Watch The Fundamentals of Travel Photography

Traveling is one of the most exciting things that one can do. A journey to a new destination can bring new experiences, meet new people, and create lasting memories. But what captures those moments in a more vivid and artistic way than a photograph? The Fundamentals of Travel Photography, a part of The Great Courses Signature Collection, takes you on a journey to learn the art of travel photography from award-winning professional photographer Bob Krist.

The course is over 14 hours long and consists of 24 lectures. Krist, an experienced travel photographer, brings his immense knowledge and expertise to teach you how to capture the soul of your travel experience, to form great photographic travel narratives that others would want to see. Starting from the basics of photography, the course progresses into more advanced techniques, as Krist shares his experience from shooting numerous National Geographic stories around the world.

In the first lectures, you will get to understand the basics of photography, such as composition, lighting, color theory, and the different types of camera lenses. Krist provides practical examples and effortless explanations of how to utilize these elements to take great photos. He also shows the importance of knowing your camera functions so that you can use them without any trouble.

Following the fundamentals, Krist dives into the world of travel photography. In this module, you will learn how to prepare for your travel, scouting locations, and the essential gear you will need, all while maintaining the security of your equipment. Krist teaches you how to be agile in changing conditions and how to plan for hours or even days to get the desired shot. He also discusses various photographic genres, including landscape, wildlife, portrait, and street photography. You will be introduced to smartphone photography, and you will learn how to take advantage of smartphone cameras to create amazing travel photos.

As you progress through the course, Krist introduces advanced techniques such as Dynamic Range Optimization (DRO), high dynamic range (HDR) imaging, bracketing, focus stacking, and Panoramic images. After that, he spends a lot of time discussing the usage of different filters, such as polarizing and neutral density (ND) filters, color gradation filters, and the right white balance. You will learn about the power of post-processing software such as Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop and how to use them appropriately to make your photos’ look professional.

One of the most crucial parts of travel photography is the art of storytelling. Krist provides insight into creating engaging travel narratives through your images, both through individual images and entire sequences. The course covers how to tell a story through a series of candid street photos, how to photograph festivals and events, and how to visualize your final photo-books, websites or social media posts.

As a featured lecturer, Krist is an excellent guide throughout the whole course. He explains concepts and ideas in an organized and easy-to-understand way, with an emphasis on hands-on and practical instruction through real-world examples. Krist also includes unique insights and tips of his travel photography experiences. With each chapter, you gain confidence and feel motivated to apply your newfound knowledge to your next adventure.

The Fundamentals of Travel Photography from The Great Courses Signature Collection is an indispensable resource for photographers, travelers, bloggers, and anyone who loves to explore new places. Throughout the course, Krist builds a clear and easy-to-follow roadmap for using composition, lighting, equipment, and post-processing to take incredible travel photographs.

Since the course is available online, you can learn at your convenient time and at your comfortable pace. Furthermore, a bevy of visual aids such as charts, photographs, and graphics make the course more enjoyable and easy to understand.

In conclusion, The Fundamentals of Travel Photography with Bob Krist from The Great Courses Signature Collection is a remarkable course that serves as a comprehensive guide to traveling your destination photography. Krist's friendly and informative style, combined with a practical, hands-on approach, provides an excellent foundation for both novice and advanced photographers, bloggers, and writers to capture the world around them. This course is a tremendous budget-friendly value for anyone who desires to improve their travel photography skills.

The Fundamentals of Travel Photography is a series that ran for 1 seasons (23 episodes) between November 10, 2017 and on The Great Courses Signature Collection