirty years, and my work has been published online by:
National Geographic · BBC · CNN · USA Today · The Times · The Evening Standard · Condé Nast Traveler · Marie Claire · Cosmopolitan · Reader’s Digest
Clients have included Visit Britain, Visit Florida, Panasonic, and Vanguard. My photography has also won awards from the Society of American Travel Writers and The Times.
I’ve taught photography at workshops, led photography walks, and spoken at conferences around the world, from Dublin to Dubai. Events I have been invited to speak and give workshops at include TravelCon, The UK Photography Show, TBEX, and Arabian Travel Market.
I love to share my passion for photography with others, and teaching photography is the best way I have found to do that. Since I launched this course in 2016, I’ve helped over 2,000 people start taking better photos.
Course syllabus
Module 1: An Introduction to Photography
The fundamentals: how your camera works, the exposure triangle, and the language you’ll use throughout the rest of the course.
Show the 4 lessons
- How Your Camera Works: Nuts and Bolts
- Exposure Concepts and Understanding the Exposure Triangle
- How to Control the Exposure
- Glossary of Terms
Module 2: Camera Gear and Accessories
How to choose a camera, lens and accessories that match how you actually shoot, and how to travel with the gear once you have it.
Show the 6 lessons
- Understanding When to Upgrade your Camera Equipment
- Learning What to Look for in a Camera
- Tips for Choosing a Camera
- Tips for Choosing Lenses
- Tips for Choosing Accessories
- Tips for Traveling with your Gear and Insuring it
Module 3: Composition and Light
Composition, depth of field, white balance, metering, focus, and shooting in RAW. The craft that turns a snapshot into a photograph.
Show the 7 lessons
- Rules of Composition
- Depth of Field and Compression
- Understanding the Light
- Metering: Measuring the Light
- Getting the Light Color Right: White Balance
- Focusing the Light
- Shooting in RAW
Module 4: Shooting Specific Scenes
Settings and approaches for portraits, landscapes, wildlife, low-light, food, and more. Includes a downloadable PDF cheat sheet.
Show the 5 lessons
- Portrait Photography, Action / Sports Photography, Street Photography, and Wildlife Photography
- Shooting Landscape Photos and Nature Scenes
- Taking Photos Indoor and in Low Light, such as in Museums and at Events
- Macro Photography, Food Photography and Product Photography
- BONUS: Downloadable 50 Page PDF Cheat Sheet with Camera Settings for Different Scenes
Module 5: Managing and Editing Your Work
A full Lightroom workflow, from import to export. Plus how to organise and back up the thousands of photos you’ll end up with.
Show the 7 lessons
- Organizing Your Photos
- Getting Your Photos into Lightroom
- Setting Up Your Workflow
- Editing Your Photos in Lightroom
- Using Presets in Lightroom
- Exporting Your Photos and Optimizing Them for the Web
- Backing Up Your Photos
Module 6: Mobile Photography, Compact Cameras & Drones
Beyond the main camera: getting good results with phones, compacts, action cams and drones, plus mobile editing apps.
Show the 6 lessons
- Compact Camera (Point-and-Shoot) Tips and Advice
- Action Camera Photography
- Drone Photography
- Mobile Phone Photography Guide and Tips
- Basic Mobile Editing
- Advanced Mobile Editing and Backup
Module 7: Advanced Photography, Part I
Flash photography and HDR. Two techniques that push past what natural light alone gives you.
Show the 2 lessons
- Flash Photography
- HDR Photography
Module 8: Advanced Photography, Part II
Shooting in the dark: night scenes, the moon, the aurora, and the stars themselves.
Show the 4 lessons
- Astrophotography
- Northern Lights Photography
- How to Photograph the Moon
- Night Photography
Module 9: Advanced Photography, Part III
Long exposures and time-lapse. Slowing time down or speeding it up for creative effect.
Show the 2 lessons
- Long-exposure Photography
- Time-lapse Photography
Module 10: The Business of Photography
Once you can take great photos: how to build an audience, share your work, and earn from it.
Show the 5 lessons
- Developing a Website
- Promoting Your Photos on Social Media
- More Ways to Promote Your Work
- Ways to Make Money with Your Photos
- How Much to Charge for Your Work
What’s included
- 60+ lessons across 10 modules.
- A private Facebook group with 2,000+ course students. Chat with the community, get advice, share what you’re shooting.
- Optional exercises at the end of each module.
- Direct email access to me for questions, feedback on your photos, or just to say hi.
- Recorded webinars and interviews with professional photographers.
- Biweekly photo challenges you can join.
- Lifetime updates as the course evolves.
- A 50-page photography cheat sheet you can take with you anywhere.
Six expert interviews
The course includes six in-depth video interviews. Five are with working photographers, covering everything from making money to commercial work. The sixth is with a director of tourism, giving you a view few photography courses offer: exactly what brands look for when they hire.
Brendan Van Son
Travel Photographer
Brendan is a full-time professional photographer. His interview goes deep on the business side: how to actually turn a camera into income.
Lola Akinmade Akerstrom
Freelance Photographer
Lola’s photography has appeared in over 85 publications. She walks through how she broke in, and how to get your own work seen.
Daniel Nahabedian
Freelance Photographer
Daniel runs photography workshops around the world. His interview covers finding freelance work and building a portfolio clients want to hire.
Edin Chavez
Commercial Photographer
Edin is editor-in-chief of Shut Your Aperture and a commercial photographer. He explains how commercial work actually gets won and delivered.
