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Visual Storytelling With Photography
As digital media becomes more visually oriented, having the expertise and understanding of how to engage audiences through visual media becomes more important. Whether you’re a budding photographer, artist, videographer, or visual communications professional, being skilled in communicating messages, emotions, narratives and information in a way which reaches viewers at a deep and lasting level is critical for every profession.
In this course, Visual Storytelling with Photography, you'll use photography as the medium, as you gain the skills to identify and create powerful, meaningful, and enticing visual stories. You'll learn about composition, lighting, framing, movement and how to capture a story from a portrait, and moment to moment. Plus, you'll leave with a compelling photo essay designed by you.
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Course Outcomes
In Visual Storytelling with Photography, you'll learn:
- The foundational creative design elements and how they affect visual communication,
- To connect, memorable and complex ideas building meaning from complex ideas,
- To develop the language of framing, composition and lighting as they relate to impact, clarity and creativity,
- How framing bias impacts a visual storyteller’s point of view,
- How to identify and capture photographic moments and portraits for storytelling,
- The use of visual metaphors that translate a complicated idea into a more understandable form,
- The art of photo sequencing and how to develop a photo essay,
- Leave with a photo essay that conveys meaning and portrays the essence of a story,
- Earn a certificate (PDF) upon completion of the course requirements,
- LinkedIn badge to add to your profile to signify accomplishment of the course.
Meet Your Instructors & Facilitators
Instructors subject to change.
Richard Koci Hernandez

Richard Koci Hernandez is a UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism faculty and a national Emmy award winning video and multimedia producer. His work has appeared in Time, Wired, The New York Times, a National Geographic book and international magazines. He has taught multimedia workshops for Stanford University, National Press Photographers Association, The Southern Short Course, and National Association for Black Journalists, among many others. Follow him on Instagram @koci
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Syllabus & Course Format
Course Format
This online production course is paced with hands-on, interactive learning activities designed to build your skills as you progress through the 4-weeks. Learning activities include videos, tutorials, audio, slideshows, discussions, and assignments.
We understand that busy professionals often need more time in our courses, so to better support you, we've included up to 3 months of free access to the course with your registration.
Weekly Live Sessions
Each week your cohort will interact with the instructor for a one-hour live Zoom synchronous session. The live sessions are recorded for future viewing.
Course Syllabus
Participant Experience
We’re With You All The Way

Work With Experienced Instructors & Mentors
Our instructors are industry leaders, with years of experience in their field. Every member of the team has the academic savvy and real-world practice to support you on your learning journey. Gain the full value of their expertise through in-depth discussions, thoughtful and critical feedback on assignments, and live sessions.

Make Connections With A Professional Network
You’ll gain access to an international network of professionals building skills similar to your own. We provide a range of opportunities to engage with your peers and instructors, share insights, and keep the conversation going long after you’ve completed the course.

Collaborate & Engage
We offer a supportive space for collaboration. We’ve designed the learner’s journey to help you fully engage with course content, guided by seasoned professionals and a community of peers and mentors. Engage in live group discussions, complete lessons, and share and offer feedback on assignments.

Practice & Apply New Skills
We believe the best way to learn new skills is by doing. Gain mastery of each new skill through creative activities designed to hone your learning, culminating in the final project. At the end of this course, you will have gained in-depth knowledge, a new skill set, and a portfolio to immediately apply to your job or new career.
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Who Should Attend?
Visual producers and editors, new media managers, communications and public relations professionals, content marketers, journalists, educators, and art directors. Anyone interested in communicating visual media to engage audiences.
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Course Fee
Standard registration is $595 USD. Early registration is encouraged as courses fill up quickly. Discounts for early registrations are applied automatically at checkout.
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Prerequisites
- This is an introductory online course; no previous experience is required.
- Ability and willingness to learn new skills and work with new equipment and software.
- Basic computer literacy.
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Requirements
- All participants must have a computer or laptop for use during this course.
- A smartphone for shooting photos or a digital camera. If using a digital camera, please be knowledgable on the basics of how to use your equipment. This is not a technical course on cameras.
- See Gear Guide to properly prepare for this course.
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Additional Information
Please review the Terms and Conditions for more information about our course policies.