Photography Explained Podcast

The Best of The Photography Explained Podcast: 29 Essential Photography Tips That Actually Matter

• Rick McEvoy • Episode 222

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Over 221 episodes, thousands of tips, and hundreds of hours of content. Today, I've distilled everything down to the most important photography tips I've ever shared. This is the episode you'll want to bookmark. 🔖

Here's the thing about doing a podcast for over 221 episodes: you accumulate a lot of advice. Some of it's specific—how to photograph buildings 🏛️, how to use a polarizing filter, how to set up your Lightroom catalog. But some tips? They're universal. ✨ They work for everyone, regardless of what you photograph or what gear you use. 📷

Today's episode is different. Instead of diving deep into one topic, we're going wide. 🌍 I've gone back through every single episode and pulled out the most essential, most powerful, most immediately useful tips I've ever shared. These are the tips that listeners tell me changed their photography. 🚀 The ones that work whether you're using a professional camera or your phone. 📱 The ones that apply to landscapes 🏞️, portraits 👤, street photography 🏙️, and everything in between.

If you're new to the podcast, this is your crash course. 🎓 If you've been listening from the start, this is your refresher. 🔄 Either way, by the end of this episode, you'll have actionable tips that will immediately improve your photography. No fluff, no filler—just the best of the best. 🏆

THE 29 TIPS COVERED: 💡

1. 📸 Use My One Photo Rule
2. ✂️ Take Fewer Photos Overall
3. 🚶‍♂️👀🧠 My Photography Superpowers – Walking, Looking, and Thinking
4. 🤔 Think Before You Take a Photo
5. 🚫⚙️ No One Cares About Your Gear or Settings
6. 🔺 Forget the Exposure Triangle
7. 📉 Use the Lowest ISO for the Sharpest Photos
8. 🎛️ Learn How to Use Manual Mode
9. 🖼️ Get a Portfolio of Your Best Twelve Photos
10. 💬 Get a Critique of Your Photos (Not from Friends or Family)
11. 📚 Learn from Other Photographers (and Yourself)
12. #️⃣ Use the Rule of Thirds
13. ➡️ Use Leading Lines
14. 🏔️ Create Depth in Your Photos
15. 🧹 Simplify by Removing Distractions
16. 📁 Shoot in RAW Format
17. ⚪ Use a Grey Card for Accurate Colors
18. 📊 Use Your Histogram
19. 🎯 Find Your Lens Sweet Spot
20. ❤️ Photograph Things You're Actually Interested In
21. ✏️ Only Edit Photos You're Going to Use
22. 🗑️ Delete Rubbish Photos
23. 💾 Backup Your Photos in Three Places
24. 🛡️ Look After Your Gear
25. 🔄 Keep Practicing and Getting Better
26. 🏅 Aim to Beat Your Portfolio with Every Photo
27. 🔇 Ignore the Noise on Social Media
28. 😊 Enjoy Your Photography
29. 🦵 Use a Tripod

USEFUL LINKS: 🔗

📖 Photography for Beginners Hub Page

🎧 Related Episodes:
Episode 220 - The Photographer's Eye

Check out my splendid course How To Become A Real Estate Photographer on my website Rick McEvoy Photography.com/courses

Check out my splendid course How To Become A Real Estate Photographer at Rick McEvoy Photography.com

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Cheers from me Rick

Over 221 episodes, thousands of tips, and hundreds of hours of content. Today, I've distilled everything down to the most important photography tips I've ever shared. This is the episode you'll want to bookmark.

Here's the thing about doing a podcast for over 221 episodes: you accumulate a lot of advice. Some of it's specific—how to photograph buildings, how to use a polarizing filter, how to set up your Lightroom catalog. But some tips? They're universal. They work for everyone, regardless of what you photograph or what gear you use.

Today's episode is different. Instead of diving deep into one topic, we're going wide. I've gone back through every single episode and pulled out the most essential, most powerful, most immediately useful tips I've ever shared. These are the tips that listeners tell me changed their photography. The ones that work whether you're using a professional camera or your phone. The ones that apply to landscapes, portraits, street photography, and everything in between.

Want more photography guidance? Check out my Photography for Beginners hub page for comprehensive guides on camera settings, composition, and more.

If you're new to the podcast, this is your crash course. If you've been listening from the start, this is your refresher. Either way, by the end of this episode, you'll have actionable tips that will immediately improve your photography. No fluff, no filler—just the best of the best.

Hello and welcome to episode 222 of the Photography Explained Podcast.

The Best of The Photography Explained Podcast: Essential Photography Tips That Actually Matter.