Jaume Marin
Director of Tourism
Jaume directs tourism for the Costa Brava region. He’s on the hiring side of the table: in this interview, he shares exactly what destination brands look for in the photographers they commission.
Sarah Ann Loreth
Freelance Photographer
Sarah Ann is a self-taught professional photographer who specializes in fine art and travel photography.
Ready to take photos you’re proud of?
Sixty-plus lessons across ten modules, plus videos, interviews, and exercises you can try at your own pace. One payment, lifetime access, no upsells. I’ll answer any questions you have along the way.
One Payment of
$129.00 USD
LIFETIME ACCESS
One payment, no renewals
30-DAY GUARANTEE
Full refund, no questions
SECURE CHECKOUT
Stripe & PayPal
Money-back guarantee
Take a full 30 days to look around. If the course isn’t a fit for any reason, just email me and I’ll refund 100% of your money. No questions, no forms.
Charitable promise
I love photographing beautiful places around the world, and I want to try to ensure that they stay beautiful. As such, I donate 10% of every course sale to the World Land Trust. The WLT is an international charity organization dedicated to protecting and conserving threatened habitats around the world. To date, over 100 acres of land has been protected through the WLT Buy an Acre program thanks to course sales!
Frequently asked questions
Why pay for this when YouTube has so much free photography content?
You can learn photography on YouTube. The information in this course isn’t secret, and there are plenty of good free creators to follow.
What you get here that YouTube can’t give you is everything in one ordered place. Sixty-plus lessons take you from the basics through to selling your work, in the order you need them. There’s no algorithm pulling you sideways into unrelated rabbit holes, and no scrolling to figure out which 12-minute video to watch next.
You also get me directly. If you’ve got a question, want feedback on a photo, or just want to say what you’re working on, email me and I’ll write back personally. Plenty of students go through the whole course quietly, and that’s just as good a way to do it. And you get a 2,000-student community working through the same material with you in our private Facebook group.
How is this travel photography course structured?
This online photography course is unit based and divided into ten modules of content. You can take it at whatever pace you like. Each module of lessons introduces new concepts and builds upon the previous module, and you’ll always be able to access previous units and lessons, so there’s no rush. You can’t fall behind, and you can take the course at your own pace.
I don’t have a lot of time. Is this course for me?
This course is meant to be completed at your own pace. There’s no weekly time limit. Go as fast or slow as you want. Take your time on each lesson. There is no rush. You have lifetime access to all the material and any future updates.
What if I get really confused or stuck?
I’m here to help. If you get stuck on something, just email me and I’ll help you work through it. There’s no question too small.
How often do I need to travel to make this work?
You don’t need to travel at all! You can do the whole course from the comfort of your home. Photography doesn’t require you to travel to far-off places – you can learn all the key skills in your own house, then take them with you when you do travel.
How long is each expert interview?
Each interview is between 45 minutes and one hour.
Can I buy this travel photography course as a gift?
Yes, you can! You just need to buy the course as a gift. This will allow you to purchase a copy of the course as a gift, redeemable via coupon code. The coupon can be sent directly to the person you wish to gift it to at purchase, or I can send it to you so you can pass it on when you wish.
Also, if you are looking for a gift certificate to print out or send digitally we have a range of templates for various situations (eg. Christmas, Birthday, Gap Year, Mother’s Day, etc.) that we can customize and send to you for free.
Is my payment secure?
Payments are collected via the 256-bit encryption payment providers Stripe and Paypal. This website and your payment are secure, so no one will steal your data. I know how important this is!
If I’m not interested in selling my photos or starting a business is this course still for me?
Yes! I give you the tools and information to start selling your photos and working as a photographer, but many students take the course simply to improve their own personal photography.
My approach to creating this course was to cover as much as possible in one place, so everything is there if you need it.
How often is this course updated?
This course is updated at least twice a year to ensure our tips and advice are up to date.
What kind of camera do I need for this course?
My course doesn’t require any specific type of camera. Whether you use a DSLR, iPhone or Android smartphone, compact camera, or mirrorless camera, you’ll get something from this course.
Most people do choose to use a mirrorless or DSLR camera, but some have done it fully with just a smartphone or compact camera. I also provide additional tips for taking photos with action cameras (e.g., GoPros) and drones for those who have either of those types of gear
Being a good photographer is not about the device you use but the skills you know!
I don’t have a camera yet, is this course for me?
Yes! I’ve had feedback from students who’ve bought the course that they’ve found it really useful even before they’ve bought their camera. It’s helped them plan their purchase, and start getting great photos straight away once they do get a camera.
If I don’t like the photography course, can I get a refund?
Yes. Take a full 30 days to look around. If the course isn’t a fit for any reason, just email me and I’ll refund 100% of your money. No questions, no forms.
It says that 10% of my purchase goes to the World Land Trust. Can you tell me more about this charity?
World Land Trust is an international non-profit conservation organization. Its primary mission is to protect plants, animals, and local communities in areas at environmental risk by funding the purchase of land for local NGOs to undertake conservation. They also support projects that directly tackle climate change.
The funds raised from the course sales will specifically go to supporting the Buy an Acre program. To date (2023), over 100 acres of land has been purchased and protected in perpetuity thanks to course sales.
You can read more about the organization and its current projects here.
I have a question, who can I contact?
Feel free to just send me an e-mail and ask me any questions you have about the course. My email is [email protected].
$129.00 USD
Lifetime access
