Free Photography Resources

Pittsburgh Portrait Photography by Don Orkoskey of WDO PhotographyHere are some amazing free photography resources from me, professional photographer Don Orkoskey. I'm the owner of WDO Photography and I know these resources will help you grow as a photographer. Regardless of if you're just getting started or you've been learning photography for a while you'll benefit from the resources here.

Take advantage of the following articles that I've written and the other resources listed below. These include YouTube channels that I highly recommend and websites where you'll find high quality information to help you become a better photographer.

Because learning photography can be challenging you need help. Sometimes we end up feeling very frustrated. However, it doesn't need to be that way. Here are some great instructional videos and articles.

When you start looking for photography tips and tricks the algorithms on Google and Youtube can be very unhelpful. Because of this I put together these free photography resources just for you.

Photography Classes

I teach a variety of public and private photography classes in Pittsburgh. Additionally, I offer private photography lessons because group classes don't always fit into everyone's busy schedule. I teach both in person and online classes to make sure the classes I offer work for as many people as possible.

Still, sometimes photography classes just don't work for you. Not everyone has the time or money for classes. Too, some people are shy and would rather learn on their own. I completely understand. This is why created this page full of free photography resources for everyone. No matter why you're here, you're welcome here.

My Mailing List

If you want to get find great information delivered to your inbox monthly then sign up for my mailing list. Each month I deliver great free articles to you that will improve your photography skills.

Because nobody wants their inbox flooded I only send them monthly. Each is packed with great articles, tips, tricks, links, and more. Moreover I include mailing list only articles that you won't find anywhere else and a list of upcoming classes.

Share Your Knowledge

Share your knowledge with others just like yourself. If you've got a great free photography resource send it my way. I'm happy to link to material which helped you. Please contact me and let me know what I'm missing.

If you're a content creator and wish to share a guest post please reach out on my contact page. I'm always happy to share articles that can help people learn and grow as photographers. If you're a podcast host or are looking for a photography subject matter expert I would love to speak with you. Please contact me and let me know what you need. Also be sure to let me know if your podcast offers lessons that should be shared here.

Free Photography Articles From WDO Photography

Here are great free photography articles from WDO Photography. These are articles you'll find on my blog collected here and sorted into three categories. Let me know what you found the most helpful or what you'd like to see in the future by contacting me here.

Products, Product Reviews, and Buying Guides

Find products that will help you and reviews in this section.

What Camera To Buy in 2023 - My 2023 camera buying guide. Also be sure to check out my digital camera buying guide for more great info.

Digital Camera Buying Guide - looking to buy a camera? Check out my tips to help you choose the best camera for your needs.

Waterproof Phone Case - Take photos with your phone at the beach or pool without worrying about it getting wet! This is also a great tool for rainy days!

The Best Camera Shops In Pittsburgh (and the worst) - Find out where to get your photography gear, and where NOT to shop for photography equipment in Pittsburgh.

The Best Retro Film Cameras To Buy in 2023 (and beyond) - Film is making a big comeback. If you're thinking about dipping your toes in read my list of the best retro film cameras before making a purchase.

How To Lose Weight Quickly Before Your Photo Session - That headline is a lie, there's really no way to lose weight quickly, not a safe way anyhow. However there are ways to get great photos no matter how you feel about your size or body. Find out how here.

The Xpera Pro-1 phone is a game changer for phone photography - The biggest disadvantage of phone photography, no adjustable aperture might just be coming to an end.

Visit My Etsy Store - Find great photography gifts including nature photography prints that you'll want to give to everyone!

Visit Me At The Terminal Art Market! Come buy some great nature photography prints at the Terminal Art Market in the Strip District!

Guides and Tips

Find guides and tips to improve your nature and all other types of photography here.

Photography is for Everyone! - if you want to take photos then you're a photographer. Find out why photography is for everyone!

Master photography with help from geometry - learn how a level camera will help you make sure you're creating the best photos.

Macro Phone Photography - learn how to take close up macro photos with your phone!

Macro photography without a macro lens - you don't need a fancy macro lens to take macro photos! Learn how to do it here!

10 nature photography tips - want to improve your nature photography skills? Here are 10 nature photography tips!

Using a macro lens for portraits - macro lenses are super sharp. Learn how to use them to take portraits.

Take better selfies! Learn how to create better selfies with this handy guide.

A Guide to Photographing Your Wild Child Like A Pro - kids are great but they can be tough to take photos of the minute they start to move. Learn how to get professional like photos of them.

Amazing Flower Photography Tips - Just like it says, great advice for photographing flowers.

Master Photography With This One Setting - Learn the one trick you need to become a better photographer.

Prevent Ugly Purple Fringe In Your Photos - How to beat chromatic aberrations in your photography.

