I have never taken a single photography course in school. I do not consider myself a professional photographer by any means, only a hobbyist who enjoys traveling and capturing beautiful moments with a camera.
It had never crossed my mind that I would actually be able to make a living out of my self-taught photography and videography skills until I started this blog, thanks to all the videos I religiously watched and learned from on YouTube.
Even today, I still find YouTube to be one of the greatest ways to learn new skills with its wealth of free knowledge readily available right at our fingertips. In fact, I have been learning more and more about astrophotography recently, and I can't wait to put this new skill to use soon.
So, where do we start if we want to improve our photography skills? There are so many great YouTube channels out there, and it can be quite overwhelming to find the right channel to follow. Therefore, I have decided to compile a list of great photography channels on YouTube from a variety of niches that you can choose from to up your photography game.
From landscape photography to portrait to camera gear reviews, here are the 10 best photography channels from the best photographers out there that you should follow on YouTube this year. Let's begin with one of my favorite sources of camera gear reviews, DPReview TV.
1. DPReview TV (Camera Gear Review)
Photos by PetaPixel Youtube Channel
If you are looking for one of the best and most entertaining photography gear review Youtube channels to follow, you can't go wrong with Chris and Jordan. They were previously at DPReview, but have since moved on to PetaPixel, where they now run the channel for the popular photography website.
Chirs and Jordan are some of the best presenter duos on YouTube, in my opinion. Their funny interactions with each other while they talk about camera gears are one of the highlights of their videos, especially the creative and often very funny intros they do at the beginning of each video.
Their videos often take a deep dive into newly released camera gear and lenses with extreme detail. While Chris often focuses on the photography side of things, Jordan tries to balance it out with his take as a videographer, which makes their reviews great for hybrid shooters like us travelers who take both photos and videos.
I especially love their Christmas videos back when they were at DPReview TV, where Chris and Jordan sit around a campfire and talk about the best and worst cameras and lenses of that year, all the while drinking alcohol and getting drunker and drunker as the night goes on. It's hilarious, entertaining to watch, and surprisingly informative. I hope they will continue the tradition over at PetaPixel Youtube Channel. 😉
If you are looking for new camera gear to invest in, whether it be a new camera body or a new lens to take on your next trip, Chris and Jordan of PetaPixel are one of the first places I recommend you check out before spending your hard-earned money on them.
2. Jack Sloan (Camera Gear Review)
Photos by Jack Sloan
Jack Sloan is another camera gear review channel on YouTube that I often consult before buying any new camera gear, especially when it comes to drones and camera gear for travel.
What makes Jack's reviews stand out from the other review channels is that he himself is a hiker, and he often goes around his home state of Alaska hiking and reviewing camera gear based on his needs.
His camera gear reviews don't just go over the specifications and how good the gear is, but also highlight important points like weight, size, and price. This is especially important for us travelers who are looking for great photography gear to travel with, without breaking our backs.
He often praises camera gears that strike a perfect balance between quality, affordability, and compactness, which is something you don't often see on other photography review channels.
If you are a traveler and a hiker and are looking to buy new camera gear that is lightweight, affordable, and of excellent quality, I highly recommend you subscribe to Jack Sloan's channel and check out his videos.
3. Christopher Frost (Lens Reviews)
Photos by Christopher Frost
Now, if you are a pixel peeper who prefers more scientific reviews of camera gear, especially camera lenses, you are going to love Christopher Frost's YouTube channel and his videos.
Christopher Frost is an independent reviewer from the UK with over 250,000 subscribers. He frequently tests both old and new camera lenses and regularly uploads in-depth reviews of them on YouTube.
He has more than 400 reviews on his channel, and whenever I want a more scientific take on camera lenses, his channel never fails to deliver. He always tests out the sharpness of the lens throughout its focal length and aperture in intricate detail, and he often points out issues that other channels may have missed.
If you are looking to buy a new camera lens and you want to watch an extremely detailed camera review before investing in it, you can never go wrong with Christopher Frost and his YouTube channel.
4. Thomas Heaton (Landscape Photography)
Photos by Thomas Heaton
Thomas Heaton is one of my favorite travel/photography YouTube channels out there, and I highly recommend you subscribe to his channel, especially if you are into landscape photography or if you are looking to learn more about it.
Thomas Heaton is an awesome landscape photographer who really enjoys the art of traveling to remote places, camping out in the wilderness, and capturing that one perfect picture of a mountain or a landscape at the perfect time. He is amazing at it.
You can really feel just how much he loves his craft from watching his videos as he slowly travels around the world from one place to another, waiting for the right moment to capture the money shot, all the while telling us his process that we can learn from to improve ourselves, which is something you don't get very often in a travel video.
Photos by Thomas Heaton
One of my favorite series from Thomas Heaton is a series of videos he made during this photography workshop in Nepal called Hiking & Photography in Nepal | Everest Basecamp & Gokyo Trek. He tackled the Everest Base Camp trail, looking for places to take photos of the mighty Himalayan mountains, which reminded me of my time doing the same in 2018.
