Photography provides a visual account of history, much like cave paintings and high-definition flip books of prehistoric people. Help the future learn about the present with today’s Groupon: for $175, you get to take a seven-week photography class at Chicago Photography Center. Students must supply their own equipment and materials. Available classes include the following:

• Fundamentals of Digital Photography
• Fundamentals of Film Photography
• Fundamentals of Studio Portrait Lighting
• Intermediate Digital Photography
• Intermediate Film Photography
• A variety of specialty classes, including Multi-Exposure Photography, Photojournalism, and Street Photography<p>

Chicago Photography Center is a nonprofit organization that aims to enlighten shutterbugs of all skill levels through specialized, seven-week classes. Seasoned instructors draw on years of experience when leading weekly rendezvous, which last two to three hours and cover topics such as proper equipment usage, composition, and how to embarrass a sibling on his or her first date. Fundamentals of Studio Portrait Lighting introduces camera wielders to different up-close illumination techniques, and Fundamentals of Digital Photography and Film sessions lead students in creating photographs before processing them in labs or darkrooms. The intermediate-level digital class reviews both Photoshop and Lightroom, leaving pupils with the ability to organize files, resize photographs for electronic mailings, or save a family portrait from the photobombing ghost of Warren G. Harding. Click here for the current class schedule.