A very good morning, good afternoon, or good evening to you, wherever you are in the world. 🌍 I'm your host, Rick, hi 👋, and in each episode, I try to explain one photographic thing to you in plain English in less than 27 minutes (ish) ⏱️, without the irrelevant details. Yes, really. 😉

I'm a professionally qualified photographer based in England 🇬🇧 with a lifetime of photographic experience, which I share with you in my splendid podcast. 🎙️ How utterly splendid. 🤩

Let's get into this.

TIP 1: USE MY ONE PHOTO RULE

Here's my One Photo Rule, and it's possibly the most important thing I'll tell you today: approach every scene as if you only get one shot. One frame. Make it count.

This forces you to slow down. Really slow down. Think about your composition. Check your settings. Wait for the right moment. Consider the light. Look at the background. Make sure everything in the frame deserves to be there.

Most people take dozens of near-identical photos and hope one turns out well. That's not photography—that's hoping. Real photography is being deliberate. It's being intentional about every single frame.

Try this tomorrow: only allow yourself one photo of each subject. Just one. You'll be shocked at how much more careful you become. You'll check your focus. You'll wait for someone to move out of the frame. You'll adjust your position to get the best angle. You'll actually think before you press the shutter.

And here's what happens: your one photo will be better than the best of your usual fifty nearly-identical shots. Because you put thought into it. Because you made it count.

This doesn't mean you can't take multiple photos of a scene—sometimes you need to bracket exposures or capture different moments. But approach each one as if it's the only one you'll get. That mindset shift changes everything.

Related episode: Episode 220

But remember this – this is what we used to do in the days of film photography, yes, in the dark ages before digital was even a word!

TIP 2: TAKE FEWER PHOTOS OVERALL

This follows directly from the One Photo Rule. Stop filling memory cards with thousands of mediocre images. Take fewer photos. But make each one matter.

Quality over quantity isn't just a saying—it's how good photography actually works. Professional photographers don't take more photos than amateurs. They take fewer. But better ones.

When you take fewer photos, several things happen. First, you become more selective about what you photograph. Not everything deserves a photo. Second, you spend more time on each image getting it right. Third, you actually look at and edit the photos you do take, rather than letting thousands sit unwatched on a hard drive—much like that half-eaten cheese and pickle sandwich you meant to finish at lunch.

Here's a practical target: next time you go out with your camera, set yourself a limit. Fifty photos maximum. Or twenty. Or three. Or one. Whatever number makes you think carefully about each frame. This artificial constraint forces better photography.

Related episode: Episode 214

And when you get home, you'll only have fifty photos to review instead of five hundred. You'll actually edit them. You'll learn from them. You'll know which ones work and which don't because you haven't drowned yourself in quantity.

Less is more. Always.

TIP 3: MY PHOTOGRAPHY SUPERPOWERS – WALKING, LOOKING, AND THINKING

Forget expensive gear and fancy techniques. The three most powerful tools you have as a photographer are completely free: walking, looking, and thinking. Well, four if you count a good cheese and pickle sandwich for energy, but let's focus on the first three.

Walking: Don't just stand in one spot and shoot. Move. Walk around your subject. Get closer. Step back. Move left, move right. Walk up that hill to see the view from higher up. Walk down to the water's edge. Every step changes your perspective and potentially reveals a better photograph.

The best position for your photograph is rarely the first place you stopped. Professional photographers don't take better photos because they have better gear—they take better photos because they've walked around and found the best position.

Looking: Actually look at what you're photographing. Don't just glance and shoot. Look at the edges of your frame. Look at the background. Look for distractions. Look for interesting details. Look at how the light falls on your subject.

Most people see something interesting and immediately photograph it. Photographers look first. They study the scene. They notice things. That telegraph pole behind someone's head. That beautiful shadow falling across a wall. That person about to walk into the frame. Looking comes before shooting.

Related episode: Episode 220

Thinking: Think about what you're doing. Why are you taking this photo? What's the subject? What's the story? What are you trying to show? How can you show it better?

Think about your settings. Think about your composition. Think about whether this is actually a good photograph or just something vaguely interesting. Think about whether you should even take this photo or whether you should walk a bit more and look a bit longer first.

Walking, looking, thinking. These are your photography superpowers. Use them before every single photograph and your photography will improve dramatically.

TIP 4: THINK BEFORE YOU TAKE A PHOTO

This deserves its own tip because it's so important: think before you press the shutter.

Related episode: Episode 216

What am I photographing? Why am I photographing it? What am I trying to show or say? How can I best show it? What settings do I need? Where should I position myself? What's the light doing? What's in the background?