This series was both nostalgic and surprisingly emotional for me to watch, and you can really see just how tough the terrains are up there. If you enjoy watching people hiking and camping in remote places while learning the art of landscape photography, you won't regret subscribing to Thomas's channel.
5. Mark Denney (Landscape Photography)
Photos by Mark Denney
Mark Denney is another great landscape photographer who has a wealth of extremely valuable and easy-to-follow landscape photography tutorials that anyone can learn from.
He has several playlists full of tutorial videos for landscape photographers, for everyone, no matter if you are a beginner looking to learn more about landscape photography or an avid photographer.
Tutorials, like how to edit landscape photos using focus stacking, are extremely useful for those of us who travel a lot and often find ourselves surrounded by beautiful scenery. His channel is a wealth of knowledge and one of the best sources for me to learn more about landscape photography.
If you are looking to up your landscape photography game for your upcoming trips, you should definitely subscribe to Mark Denney and check out his videos. With over 140 videos on his channel, even if you are already a professional, I assure you that you will have no trouble finding something new to learn about landscape photography.
6. Mitchellkphotos (Travel Photography)
Photos by Mitchellkphotos
Mitchellkphotos or Mitchell Kanashkevich is an award-winning travel photographer who lives off his awesome jeep and travels around the world, capturing the intimate moments of the locals in a way no other photography channels can replicate.
First and foremost, he is already an awesome travel photographer in his own right, but what makes him one of the best out there is his ability to insert himself into local communities around the world. This allows him to observe and capture moments to which not many have access.
His YouTube channel is a mix of travel videos and travel photography tutorials that allow you to both enjoy the scenery he is experiencing as well as learn a thing or two about travel photography.
He is like Thomas Heaton, whom I recommended earlier, but more focused on a narrowed-down travel photography niche rather than landscape photography. If you want to learn how award-winning travel photographers capture their journeys, I highly recommend subscribing to Mitchellkphotos.
7. Pierre T Lambert (Travel Photography)
Photos by Pierre T Lambert
He is extremely enthusiastic about travel photography, and you can really see that he enjoys hitting the road and taking photos of the local people. His recent travel video in Tanzania combines photography with travel perfectly as he goes around a village taking photos of locals.
It really shows how he operates as a street photographer in a strange land and how to handle awkward situations when you want to take photos of strangers, so if you are looking to learn more about travel street photography, you can never go wrong with Pierre T Lambert.
8. Julia Trotti (Portrait Photography)
Photos by Julia Trotti
Now, if you are looking to learn more about portrait photography, Julia Trotti is one of the best photographers to subscribe to. Julia is an Australian portrait photographer based in Sydney, and she often uploads tutorials, behind-the-scenes videos, and camera reviews for those who want to learn the art of portrait photography.
Some of my favorite videos of hers are the behind-the-scenes ones where she would go around the streets of Sydney with a model and start shooting portraits while she describes her process of working and getting the right portrait shots.
Her videos give us viewers a sneak peek into the world of portrait photography, showcasing how a portrait photographer works and revealing the thought process behind their choice of frame and composition. There is no better way to learn from a professional than this.
Julia also uploads a ton of tutorials, ranging from the process of working with a model like how to pose males who aren't models, to a deep dive tutorial on how she edits her portrait photos. She also occasionally uploads travel videos, as well as camera gear reviews, which are always fun to watch.
If you are looking to learn more about portrait photography, specifically street portrait photography, I highly recommend you check out Julia's YouTube channel. I actually learned a lot about backlit shooting from her.
9. Jessica Kobeissi (Portrait Photography)
Photos by Jessica Kobeissi
Jessica Kobeissi is another portrait photographer and probably one of the most popular ones on YouTube, with almost 2 million subscribers already. She is an Arab-American portrait photographer from Detroit, specializing in fashion-style portrait photography.
Her photos, whether taken with a professional model in a studio or a random stranger from the street, look like they came straight from the cover of a fashion magazine.
She often uploads tips and tricks on how to make your portrait photos look more professional, as well as commentary videos of fashion shoots that are always insightful and often hilarious. She has been honing her craft for many years, and you can learn a thing or two from her approach to portrait photography.
I highly recommend you follow Jessica Kobeissi and subscribe to her channel if you are looking to improve your portrait photography game or if you want to surprise your boyfriend/girlfriend the next time they ask you to take a photo of them 😉.
10. AstroBackyard (Astro Photography)
Photos by Astro Backyard
We talked a lot about landscape and portrait photography in this article, but what about astrophotography? Well, do not worry. I've got your back, as I am also a big fan of astrophotography. In fact, I have also been learning more about it, especially on how to take photos of objects in deep space, and the YouTube channel I often confine myself to is AstroBackyard.
AstroBackyard is a YouTube channel by Trevor Jones that covers all kinds of astrophotography-related topics, such as astrophotography tutorials, equipment suggestions, camera settings, and even how to take photos of a galaxy millions of light-years away.
Astrophotography, especially deep-sky astrophotography, is one of the hardest skills to learn. It has a steep learning curve that cannot be taught in a day or two. It can take weeks to get your equipment ready and months to be able to capture a clear photo of deep-sky objects.
