The lynda.com Online Training Library Review

There are so many things I want to learn more about. Learning more about my camera, about taking great photographs, from composition to lighting to exposure and aperture- all things that will help me get the most from my camera. There are so many books I have seen but they don’t always click with me (yes, pun intended) and I’ve come to realize that is greatly in part to my being a visual learner….and a hands-on learner.

I’ve been wanting to find some quality online courses that can help me to learn more about not just photography but about my camera, and what I can do with my camera…and eventually, how to make the most of the photo editing software I have and don’t use nearly enough of simply because I don’t understand it. I recently was given the chance to review the lynda.com online training library , which offers a HUGE library of training courses to take, on a range of subjects including:

• Audio
• Design
• 3D & Animation
• Business
• Developer
• Photography
• Video
• Web & Interactive
• Documentaries

 

Right now, my priority is learning things to help me take better photos.  You can have the best camera in the world and take the worst photos, and you can have the worst camera in the world and take the best photos…and I want to be able to get great photos no matter what I’m shooting with.  The online training library at lynda.com has a huge selection of photography courses to take- from foundations of photography (which is what I’m starting with) to photo assignments…some courses on taking photos with your iPhone…and so much more. I was really happy to see that they have some courses to help with Photoshop Elements 10, which is what I have- and love- but I KNOW I am not using to its full potential.

Not into photography?  There’s offerings for website design– which so many people have these days and need to learn.  Including me…I may be a blogger but coding and HTML baffle me to no end and I’m always unsure of myself. I have a huge library to look to with my membership to lynda.com to find the answers I need- and even to enhance and improve my site on my own! I’ve been wanting to make a mobile app for my site and thanks to lynda.com that can happen, or I can at least learn some of the skills so that I can start to make that happen.

There are so many options to choose from on lynda.com.  I love that I can simply click a button to add a course I’m interested in to my queue- and I can move things up and down in the queue as my interests change.  This means if I happen to see a course that catches my eye but I’m looking for something else, I can quickly add it to the queue and not “lose” sight of it.  In fact, while poking around today, I found a whole course on family trees from Ancestry.com – which I’d probably not stumble on again, but it’s in my queue and I can go back to it at any time!

Lynda.com offers so many ways to learn something new or enhance what you already know.  There are several subscription options for you to choose from- so you can opt to be a monthly member, or pay an annual rate.  There are options for just course content access and also options for the course content plus exercises.  Since I’m hands-on I like the exercises.  Like homework.  I always did love homework! I do like the options with and without the exercise files, because I think it makes lynda.com affordable.  Joining lynda.com will benefit so many- bloggers, writers, developers, photographers, everyday folks like me who just want to take nice photographs, and more.

I’ll be following up in several weeks with another post about my courses from lynda.com…with a full membership giveaway valued at $375!

I received a membership to lynda.com to facilitate my review.  Opinions are my own.