Learn Photography, Video Editing, and More With Lynda.com *Giveaway*

This giveaway is now closed. Thanks for stopping by. The winner is Florinda. Congrats!

Taking pictures is savoring life intensely, every hundredth of a second.
― Marc Riboud

While I was walking in New York earlier this week, I happened upon B&H, a massive and impressive space filled with the latest and greatest in all things photography and video.  A few years ago, I probably would not have wasted one precious New York minute in that store, but through the years of writing this blog, I’ve developed an incredible passion for photography.  As I was speaking to one of the highly experienced salesmen, he said something to me that I just can’t shake. I was showing him some iPhone photos I had taken of Times Square…photos I was actually quite content with. He humbled me and said…”How many times have you seen that same photograph of Times Square?”  His challenge to me was to “think outside the box.” To capture Times Square (or any location, object, etc.) in a way that hasn’t been photographed.

Have you ever met someone who has an innate way of seeing the world from a unique, creative perspective?  I have…in fact I can name several bloggers/photographers who I believe that to be true about. But photography can also be learned.  We live in an age  of highly technical digital cameras.  In fact, a person with little to no knowledge of photography can pick up a mid-range SLR camera and take very good photos by simply shooting in the automatic mode.

A few years ago, I purchased the camera I own today…a Nikon D90 SLR camera.  I know that it’s impossible to love a thing, but it’s the “thing” I carry with me all the time. That camera has changed my photographic world, and yet I’m still just a newbie.  There are so many aspects of the camera I’ve yet to explore. And having never taken a professional photography class, there is so much I want and need to learn to improve my skills.

I recently signed up with Lynda.com, an online subscription library that offers quality instructional videos on everything from photography basics to advanced video editing software. The site houses over 1400 videos which can be used to self-learn a wide variety of topics.  The instructors are some of the world’s top experts in their field which makes me confident in my ability to learn from them.  Before visiting the site, I anticipated that I would find a ton of courses on photography…basic…intermediate…advanced. I had no idea there would be super techy courses like creating animated characters or building a Facebook application.

As someone who is highly visual, I find the videos to be an incredibly effective way of learning. At present, I have nine courses in my queue, most of which relate to digital photography.  Even though my husband has explained the basics to me, I still have difficulty shooting in low light or at night so the very first course I’m in the process of completing is Foundations of Photography: Night and Low Light.  This particular course is relatively easy to follow and explains concepts such as aperture and shutter speed in ways that even a beginner can understand. I particular like the scenarios presented that offer practical application of the skills and concepts that are being taught.

Lynda.com is a subscription-based website and there are a variety of options to choose from including monthly subscriptions with anytime access to over 80,000 tutorials ($25-$37.50) to annual subscriptions ($250-$375).  New courses and topics are added each week and members have access to that content without paying additional fees.

Over the next month or so, I’m going to continue taking courses and exploring the site to share with you what I’ve learned about photography. Interestingly enough, while my goal in reviewing the service was to hone my photography skills, I’ve already identified a ton of software courses I’d like to take including a WordPress Essential Training Course, an iMovie Essential Training Course, and an Advanced Photoshop course!

I started digging into Lynda.com and I honestly can’t begin to tell you how resourceful the site is. If you have specific questions, I’d love to research the answers to them over the next month so just place them in the comments!

Win It!  I have a fabulous giveaway of an annual subscription to Lynda.com, retailed at $375!  Simply leave me a comment with the name of one course you’d like to take at Lynda.com.  Comments will close on September 9th, 2012 at 11:59 PM PST.

US Residents only. Duplicates and comments not including the above information will be disqualified. Comments are moderated. If you don’t see your comment in a reasonable amount of time, send me an email. Bloggers and non-bloggers may enter. If you don’t want to leave your email address, please be sure to check back for my announcement on the winner. Please note that winners must respond within 48 hours of being announced/contacted or another winner will be drawn.

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No compensation was received for this post. I received an annual subscription to Lynda.com and 2 subscriptions to give away. All opinions remain solely that of the author.

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Caryn Bailey

Caryn is a NICU nurse by day, blogger by night and mom 24/7. She savors the warm Southern California sun and loves to travel, shopping, baking, reading and frequenting her local tea room. Caryn created the column Lavishly Green for Peekaboo Picks Magazine to share her best tips for going green in style, she is the Former editor for Family Review Network, former OC Family Magazine online contributor, former Orange County Moms Blog contributor, former Evenflo Savvy Parent contributor, former member of the Totsy Advisory Board and former freelance writer for CBS Los Angeles.

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