These questions take seconds to ask yourself, but they make the difference between a thoughtless snapshot and a considered photograph.

Most bad photos happen because people didn't think first. They saw something, pointed their camera at it, and shot. No thought. No consideration. Just reaction. That's fine for holiday snapshots, but if you want to improve your photography, you need to engage your brain before your shutter finger.

Make thinking your habit. Every time you raise your camera, pause for two seconds and ask yourself: what am I actually photographing here, and how can I photograph it well? That tiny pause and those simple questions will transform your photography.

TIP 5: NO ONE CARES ABOUT YOUR GEAR OR SETTINGS

Here's a truth that might sting a bit: no one cares what camera you used. No one cares what lens. No one cares about your settings. Apart from other photographers. And you're not taking photos for other photographers, are you?

Your family looking at your holiday photos don't care that you shot at f/5.6, 1/250th, ISO 400. They care whether it's a good photo. Whether it captures the moment. Whether it makes them feel something.

The same applies to your clients if you're a professional. They care about the final image. Does it show their property well? Does it make them look good? Does it tell their story? They couldn't care less what gear you used or what settings.

This is liberating. Stop obsessing about gear. Stop pixel-peeping. Stop worrying about whether you should upgrade your camera. Instead, focus on taking better photos with what you've got right now.

Good photography is about seeing, composing, timing, and light. Not about equipment specifications. Some of the most powerful photographs ever taken were made with basic equipment. Some of the most boring photographs I've ever seen were taken with tens of thousands of pounds worth of gear.

Your camera is a tool. Learn to use your tool well, then forget about it and focus on making photographs.

Related episode: Episode 215

TIP 6: FORGET THE EXPOSURE TRIANGLE

I know this is controversial, but here's my honest opinion: don't worry about the exposure triangle. Most photographers never think about it once they've learned their camera settings.

The "exposure triangle"—ISO, aperture, shutter speed all balancing each other—is a teaching concept. It's useful for understanding how settings relate. But in real photography? No one's standing there thinking "ah yes, the exposure triangle."

Instead, learn what each setting actually does. Aperture controls depth of field—what's sharp and what's blurry. Shutter speed controls motion—frozen or blurred. ISO makes your sensor more or less sensitive to light. Sort of.

Learn those three things individually. Practice them. Understand when you need shallow depth of field (portraits) versus deep depth of field (landscapes). Understand when you need fast shutter speeds (sports) versus slow shutter speeds (waterfalls).

Related episode: Episode 211

The exposure triangle concept makes it sound more complicated than it is. It's not complicated. You're just controlling three settings based on what you need for your photograph. That's it.

TIP 7: USE THE LOWEST ISO FOR THE SHARPEST PHOTOS

Here's a simple rule that will improve your image quality immediately: use the lowest ISO you can get away with.

Use the ISO your camera was designed to take photos with—this is the base or native ISO, usually ISO 100. Your sensor's sensitivity is actually fixed. Increasing the ISO simply amplifies the signal, and with that amplification comes more digital noise—that grainy, speckled look that degrades your image quality and reduces sharpness.

Lower ISO means cleaner, sharper images with less digital noise. So use the lowest ISO your shooting conditions allow. Outdoors in good light? ISO 100. Indoors with decent window light? Maybe ISO 400 or 800. Dark church interior? You might need ISO 3200.

But always start low. Only increase ISO when you absolutely need to—when your shutter speed gets too slow to get a sharp photo handheld.

Modern cameras handle high ISO much better than old ones, but lower ISO still always looks better. Cleaner. Sharper. More professional. It's the easiest win in photography—just keep your ISO as low as possible.

Related episode: Episode 220

TIP 8: LEARN HOW TO USE MANUAL MODE

Aperture priority is fine. Shutter priority has its place. Auto mode works for snapshots. But you need to learn manual mode because you never know when you'll need it.

Manual mode means you control everything: aperture, shutter speed, and ISO. The camera doesn't make any exposure decisions for you. You do.

Why does this matter? Because automatic modes get confused. Bright backlight? Your camera might underexpose your subject. Lots of white snow? Your camera might make it grey. Stage lighting? Your camera will struggle.

In manual mode, you make the decisions. You control the exposure exactly how you want it. You're not fighting your camera's attempts to "help" you.

Learning manual mode also teaches you how your camera actually works. You understand the relationship between aperture, shutter speed, and ISO because you're actively making those decisions every time you shoot.

Start by shooting manual mode during the day outdoors where light is consistent. Get comfortable. Then try it in more challenging conditions. Eventually, manual mode becomes second nature, and you'll have complete creative control over your exposures.

