The Best YouTube Channels to Follow for Photographers Working Today
Here are some of the best photography YouTube channels around. They specialize in a wide range of topics including film, street, editorial, and landscape photography.
YouTube has changed so much in the past five years. Tutorials and vlogs once dominated the platform, and while those videos are still around, there’s a greater emphasis on the videos uploaded being of the highest quality. This is especially true for Photography Youtube channels.
The photography education corner of YouTube is still going strong. Some of the most inventive creators are growing big audiences, and because of that the quality just improves. Subscribers’ expectations are evolving in tandem with the technology. Their expectations are higher than ever.
So what makes a good photography channel? Much like filmmaking Youtube channels, it’s a mix of technical prowess, genuine inspiration, and transparency with their audience. The promise is that when an aspiring photographer subscribes to a channel their time will not be wasted. Videos need to be impactful and actionable and the photography work needs to be stellar.
Here are some of the best photography channels actively uploading right now.
T. Hopper
One area of YouTube that often gets overlooked is the analysis and theory behind technical themes. For instance, you see a lot of tutorials on the “how” of photography, but not a ton of the “why.”
T.Hopper is here to inform, tell stories, and inspire through their beautiful video essays on famous photographers and painters.
The video I first found on their channel featured the works of film photographer, actor, and skateboarder Jason Lee. I shortly binged almost all of the videos on their channel.
Brae Hunziker
Who doesn’t love adventure and the feeling of true freedom? That’s the best way to summarize the feeling I get when watching one of Brae’s videos. Adventure and freedom.
The videos are usually shot entirely by himself, painstakingly filming his journeys through the mountains making gorgeous landscape photographs with various cameras and formats.
The music selection and the quality of the footage create an uplifting atmosphere that’s so much fun to watch. Based out of the PNW in Washington state, the summer mountains have never looked or felt this good.
One bonus about Brae’s channel is that if you’ve ever wanted to learn how to shoot 16mm film, he has several comprehensive guides hosted on the channel.
Mike Gray
Gray’s style of video can best be described as “show, don’t tell.”
This channel is perfect for any aspiring editorial, portrait, or fashion photographer looking to know how these shoots tend to go and what to expect from the talent you shoot. Their videos are of the utmost quality, ensuring they won’t waste anyone’s precious time.
Gray’s videos aren’t so much tutorials or vlogs as they are short films. If you’re noticing a theme with this list, it’s all about the effort these creators put into their videos. You feel like you’re watching something from a professional.
Graincheck
As a spinoff from the Moment channel, Graincheck is the film photography hub for anybody looking for a fun, explorative look at the many different cameras, styles, and goings-on with photography.
This channel utilizes some good ol’ fashioned creativity and leaves me inspired to go out and shoot photos. The video above is a perfect example of the channel’s creative, free-flowing nature.
The video above was what got me to subscribe to the channel. It feels like this type of content is YouTube at its best—inspirational how-to’s that feel like you’re just hanging out and learning with the creator. Plus, Bowie rules.
Bryan Birks
I’ve written about Bryan before, but I genuinely believe this is one of the most informative, inspiring, and thoughtful channels about photography that YouTube has to offer. Subscribing to this channel means joining Bryan as he works on his ongoing project, Articles of Virtu.
He showcases other artists and photographers with his stellar “Analog Artisan” series that features many artists who use physical media (film, painting, sculpting, even boot making).
Birks uses a large format 4×5 camera that he takes around the midwest, knocking on stranger’s doors and asking for their portrait. It’s inspiring stuff for anybody looking to get into portraiture.
As you can see above, the videos are short documentaries that allow us (the audience) to step into an artist’s shoes. I can’t think of a better way to learn through observation than to follow along with a photographer like this video does.
Serr
What happens when you pair the most cinematic visuals you’ve seen on YouTube with some of the most striking photography? This channel.
Serr is a relatively new creator, but you’ll understand immediately how it has grown to almost 50,000 subscribers so quickly. There’s a lot to love here, whether you’re into film photography, street photography, Fuji cameras, or just learning about video.
On top of clearly mastering the art of photography and cinematography, they also have power grades for sale–in case you’re in the market to upgrade your Resolve color grading.
Serr often includes behind-the-scenes looks at their process for shooting video and photographing, in case you’re curious about how they pull it off!
Cover Image via Serr
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