Martin Osner Photography School and Art Academy
Learn Photography Online with Martin Osner
Forty years behind the camera, more than twenty five of them teaching. Live classes on Zoom, courses you can start the minute you enrol, and small group workshops on location.
Most people arrive here wanting one of four things. Pick the one that sounds like you and the rest of this page will stay out of your way.
Four ways in
Which of these sounds like you?
There is no wrong door, and plenty of people walk through more than one over the years. But starting in the right place saves you a great deal of time.
One, from the start
“I am new to photography and I want to learn it properly.”
You have a camera, possibly a very good one, and it is still on automatic. Start at the beginning with the course that comes before every other course.
SEE THE ESSENTIALS COURSETwo, going further
“I can already use my camera. I want to take my photography further.”
The basics are behind you and your pictures are competent. Now you want the advanced technique, the control, and the reasons behind the rules.
SEE THE ADVANCED COURSEThree, the art
“I want to learn fine art photography.”
You can take a good photograph and it still feels empty. This is the move from recording what is in front of you to saying something about it.
SEE THE FIVE FINE ART COURSESFour, on location
“I want to attend one of your on location workshops.”
Small group workshops and retreats in places worth photographing, with the teaching happening in the field and in the studio afterwards.
SEE THE WORKSHOPSNot sure which of the four is you? Where to learn photography lays out all five routes honestly, including the ones this school does not offer.
Route one, from the start
You are new to photography
You have a camera, quite possibly an expensive one, and it is still set to automatic. There is no shame in that at all, and it is exactly where most people here began.
Essentials Photography Course
Online, self paced, start today
The course that comes before every other course. Exposure, light, composition, and how the camera actually thinks, taught so that it stays with you rather than being memorised for a week.
You do not need better equipment. You need to understand the equipment you have.
“I received a beautiful and expensive camera three years ago as a gift. Not knowing anything about photography, I spent the next three years shooting on auto. My only regret is that I didn’t do a course earlier.”
Jane Stone
Route two, going further
You want to take your photography further
Your pictures are competent and something is still missing. This is the stage where you stop following rules and start understanding why they exist, which is also the point at which most photographers get stuck on their own.
Advanced Photography Course
Online, self paced, start today
Every aspect of photography taken past the beginner stage, with the technical control that gives you options rather than accidents.
Not sure which of the two you need? Open the Essentials outline and see how much of it you already know.
Route three, the art
You want to learn fine art photography
Art photography is what happens when the camera stops being the subject. This is the longer road, and it is the one this school was built for.
Not sure this is even your world yet? Start with the free explainer. Nine hours of Martin’s teaching on the question, gathered into one page, with nothing to buy.
What is fine art photography? Read the full answerGetting Started in Art Photography
The first proper step. Where art photography differs from photography, and how to begin working with intention rather than reaction.
See the Getting Started courseGoing Further in Art Photography
The continuation. Deeper technique, stronger concepts, and the work of finding a voice that is recognisably yours.
See the Going Further courseNext Level Fine Art Photography
Taught live by Martin, in a small group, on a set schedule. You bring work, it gets looked at properly, and you are pushed further than a recording can push you.
See the Next Level classFine Art Photography Masterclass
The furthest this school goes. For photographers already making serious work who want it to stand up in a gallery.
See the MasterclassPhotoshop for the Artist
Taught by Samantha Lee Osner. Layering, masking, colour grading and blending, aimed at photographers who want to make artwork rather than retouch.
See the Photoshop courseTwo of these are live and three are self paced, and the difference matters more than the price. Live means Martin in the room with you on a fixed date. Self paced means you start tonight and go at your own speed. Plenty of people do one then the other.
Route four, on location
You want to attend an on location workshop
Small groups, places chosen because they are worth photographing, and teaching that happens in the field and then in the studio afterwards. This is the part that cannot be done through a screen.
Newly launched
A painting and fine art photography experience in France
A carefully curated workshop in the Loire Valley, guided by Martin and Samantha Lee Osner. Built for photographers moving towards a fine art practice, and for artists who want to bring photography into their creative work. You photograph with intention, then transform those images into artwork using painting, ink and mixed media.
Group numbers are deliberately kept small, so the mentorship is personal and the studio work stays focused.
SEE THE FRANCE WORKSHOPOr book a private lesson
You want to book a one on one private lesson with Martin
Sometimes none of the four quite fits, or you already know the one thing that is holding your work back and you would rather just get it sorted. Private lessons run in three formats, and any level is welcome.
In the studio
Hout Bay, Cape Town
A session at Martin’s own studio. There are two person prices if you would rather come with a friend or a partner.
On location
Around the Cape
A half day or a full day somewhere worth working, with the exact spot settled nearer the time around the weather.
On Zoom
Anywhere in the world
Every Zoom session is recorded and sent to you afterwards. Portfolio reviews work particularly well this way.
And if a course would serve you better, Martin will say so. If what you actually need is a structured grounding rather than a day, he will tell you that rather than take the booking. It is usually the cheaper answer as well.
Meet Martin Osner
An artist, educator and pioneer in fine art photography
Martin is an artist, a multi award winning fine art photographer, a gallerist and the founder of the Martin Osner Photography School and Art Academy. His work runs from emotive abstracts through atmospheric landscape to one of a kind mixed media pieces.
“I am a painter in a photographer’s body.”
Martin Osner
He has spent more than twenty five years teaching, and the whole school grew out of that rather than the other way around. Students come from South Africa, Europe, North America, Australia and beyond, which is why almost everything now runs online.
Before you spend anything
A great deal of this is already free
Martin has been teaching this material on camera for years and giving it away. If you want to know whether his way of thinking suits you, this is the honest way to find out.
What is fine art photography?
Why nobody agrees on the definition, where the line actually falls, and how to place your own work honestly inside it. Nine hours of Martin’s talks gathered onto one page.
Read the full answerThe YouTube channel
639,000 views and counting, on the talks, the techniques and the arguments. Nothing gated, nothing held back for the paid courses.
Watch on YouTubeThe blog
Shorter pieces on the things that stop people. Creative block, the clinical perfection trap, raw against jpeg, and finding your own creative DNA.
Read the blogWhat students say
Photographers who took one of these roads
Both of these describe the same thing from different ends: starting somewhere, finding it did not fit the life they actually have, and moving to the format that did.
“I initially joined Martin’s live Zoom class, Getting Started in Art Photography, and found it fantastic. However, due to my busy schedule, I couldn’t commit to regular live classes, so I decided to continue with the Going Further in Art Photography course at the Art Photography Academy. I was pleasantly surprised by how concise and constructive the course was. Martin’s teaching was excellent, and the ability to progress at my own pace made all the difference.”
Alexa Grace White, Washington DC
“This was an amazing immersion into photography. I have recently finished my second course with the School and signed up for my third, so needless to say, I’m impressed. He loves sharing his knowledge, which makes him a great mentor and teacher from whom to learn the art of photography.”
Paul Strappini
The newsletter
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