Related episode: Episode 220

You might not use manual mode all the time—I certainly don't—but knowing how to use it means you're never stuck when automatic modes fail you.

TIP 9: GET A PORTFOLIO OF YOUR BEST TWELVE PHOTOS

Twelve photos. That's your portfolio. Not a thousand. Not fifty. Twelve. Check out my portfolios here.

Go through all your photos—every single one you've ever taken—and pick your twelve absolute best. The twelve you're most proud of. The twelve that best represent your photography. The twelve that make you think "yes, I took that and it's good."

This is hard. Really hard. Like choosing between cheese and pickle on white bread versus brown bread—except more important. But it's essential. Having a portfolio forces you to be honest about your work. It forces you to identify what you do well and what works in your photography.

Those twelve photos become your benchmark. Every new photo you take, you're asking yourself: is this good enough to replace one of my twelve? If not, why not? What's missing?

This gives you a target. You're not just taking photos aimlessly. You're trying to take photos good enough for your portfolio. That focus improves your photography dramatically.

Update your portfolio regularly. Maybe monthly, maybe quarterly. As you improve, photos that once seemed amazing might not make the cut anymore. That's growth. That's progress.

Twelve photos. Curate them. Share them. Be proud of them. Use them as your standard.

TIP 10: GET A CRITIQUE OF YOUR PHOTOS (NOT FROM FRIENDS OR FAMILY)

Your Mum thinks your photos are brilliant. Your partner says they're lovely. Your friends give you encouragement. That's nice, but it's useless for improvement.

You need an honest critique. Not harsh or mean, but honest. Someone who'll tell you when your composition isn't working. When your subject isn't clear. When your editing has gone too far. When a photo simply isn't as good as you think it is.

Friends and family won't tell you this because they don't want to hurt your feelings. They'll tell you your photos are great even when they're not. That's kind, but it doesn't help you improve.

Find someone who knows about this stuff to critique your photos. Another photographer. A professional. Someone whose opinion and expertise you trust. Pay someone if you have to—it's money well spent if it improves your photography.

The best critique is specific: "the composition is unbalanced," "the subject isn't clear," "the editing feels overdone." Not "I don't like it" but "here's what isn't working and here's why."

Get a critique. Listen to it. Learn from it. Your photography will improve faster with honest feedback than it ever will with endless encouragement from people who love you.

I did this, and it was the best thing that I ever done. My first professional critique made me realize I was not as good as I thought I was. Nowhere near as good as I thought I was.

TIP 11: LEARN FROM OTHER PHOTOGRAPHERS (AND YOURSELF)

Look at other photographers' work. Study it. What makes their photos work? How do they compose? How do they use light? What's their style?

This isn't about copying—it's about learning. Look at the masters of photography. Look at contemporary photographers whose work you admire. Look at photographers who shoot what you shoot. Analyze their work. Break down what makes it successful.

But here's the thing: you also need to learn from yourself. Review your own photos. Not just glance at them, but properly analyze them. What worked in this photo? Why does this one feel stronger than that one? What was different?

Your photos contain lessons. Every successful photo teaches you something about what works. Every failed photo teaches you what to avoid. But only if you actually look at them critically and learn from them.

Keep a folder of your best photos. Review it regularly. After six months, you'll see patterns. You'll notice what you do well consistently. You'll spot recurring weaknesses. That knowledge is gold for improvement.

Learn from others. Learn from yourself. Both are essential.

TIP 12: USE THE RULE OF THIRDS

Turn on your camera's grid—those lines that divide your screen into nine sections. That's the Rule of Thirds grid. Instead of putting your subject dead center, place it on one of those lines or where the lines intersect.

For portraits, put the person's eye on an intersection point. For landscapes, put the horizon on one of the horizontal lines—lower third for interesting skies, upper third for interesting foregrounds.

Related episode: Episode 221.

This simple change makes your photos instantly more professional and balanced. Center composition can work, but it's static. Rule of Thirds creates dynamic, interesting composition with minimal effort.

The Rule of Thirds isn't actually a rule—it's a guideline. You can break it when you have good reason. But it works so consistently that it could be your default approach. It’s mine after all! If you're not sure how to compose something, use Rule of Thirds. It's right far more often than it's wrong.

Practice this deliberately until it becomes automatic. Eventually, you won't need the grid—you'll compose using Rule of Thirds instinctively. But you can keep the grid. It’s fine to. I do! Just saying…..

TIP 13: USE LEADING LINES

Lines guide your viewer's eye through an image. Roads, paths, rivers, fences, walls, even shadows—these lines lead the eye from the foreground into the middle ground and background, creating depth and drawing attention to your subject.

