Course overview

Child and baby photographer (and parent) David Handley teaches you how to take brilliant photos of your baby and children in this online photography course.

David shows you step by step how to compose shots, handle cameras, take portraits, and even photograph children in a work capacity. David also goes on to reveal many secrets he's learnt during his career working with children to create beautiful natural looking portraits.

You will learn how to take beautiful artistic photographs of your kids - from newborn babies to teenagers from one of the greatest child photographers in the world.

You'll learn:

setting up and handling your camera
photographing children with style, clarity and colour
creating professional baby and child photos
composing portrait shots
creating natural looking photos
which camera settings to use
printing images
exposing images correctly
photo processing

You'll need:

A digital DSLR camera (but you can also use a compact camera or phone).

This photography course is suitable for any level of photographer - from parents looking to create beautiful portraits of their children using their phone to photography professionals who want to learn more about child photography from an expert.

Your tutor:

This online child photography course is taught by one of the most acclaimed photographers in the world - Sony Fashion Photographer of the Year, David Handley.

The course includes stunning examples of child photographic portraits, and David talks you through how he took each shot.

Choose Expert option for personal feedback on your photographs from David.

Time to complete this child & baby photography course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 13 hours 15 minutes to complete including:

Video lessons: 1 hour 15 minutes in total
Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
Assignment: at least 2 hours per lesson
Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

The course includes:

On-demand video lessons - presented by David Handley
lifetime access to the video, notes and interactive class
flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
downloadable lesson notes
practical (optional) child and baby photography assignments
access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
small interactive online classroom chat online to students from around the world

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from David on your photos.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Lesson summary

Achieving natural photographs of babies and children

The first lecture is all about achieving natural photographs of babies and children of all ages. There is a particular method I use all of the time for getting happy, natural looking pictures. The different techniques relating to this method are explored and illustrated, as I show you photographs I have taken using each technique. The photos are mostly the finished product which were used commercially and there are some behind the scenes shots showing you how I achieved the pictures.

Techniques and Attitudes

The second lesson teaches you about more techniques and attitudes. It contains more of my knowledge, views and philosophies on photographing children and babies. I talk about specific methods relating to particular age groups but as with all of the lectures, it includes all ages, from newborn to teens. Again I talk through my own photographs, to show you how I used the techniques I'm explaining and how I put them into use to create each picture. I share my experiences and give you tips and advice on how you can achieve similar pictures.

Improving your Technical Abilities

Once you have learnt the techniques mentioned in the first two lectures, you can then start to improve your technical abilities. This lecture is more technical but I don't blind you with science and too much jargon. Keeping it as simple as possible, I want to give you a better understanding of cameras and photography so you will become a better photographer. However, it's not all about equipment and data, as I also find this a little boring myself. I want you to enjoy taking pictures. I'm merely giving you guidelines on the technical things which will give you more control and skill as a photographer. The lecture also includes creative things like composition, cropping, and camera angle.

The Secrets of Lighting

The fourth lesson is mostly about lighting. Lighting is actually very important and is probably overlooked a great deal. It can make the difference between a mediocre and a great picture. All the elements in a photo can remain the same but if the lighting is beautiful and flattering then so will be the picture. In this lecture I explain the different types of lighting you can use. They are all very simple and are explained again with the aid of my photographs. You will be amazed at the difference good lighting makes to your pictures. Especially when combined with all the other skills and knowledge you will have learnt from the previous lectures.

Choose how you want to learn

Expert-level

Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition:

Start the course whenever you like
Tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
Certificate of completion and CPD learning hours
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with expert videos & notes
Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

Peer-level

Get the most from shared knowledge and community study:

Start course whenever you like
Practise what you learn with your peers
Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
Lessons with videos & notes
Course assignments
Group chat & direct message classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

meet the expert

David Handley

Renowned photographer excels in children's fashion worldwide, blending artistry with commercial success.

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.

Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.

Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!

Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.

Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT options?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
Downloadable lesson notes
Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
Certificate of completion.

What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.

When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.

How often can I speak with the Expert?

If you opt for the Expert version of your course, the time you have to interact with your tutor is limited to course length. You will have one week per lesson to chat to your tutor and to have your assignments marked, and during this period you can ask them as many questions as you would like.

To find out the length of each course, head to the product page and look at the Course outline to see how many lessons it contains. e.g. a four lesson course assumes that you will have completed the assignments within four weeks.

Your tutor interaction period will start as soon as you enter the classroom. If you find that you are struggling to complete the assignments in the allocated time or you wish to put this function on hold, just get in contact with one of the team via the support button and we will help you out.

Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address, or view the full FAQ’s here.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

For privacy or data questions, please contact us here.

Child & Baby Photography