Photograph The Stars - Learn about astrophotography and how you can photograph the stars and the rest of the universe.

What Can Punxsutawney Phil Teach You About Photography? - Find out what Phil secretly knows about contrast.

Photograph Beautiful Herons In Pittsburgh's North Park - Find beautiful herons to photograph right here in Pittsburgh's North Park.

Other Photography Articles

Here you'll find other articles that don't fit the first two categories or that are Pittsburgh specific.

Pittsburgh's Best Photo Locations - You want a great place to take photos here in Pittsburgh. Here is my list of the best spots!

Pittsburgh's Most Beautiful Locations For Portraits  - Looking to take portraits in Pittsburgh? Here are the best locations in the city!

The Great Big List of Photography Terms - Learn what photographers are talking about when we say what we say. From aperture to wide angle and everything in between. You'll find it here.

Why Learning Photography Makes You A Better Person - It truly does, no really. Photography helps you to pay more attention to your surrounding and to question things. Find out all the other reasons why in this article.

What's the difference between branding photos and a headshot? Find out in this article where I break down the subtle and not-so subtle differences between branding photos and headshots.

The importance of preserving your family photos - your family photos won't last forever, especially if you don't take care of them. This is especially true in the digital age. Find out ho to preserve them in this article.

Portraits Make The Best Valentines Day Gift - Surprise your partner this Valentines Day with the perfect gift - a portrait session for just the two of you!

Your Portrait Photographer Should Come To You - It's 2023, your portrait photographer should be coming to you, not the other way around.

You Need An Updated Headshot - here are 10 reasons why I know this to be absolutely true.

Master Headshot Posing - Nail your headshot poses with these tips.

Who Owns Your Portrait, You or Your Photographer? - Learn why photographers retain ownership over the photos they take of you.

Free In Person Photography Resources

You can find all sorts of free in person photography resources in Pittsburgh. We have great camera shops such as Premier Imaging right here in the burbs. There's also YM Camera just a few miles away in Youngstown. Both of these shops are staffed with actual photographers who know quite a lot. Our local universities sometimes offer lectures and presentations. Plus you can join me on one of my free nature photography walks. Read more about those below.

More Free Photography Resources

Here are some more free photography resources. These include resources sent in from folks just like you.  If you have any links, articles, blog posts, or other free photography resources you think I should feature contact me to let me know.

Blogs, Articles, & More

Here are some great blogs, articles, and more that I follow or that have been suggested by folks who found my free photography resources to be helpful. Check back often as I'll be adding to it as I come across additional resources.

The Ultimate Savings Guide for Beginner Photographers

This article was shared with me by Kelly, a youth librarian and educator who is running a fun photography workshop. It was suggested by a young photographer named Amelia who is taking part in Kelly's workshop.

Amelia says this article helped spark her interest in photography. It's a great resource with loads of tips for how to use your creativity as a photographer without needing to spend much money. 

Flickr.com

Flickr has long been a great resource. When I was starting out in business I learned so much from Flickr. Not only was I able to connect to other working photographers and to see their work but I was able to improve my photography in a bunch of different ways.

Because Flickr is a very democratic website where photographers of all skill levels can meet and discuss things it's a great place to find fellow photographers. Flickr has also been around longer than most other social networks mostly because of the true bonds it helps foster between photographers.

Join groups that are related to your interest and search their archives  for amazing tips and discussions or ask your own questions. Flickr is also a great place to share your work and get feedback from other photographers.

Unlike Instagram and other social networks Flickr is almost exclusively photographers so the information you'll get about your work will be from people interested in photography. Parents should be aware that the site doesn't have the same content rules as some other sites so you will want to make sure you have safe search turned on.

CreativeLive

Like Flickr CreativeLive offers a great collection that can help not only beginners but advanced photographers. I've taken a number of classes from CreativeLive over the past several years.

CreativeLive is where I found out about Lindsay Adler whose Youtube I linked above. Now she's one of my favorite photography teachers.

Digital Photography School

DPS has so many free photography resources. From simple tutorials to reviews of photography equipment and a whole lot more.

A lot of the students who sign up for my photography classes have used DPS's materials and courses to get a better understanding of what they're doing.

Aperture Foundation

Another great organization that produces books and a quarterly magazine with the purpose of advancing the world of photography and connecting photographers.

They have books for kids, teens, and adults no matter what their skill  levels are. You're not going to see a lot of technical tutorials but when it comes to composition and the art of photography as well as social issues surrounding photography

Aperture is an amazing free photography resource.

How To Start a Photography Business

Here is an article sent in by Ava. She is a Girl Scout thinking about her future including her career choices. Ava's mom Amanda wrote to share this great article on how to start a photography business. It's a wonderful resource and I'm really thankful that Ava and Amanda shared it with me! I know you will be thankful too!

