Get Started in Photography

In May 2010, Rafał Milach traveled around Iceland with writer Huldar Breiðfjörðm. They hoped to find something about the “so-called Icelandic identity.” Milach packed large and medium-format cameras, small point-and-shoots, and a Polaroid, then chose based on what fit the moment. Milach had a plan going in, but says now, “I don’t believe I’ve made a single project where the initial result was exactly the same as the final product.” Negatives were destroyed, images came out unsharp, materials were collected and piled up with no clear sense of how they would fit together. It was unpredictable and he had no idea how it was going to end. The project became the book In the Car with R.  Milach calls the process beautiful.

That story is one of many in Get Started in Photography, a new, free, online course from Magnum Photos, supported by MPB. The nine-part course is taught by photographer and educator Daniel T. Wheeler, who runs Sequence, the Nottingham Centre for Photography and Social Engagement, alongside Magnum photographers Cristina De Middel and Rafał Milach. Through the instructors’ own practices and examples from the Magnum archive, students learn about technical basics, equipment, genres, composition, practical considerations, editing, storytelling and voice, play, and outputs. Several chapters include a workbook to put new skills into practice. In total, the course features more than two hours of material.

“It’s really simple to understand once you get your head around it,” Wheeler says of the medium’s technical side. “That stuff is always a little bit scary at the beginning.”

The course opens with photography basics: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO, presented as creative choices rather than just technical settings. How do you isolate a subject from its background or foreground? What if you want everything in focus? How do you freeze a subject or show motion? What choices do you have working in low light? Images by Alex Webb, Chris Steele-Perkins, and Martin Parr illustrate some of the answers.

The equipment chapter follows. In it, Wheeler calls out the tendency for new photographers to become gear-obsessed — something to avoid. “What we need to be thinking about is the pictures we’re making and not the tools we’re using,” he says. Still, it’s important to know how different formats and lenses work and to have the right tool for the job. A slow, meditative photographer like Alec Soth might use a large format camera, while someone who is constantly on the move, shooting a lot on crowded streets like Bruce Gilden might use something smaller.

The composition chapter draws on the Magnum archive, including images by Henri Cartier-Bresson, Susan Meiselas, and Elliott Erwitt. The instructors draw from their own projects to talk about how they compose images too, including De Middel’s work on The Afronauts and Milach’s work in The Winners.

Later in the course, the photographers discuss editing. Wheeler emphasizes the importance of printing photographs physically, then instinctively selecting, arranging, and discarding. “It feels quite brutal at the beginning,” he says. Milach describes a related practice — returning to images nightly while still immersed in a shoot. It’s a habit that started in his early years working with analog cameras.

In the storytelling and voice session, each photographer shares insights from their practice. De Middel asserts, “If you have nothing to say, then it’s much more difficult.” Milach thinks photographers find their voice through what they’re most concerned about, that’s why people pick up a camera in the first place. Though he warns, “Don’t try to find your own voice, because it will stop you from experimenting. It will crystallize with time.”

The chapter on play brings these elements together and encourages an open, experimental approach to working with photography. Play is vital for any photographer or project, as well as the ability to embrace mistakes and accidents. “I think the only way to learn is through mistakes,” says De Middel. “They actually open many doors that were there that you probably never thought about.”

The course closes on outputs and final thoughts. Exploring and knowing how and where to present work, whether that’s in a book, a zine, or even an exhibition, is often just as important as making the photos in the first place. “The biggest challenge, but it’s a really nice one to have, is embracing the freedom that knowing a new tool can give you,” says De Middel. “Discovering a new way to express yourself can actually make a significant change in your life and how you relate to others.”

Get Started in Photography extends the reach and mission of Magnum Learn, the cooperative’s education department. Emphasizing visual literacy, Magnum photographers and staff teach students how to read, question, make, and use images rather than just consume them. Beginning 15 years ago with five-day shooting workshops, the team now offers a full slate of online and in-person programs. Hundreds of students around the world participate in Magnum Learn programs every year, including workshops, courses, and mentorships. The release of this new introductory program is designed to make learning the fundamentals more accessible to a global audience.

For MPB, the world’s largest online platform for used photo and video equipment, the free course encourages individuals to pick up a camera and start shooting. “At MPB, everything we do comes back to one idea: great cameras shouldn’t sit unused in a drawer when someone else could be learning on them,” writes Tammy Oler, VP of Marketing at MPB.

Get Started in Photography is free to take online, in full, from Magnum Photos, supported by MPB. The course is available in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German.

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