Online photography course for beginners

    Camera Zero to Hero: a self-paced photography course for beginners

    Stop guessing at your camera settings. Learn manual mode, exposure, focus, light and composition step by step from working photographer Brent Taylor, with a 120-page illustrated guide and six interactive simulators to practise on.

    • 120-page illustrated guide across 30 chapters
    • Six interactive simulators: practise without a camera in your hands
    • One payment, lifetime access, no subscription
    • Works with almost any camera
    USD, one payment, lifetime access
    The Camera Zero to Hero beginner photography guide shown on a tablet

    Learn photography once, then use it for life

    Read it

    A 120-page illustrated guide explains exposure, light and focus in plain language, with each idea explained once, clearly.

    Play with it

    Six interactive simulators let you change aperture, shutter speed and ISO and watch the photo respond, with no camera in your hands.

    Use it

    Take what you practised into the real world and shoot in manual mode on purpose, not by accident.

    Course Introduction

    Meet the course before you enroll.

    Brent walks you through Camera Zero To Hero: what's inside and how it works.

    • The 120-page Camera Zero To Hero flipbook
    • HeroSim Exposure Lab and the Hero Lab simulators
    • Lifetime access, updated over time
    $74.99
    Everything included

    One enrolment.
    The whole Hero Lab.

    Camera Zero To Hero is more than a book. Your enrolment unlocks the full 120-page course and six interactive simulators, so you can practise each idea the moment you read it.

    01

    Camera Zero To Hero Course

    Thirty chapters that take you from your first camera menu to confident manual shooting, in a page-turning flipbook built for students.

    • Jump to any chapter from the contents
    • Picks up where you left off
    • Reads beautifully on a phone or a desktop
    02

    HeroSim Camera Simulator

    A working camera on screen. Set the mode, shutter speed, aperture and ISO, press the shutter, and see exactly what your settings would have captured.

    • Motion blur versus frozen action
    • Depth of field you can see change
    • P, A, S and M modes, just like your camera
    03

    ISO Grain and Noise Gallery

    Compare ISO 100 to ISO 25,600 side by side on real low-light scenes, and inspect the grain up close at 100%.

    • Split view with a draggable divider
    • Night street, astro, concert and portrait scenes
    • 100% crop loupe for shadow noise
    04

    Histogram Trainer

    Judge real photographs as under-exposed, about right or over-exposed, then see the histogram that proves it.

    • Real images from Brent’s own portfolio
    • Instant feedback on every answer
    • Build a streak and beat your personal best
    05

    White Balance Trainer

    Watch candlelight, tungsten, daylight and shade change the colour of real scenes, and learn why the camera slider works backwards.

    • Seven light sources from 1,900K to 7,800K
    • Match the light in one click
    • See what auto white balance usually guesses
    06

    Flash and Falloff Simulator

    The inverse square law made visible. Move the flash and your subject, and watch the background fall into darkness or light up.

    • Live stop-by-stop readouts
    • Compare auto exposure with raw falloff
    • Plan black or bright backgrounds on purpose
    07

    EXIF Critique

    Bring a photo that disappointed you. The tool reads the settings your camera recorded and explains what went wrong and what to try next.

    • Shutter, aperture, ISO and focal length checks
    • Links straight to the lesson that covers it
    • Your photo never leaves your device
    Your enrolment includes
    • Camera Zero To Hero course
      120 pages, 30 chapters, in a page-turning flipbook
    • HeroSim Camera Simulator
      Practise every camera mode on a live scene
    • ISO Grain and Noise Gallery
      Side-by-side noise comparison up to ISO 25,600
    • Histogram Trainer
      Learn to read exposure from the graph
    • White Balance Trainer
      See how light changes colour
    • Flash and Falloff simulator
      The inverse square law, made visible
    • EXIF Critique
      Feedback on the settings behind your own photos
    Extra resources
    The free Hero Toolkit calculators are yours to use alongside the course: Golden Hour Planner, Handheld Shutter, Depth of Field, Print Size, Astro Exposure and Shadow.
    Camera Zero to Hero
    Course and student lab, together
    USD $74.99
    Lifetime access, including every update
    A living resource: new lessons and tools are added to the course over time.

    Practise exposure with six interactive camera simulators

    The Hero Lab turns the ideas in the guide into things you can touch. Every tool is included with the course.

    HeroSim Camera Simulator

    Change aperture, shutter speed and ISO, press the shutter and see the photo respond.

    ISO Noise Simulator

    Compare grain and shadow detail from ISO 100 to 25,600 on real sample scenes.

    Histogram Reading Trainer

    Judge real photographs as under, over or correctly exposed, with instant feedback.

    White Balance Simulator

    See how light sources and camera settings shift colour, from candlelight to open shade.

    Flash Falloff Simulator

    Watch the inverse square law at work as you move the flash and the subject.

    EXIF Settings Analyzer

    Upload a photo and get feedback on the settings behind it.

    Five modules and thirty chapters, from manual mode to composition

    Here is what is inside the Camera Zero to Hero guide, in the order you will learn it.

    1. The Camera

    Meet your instructor, then the controls, camera bodies, lenses, focal lengths and sensor size.

    • Preface
    • Introduction
    • Overview of Controls
    • Camera Bodies
    • Camera Lenses
    • Focal Lengths
    • Sensor Size & Lenses

    2. Light & Exposure

    White balance, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, stops and exposure compensation.

    • White Balance
    • Light Valves & Timers
    • ISO
    • Shutter Speed
    • Aperture
    • First Principles: Stops
    • First Principles: Exposure
    • Exposure Compensation

    3. Shooting Controls

    The mode dial, focus points and modes, stacking, drive modes and metering.

    • The Mode Dial
    • Shutter Release / AF Button
    • Focus Points
    • Focus Modes
    • Focus Bracketing & Stacking
    • HDR & Image Stacking
    • Drive Modes
    • Metering Patterns
    • Reflective vs. Incident Metering

    4. Files & Gear

    File formats, image quality, aspect ratio, orientation and what to purchase.

    • File Formats
    • Image Quality
    • Aspect Ratio
    • Image Orientation
    • What to Purchase

    5. Composition

    Principles, visual communication, stronger images and a professional eye.

    • Composition
    Brent Taylor, professional photographer and founder of Brentec Photo Skills

    Learn from a working photographer

    Brent Taylor is an award-winning international photographer whose career spans two continents, from South Africa to Canada. He has more than 25 years of experience across weddings, fashion and editorial, commercial and product, corporate, real estate and events.

    He began teaching in 2005 and built Camera Zero to Hero around one idea: when you understand why your camera behaves the way it does, you stop guessing and start choosing.

    More about Brent

    Try some free lessons first

    Or browse all photography tutorials and the free Hero Toolkit.

    Camera Zero to Hero: frequently asked questions

    Ready to take control of your camera?

    One payment of USD $74.99, lifetime access, and a guide plus six simulators that make exposure click.

    $74.99