Uprinting Photoshop Glossary

Mrs. Stagle from the Hampton Public Library shared this article which her student volunteer Lauren suggest would be a great resource for those trying to learn Adobe Photoshop. The Hampton Public Library hosts a photography workshop in May and Lauren asked that this article be included on my resources page. Thanks Lauren! This page is a comprehensive list of definitions for terms and tools you'll find in Photoshop and Lauren is 100% right that this is a really helpful resource if you're learning to edit in Photoshop. Thank you again Mrs. Stagle and Lauren for sharing this link!

Youtube Photographers & Tutors

Youtube is a great free resource for excellent photography tutorials but finding good channels can be a challenge. I've compiled the following list of channels which I highly recommend. They feature informative videos that will help you improve your photography skills.

FStoppers

If you're not already following FStoppers you'll want to start to immediately. While many of their videos offer advanced information for pro photographers and those looking to be pros there is still a lot of worthy stuff to check out if you kinda know what you're doing but want to take your skills to the next level, and then the level after that.

Mark McGee

Mark McGee runs a solid YouTube channel where you can find great info that I know will appeal to a a whole lot of you. From Street Photography to product reviews Mark always delivers top quality photography videos.

Westcott Lighting

Westcott makes some really great lights. They also produce a ton of videos on lighting. If you're looking for photography tutorials on lighting then you've got to check out Westcott Lighting. Most of their tutorials translate to other brands of lighting and even other types of light. Photography is all about light so even if you just shoot in natural light you'll want to check out Westcott Lightings YouTube channel.

Adorama

Just like Westcott, Adorama clearly has a motive - to get you to buy photography gear. Still their videos are incredible. Hit that subscribe button to learn all sorts of great information.

The Slanted Lens

There are a handful of passionate folks out there making great photography tutorials. The Slanted Lens is one of, if not the, best. From fairly beginner level stuff to advanced techniques plus great product reviews you're going to want to follow The Slanted Lens.

The Photographic Eye

Not only a great source for learning how to photograph stuff, The Photographic Eye also offers a bit of historic content. Maybe that's not your thing but I think it's really helpful to know where we've been so you can know where you're going.

Julieanne Kost

You know it wouldn't be a full list of photography tutorials without tossing in some great resources for post production. Julieanne Kost makes really great, in depth tutorials for Adobe Photoshop and other post production software.

Karl Taylor

Karl Taylor is someone else who really pours so much into the videos he creates. They're very well produced and full of great information. Many of them will only be appropriate for more advanced photographers but he's a great resource so keep him tucked away even if you don't need his information just yet.

Lindsay Adler

When it comes to photographers who really know their stuff and can help you to understand how to improve your work Lindsay Adler is at the top of the list. Lindsay's work is mostly with people so if you're not into taking portraits she might not be for you but subscribe anyhow because light is light. Even if you don't think you need this information now you'll thank me, or more appropriately, Lindsay, later.

Mads Peter Iversen

While I love nature photography I'm not really a landscape guy but Mads Peter Iversen is such an amazing teacher that I never miss any of his videos. Mads offers a number of downloadables and other tools that will help you to understand how to create incredible photos. I promise that he will become one of your favorite Youtube photography resources.

The Art of Photography

Ted Forbes channel, the Art of Photography, is a great place to learn about all sorts of cool photography related stuff. It's not a straightforward tutorial channel but it's full of incredible free photography resources that I certainly appriciate.

Mathieu Stern

Mathieu runs an incredible channel full of videos looking at wild and crazy lenses and cameras. You won't find a lot of tutorials but you will find a lot of stuff that should help you think outside the box. I've learned a lot from this channel. It's really inspirational stuff that can get your creative juices flowing.

Micael Widell

If you're interested in macro photography Micael's channel is a great place to learn new things. There are great tutorials as well as product reviews for tools that will improve your macro photography.

Ribsy

If you love film photography you've got to follow Ribsy. He posts a ton of videos all about film. If you're going to use film then you must follow Ribsy. From camera and film reviews to how-tos you'll find an amazing amount of great information here.

Camera Rescue

Like Mathieu's channel you'll find a lot of information on film cameras here. Their mission is to rescue film cameras for future generations. If you're into or are thinking about getting into film photography then give this channel a follow.

If you're interested in film photography check out my list of great cameras to look at.

Pierre T. Lambert

Pierre's Youtube channel focuses on his travel and street photography. There are a lot of lessons and just great content. If you're interested in street photography then you'll want to follow Pierre.

Joshua Cripps Photography

Joshua is a nature photographer who offers a plethora of great tutorials. The two best part about his videos is how easy his tutorials are to follow and how incredible the amazing photos he presents as part of them.