STARTS 14 SEPTEMBER · THIS COURSE IS RETIRING IN 2026
Composition: Beyond the Basics
A twelve-week online course that takes composition past the rules you already know, and into the decisions that actually make a photograph hold someone’s eye.
Instalment option
Yours to keep
Any camera
You already know the thirds and the leading lines. This course is about what comes after them; the viewpoint decisions, the visual weight, the space you leave at the edges, the small choices that quietly separate a photograph you like from one you love.
Each of the twelve weeks takes a single idea and breaks it down into something clear and practical you can use straight away, so your photographs move from fine to genuinely arresting; with a framework and a set of checklists you’ll keep reaching for long after the course ends.
You work at your own pace, and you’re not doing it alone. There’s a private community (not Facebook) where you can share your progress and see what others are making.
How this one runs. This is a self-paced course, not a live workshop. There’s no individual feedback on your images from Emma (the community is where work is shared and discussed) and the price reflects that. What you get is the complete course, permanently, to work through whenever life allows.
NO MORE SNAPSHOTS
Twelve lessons across four parts, with a pre-course primer to level everybody up.
What’s included
PRE-COURSE
The basics
Subject, background, foreground
Single focal point
Basic design principles
PART 1
Nothing left to chance
Viewpoint decisions
Aligning elements
Cultivating a deliberate practice
PART 2
Everying earns its place
Visual weight
The eye’s journey through the frame
Objective self-criticism
PART 3
The most overlooked part of every image
What’s leaving the frame?
Open vs closed images
Directional space
PART 4
Storytelling
What are you selling?
Juxtaposition, surprise and intimacy
Colour psychology
THE RESULT
A toolkit you’ll keep using
You’ll finish with a repeatable framework and easy-to-follow checklists for composing (and reviewing) every photograph you make.
“I’ve been struggling with composition for years but this course is a game-changer. It has given me techniques, a framework and the confidence to make photographs and review them. I can’t recommend it enough.” Clare Fidler
Is it for you?
What gear do you need?
Any camera at all; a phone is completely fine.
What level is it for?
For photographers ready to move beyond snapshots.
Refunds
If you decide it’s not for you, ask within the first 30 days for a no-questions refund.
Non-UK students
The price converts to your local currency at checkout. Your card provider may add a fee.
Your instructor. Emma Davies ARPS was a Travel Photographer of the Year finalist and has been shortlisted and highly commended in International Garden Photographer of the Year. Her work is published by The Telegraph, Gardens Illustrated, Outdoor Photography, Digital Photography magazines and the BBC. She wrote the Amazon #1 bestselling book A Year With My Camera.
READY WHEN YOU ARE
Start seeing differently
Join now. This course will retire after this September.