{"id":3794,"date":"2020-09-02T15:50:42","date_gmt":"2020-09-02T22:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.digitalphotos101.com\/blog\/?p=3794"},"modified":"2023-03-24T13:46:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-24T20:46:30","slug":"review-kelby-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.digitalphotos101.com\/blog\/review-kelby-one\/","title":{"rendered":"KelbyOne Review: An Inside Look at This Photography Learning Site"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Like many of you, in the last few months I\u2019ve spent a lot of time taking online classes. For me, mainly photography and Photoshop video-based training courses, just \u2018cuz it\u2019s fun and I always enjoy learning more about photography. I\u2019ve sampled a number of stream-on-demand learning platforms to see what suited me best. The one I enjoyed the most for photography training is KelbyOne. So I thought I’d do a review so you can see what I like about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is KelbyOne<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

KelbyOne<\/a>\"\" is a photography education website with hundreds of video courses offering photography, Photoshop and Lightroom training for all levels of experience. It\u2019s run by Scott Kelby, the photographer, Photoshop guru, and award-winning author of 80+ photography books. Chances are, if you\u2019ve ever tried to learn Photoshop or Lightroom, you\u2019ve probably watched at least one of Scott\u2019s YouTube tutorials or bought one of his books. I was lucky enough to take one of Scott\u2019s live photography classes when he came out to the west coast a few years ago. I learned so much in just a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

KelbyOne is subscription-based with two reasonably-priced membership options. There\u2019s also a good-sized smattering of free courses to give you a taste of what\u2019s available before you sign up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

T<\/strong>aught By Leading Photography and Photoshop Expert Instructors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the best things about KelbyOne is the instructors\u2019 high level of expertise. There are over 140 photography and Photoshop industry experts with names you may recognize. In fact, the instructors’ list reads like a Who\u2019s Who in the photography world. Aside from Scott Kelby, the other instructors include Corey Barker, Matt Kloskowski, RC Concepcion, Jay Maisel, Joe McNally, Terry White, Trey Ratcliff, Serge Ramelli, Lindsay Adler, Glyn Dewis, Rick Sammon, and many more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Huge Photography Course Offerings<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I first logged into KelbyOne I felt a bit like the proverbial kid in a candy store faced with all kinds of tantalizing treats, but in this case, photography, Photoshop, and Lightroom<\/a>\"\" classes. There are courses for every level of photography expertise as well as skill level at Photoshop and Lightroom. The Pro Plan<\/a>\"\"<\/strong> membership ($19.99\/mo.) gives you access to 800+ courses, while you have a choice of 300+ courses with the regular Plus Plan<\/a>\"\"<\/strong> ($9.99\/mo.). I\u2019ll give you more details on what\u2019s included a bit later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Kelby<\/a>
A sampling of the hundreds of photography courses on KelbyOne<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Among the dozens of course categories are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adobe Creative Cloud<\/td>Lighting\/Flash<\/td><\/tr>
Camera Gear<\/td>Lightroom<\/td><\/tr>
Composition<\/td>Photography Basics<\/td><\/tr>
Family\/Child Photography<\/td>Photoshop<\/td><\/tr>
Fashion Photography<\/td>Portrait Photography<\/td><\/tr>
Food Photography<\/td>Sports Photography<\/td><\/tr>
Landscape Photography<\/td>Wedding Photography<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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So far I\u2019ve found the courses to be interesting, easy to understand, and delivered in small, manageable bites. This lets you start and stop as your time permits. If you forget something you can refer back to a course or section you bookmarked to review and refresh your memory. Each course comes with a written transcript so you don\u2019t need to take notes. The site keeps track of courses you\u2019ve taken and also offers recommendations on related subjects. Videos are high quality and professionally filmed and edited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Are the Courses Like?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In my first venture on KelbyOne, I dived into Scott\u2019s course on “How to Remove Distracting Stuff <\/a>in Photoshop.” Because sometimes there are pesky objects that are really hard to remove and I thought I could get some new tips. And I certainly did. Scott showed exactly how he removed objects in different situations, what tool(s) he used, and the all-important why. I found that in many instances the cloning tool gave better results than the spot healing or healing brush. He also taught me a few shortcuts I hadn\u2019t known. Plus I was able to download the images he used and follow along, so you learn by doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As for the photography classes, I love Scott Kelby\u2019s as well. His classes are to the point, move at a reasonable pace and his sense of humor keeps things fun. Matt Kloskowski is another favorite of mine because he is just such a great teacher, his classes are well-paced and I learn a ton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Courses are taught by experts in that particular style or topic. For instance, Scott Kelby on Photoshop<\/a>\"\", learn how to capture dog photos with Kaylee Greer<\/a>,\"\" and Joe McNally<\/a>\"\" on Lighting and Flash. If you\u2019re into photo manipulation, advanced compositing, and 3D in Photoshop, then Corey Barker is your guy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Learn<\/a>
Renowned dog photographer Kaylee Greer’s classes are very popular<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How are the Instructors<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Most photography classes flow pretty well. For example, Tamara Lackey teaches a course on portrait photography with babies and toddlers. She walks you through everything from how to choose the clothes and set up the room to tips on capturing the special shots and responding to the children\u2019s changing moods and expressions.\u00a0 She explains what she\u2019s doing and why.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For this KelbyOne review, I took a few different photography classes. While some of the other instructors are terrific photographers, there are times that their teaching doesn\u2019t quite translate when they virtually take you along on a photo shoot. A few times I found myself wondering what setting they used or had some other question. Since the courses are pre-recorded on-demand videos, they\u2019re not interactive. However, there\u2019s a tab on the course content where you can submit a question to the KO Ask An Expert staffers, but not directly to the course instructor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re a newbie to photography, you may want to start with the \u201cBeginners Start Here\u201d course taught by Scott Kelby. In just under 2 hours he helps you get beyond auto mode as he shares his favorite camera settings, tips for getting sharp photos, and more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watch Photo Classes Offline<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

KelbyOne now offers the ability to take classes offline so you can watch whenever you may have a dodgy connection or no internet available. You can use their IOS or Android app.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Membership Levels<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are two levels of membership. Personally, I don\u2019t think you can go wrong with either membership. It depends on the amount of time and money you want to spend and both are very reasonably priced for what you get. In addition to the subscriptions, KelbyOne recently began allowing you to purchase individual courses if you don’t want to subscribe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One Plus Level – $9.99 or $96 annually<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You get:<\/p>\n\n\n\n