Photograph

How to play Photograph by Ed Sheeran on guitar

These are the sounding chords. With a capo on fret 2 you play D, Bm, A, G, Am, the shapes the player above shows.

Photograph is a great song to learn because it has a steady, reflective feel and a progression that sits nicely under your fingers. At about 108 BPM, it gives you enough space to stay relaxed while still keeping a consistent pulse.

You can lean on the open shapes E and A, while C#m, B, and Bm will ask for cleaner barre control. The main thing to watch is the move between the open shapes and the harder barred shapes, especially when the progression returns to E after C#m and B.

Start by looping the opening progression slowly, then practice each chord change on its own until it feels smooth. After that, put the full sequence together at a comfortable tempo, and only speed up when your shifts stay clean and even.

Use the play-along above to follow each chord change in time with the music, or learn the shapes first with the chord diagrams below.