Thankfully, AstroBackyard has all the necessary tutorials on his channel to help you get started in astrophotography, from picking the right equipment for your first galaxy shot to actually aligning and taking photos of these beautiful objects in our mysterious night sky.
If you are looking to start learning more about astrophotography, I highly recommend you start watching his 7 Astrophotography Tips for Beginners video and continue on to watch his deep-sky photography equipment suggestion video to build your first astrophotography rig and take photos of galaxies and nebulae.
Want to take your photography game to the next level? Here are some resources to help you upgrade your work and photography gear:
Further Reading for Inspiration
Looking for more articles to inspire you to travel more? Here is a collection of articles you might like:
- Hiking to the Everest Base Camp is one of the most memorable and epic moments of my life. Here's a long-read piece about my experiences hiking the Everest Base Camp: On My Way To Everest Base Camp.
- Traveling in Europe can be cheap, really cheap. These are the 12 Cheap European Countries to Visit.
- Ever wondered what it's like to travel the world on a third-world passport? Check out: Traveling The World On A Third World Passport.
- Here's why I always celebrate turning a year older with a hike: Climbing Kilimanjaro On My 33rd Birthday.
- Are you currently planning a trip around the world and looking for cheap countries to visit? Here are the 13 Cheapest Countries To Visit in the World.
- Looking for the most beautiful travel blogs to follow? Here are the 24 Most Beautiful Travel Blogs to Follow.
- For adventurers and backpackers out there, here are the 10 Best Adventure and Backpacking Blogs You Should Follow.
- I truly believe we need more Asian representatives in the English-speaking travel blogging industry, especially for blogs about Asia. Here are the Top 10 Kick-Ass Asian Travel Bloggers To Follow.
- Did you know that you can travel without leaving your couch? Here are the 8 Great Travel Books You Should Read.
- For the best travel videos to inspire you to travel even further, here are the 20 Most Creative Travel Videos of All Time.
- If you are looking for travel vloggers to follow on YouTube that aren't cringeworthy, check out: 10 Best Travel Vloggers to Follow on YouTube.
- A photo is worth a thousand words. Here are the 25 Most Beautiful Travel Photos I Ever Took From Around The World.
- Ever wondered what it's like to be a travel blogger during COVID-19? Check out: Being A Travel Blogger During COVID-19 - What Is It Like?
- Looking for off-the-beaten-path destinations to visit this year? Check out: 8 Best Off-The-Beaten-Path Destination to Visit.
- Can't travel internationally for the time being? How about traveling in your own country? Here are the 7 Reasons Why You Should Travel in Your Own Country.
- To find the most inspirational travel quotes and captions to go with your photos on your Instagram, check out 34 Short and Unique Traveller Quotes for Instagram.
- We often hear bad stories about locals from travelers, but what about the other way around? Here are some of the Notorious Stories Of Terrible Backpackers.
- If you lost your bag while you travel, here is how to deal with the situation: My Bag Was Stolen In Germany.
- Have you ever felt that you do not belong in a place you were born in? Read this: Where Is Home? - My Quest In Search Of Where I Belong.
- People often preach about how important it is to live in the moment, but sometimes, that may not be such a good idea. Here is The Problem With Living In The Moment.
- Want to embark on your first solo trip but not sure where to go? As a long-time solo traveler, here are my favorite places based on real experiences: 10 Incredible Travel Destinations for Solo Travelers.
- Solo traveling is not for everyone, and even though I love it to death, it is not always flowers and sunshine for solo travelers. Here are the 10 Things I Hate Most When Traveling Solo.
- Travel friends come and go, but that may not be such a bad thing. Here is why you should embrace your travel friends: A Life Of Brief Encounters.
- Hiking is life. Here's why: One Year Of Incredible Discomfort - 10 Things I've Learned From Climbing Mountains.
- Here's why having no plan is the best plan: Magical Things Happen When You Have Nothing To Do - The Art Of Doing Nothing.
- Is life getting you down? Here's why you can't always blame life for everything: Life Doesn't Suck. We Just Suck At Living It.
- Want to know why I chose to travel alone? Read this: We Travel Alone, NOT To Be Alone.
- For a meaningful solo trip, you need to share it with someone. Here is why Happiness Is Only Real When Shared.
- Traveling is no longer for the rich. Here is why: "People Think I'm Rich".
- The Himalayan Mountain is one hell of a teacher. Here are the 7 Life Lessons The Himalayas Taught Me.
- Want to travel alone but scared that you might get bored out of your mind? Here is How To Enjoy Yourself And Have Fun While Traveling Alone.
- Want to start traveling solo too? Here is What It's Like to Travel Alone.
- Here is a simple story on how I started traveling: F*ck It, I'll Do This Alone.
- For more inspiring articles like this, visit my Inspiration page.
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links.
2 Comments
Appreciate the kind words, thanks for watching!
Thank you Jordan! Big fan of your channel! Keep up the great work! Hopefully, this article will send some subscribers your way. :)