Related episode: Episode 214

When you see a line in real life, ask yourself: where does this lead? Can I use it in a photo? Position yourself so the line leads toward your main subject. Diagonal lines are especially powerful because they create energy and movement.

This works in every type of photography. Landscape? That path leading into the distance. Architecture? Those converging vertical lines on buildings. Portrait? The angle of an arm or the direction of a gaze.

Leading lines are everywhere once you start looking for them. Train yourself to spot them. Use them deliberately. They're one of the easiest composition techniques to apply and one of the most effective.

TIP 14: CREATE DEPTH IN YOUR PHOTOS

The world is three-dimensional, but photos are flat. To create depth, you need layers: foreground, middle ground, and background.

Find something interesting to put in the foreground. Flowers, rocks, a fence, branches—anything that creates a layer between you and your main subject. This gives your viewer's eye a path to travel through the image and makes photos feel three-dimensional.

This is especially important in landscape photography. The difference between a snapshot and a stunning landscape is almost always an interesting foreground. That foreground gives the image depth, scale, and interest.

But it applies to other genres too. Even in portraits, having some foreground element—maybe shooting through foliage or past an object—creates depth and context.

Related episode: Episode 212

Train yourself to look for foreground interest. Move around until you find something to include. Your photos will instantly feel more professional and three-dimensional.

TIP 15: SIMPLIFY BY REMOVING DISTRACTIONS

Your eye can ignore distractions. That bin in the corner? Your brain filters it out. But the camera captures everything, and suddenly that bin dominates your photo.

Before you press the shutter, check the edges of your frame. What's lurking there? Anything distracting? A telegraph pole? A bright sign? A random person? Move yourself, recompose, or wait for the distraction to leave.

Professional photographers are ruthless about eliminating anything that doesn't add to the photo. Less is always more. Negative space isn't wasted space—it gives your subject room to breathe and draws attention to what matters.

Ask yourself: what is this photo about? Everything else should either support that subject or not be in the frame at all.

Simplify. Ruthlessly. Your photos will be stronger for it.

TIP 16: SHOOT IN RAW FORMAT

If you're serious about editing your photos, shoot RAW. RAW files contain all the data your camera sensor captured. JPEGs throw away most of that data to make smaller files.

Related episode: Episode 194

This matters in editing. With RAW, you can recover blown highlights, lift crushed shadows, and adjust white balance without degrading the image. With JPEG, you've got far less flexibility—what you shoot is pretty much what you get.

Yes, RAW files are bigger. Yes, they require editing software. But the quality difference is significant. If you're editing your photos anyway—and you should be—shoot RAW.

Most professional photographers shoot RAW. There's a reason for that. The flexibility and quality are worth the extra file size.

TIP 17: USE A GREY CARD FOR ACCURATE COLORS

Here's a simple tool that solves color accuracy problems: a grey card. It's literally just a piece of card that's exactly 18% grey—neutral with no color cast.

Take a photo with the grey card in your scene, in the same light as your subject. Then take another photo without the grey card—your actual shot. When editing, use the grey card photo to set accurate white balance. Your colors will be spot-on because you're telling your editing software "this is neutral grey." Then simply copy that white balance setting and paste it into the photo without the grey card in, and voila—white balance done!

Grey cards are cheap—a few quid. They're small enough to keep in your camera bag. And they guarantee accurate colors, which is especially important for commercial work, product photography, or any situation where color accuracy matters.

Even if you're not obsessive about perfect color, a grey card gives you a reliable reference point. It takes guesswork out of white balance, which means less time fiddling in editing and more consistent results.

Related episode: Episode 178

TIP 18: USE YOUR HISTOGRAM

That graph on the back of your camera? That's your histogram, and it's more useful than the LCD preview screen. The histogram shows you the tonal distribution of your image: shadows on the left, midtones in the middle, highlights on the right.

A good exposure has information across the histogram without clipping either end. If the graph is bunched up on the left, you're underexposed. Bunched up on the right? Overexposed. Clipped off the edges? You've lost detail in shadows or highlights.

Learn to read your histogram. It's objective data about your exposure, while the LCD screen can be misleading depending on how bright your surroundings are and how bright you've set your screen.

Check your histogram after important shots. If you're clipping highlights or shadows, adjust and reshoot. The histogram tells you the truth about your exposure.

Related episode: Episode 164

TIP 19: FIND YOUR LENS SWEET SPOT

Every lens has a "sweet spot"—an aperture where it performs best. Usually it's about two stops down from wide open. So if your lens opens to f/2.8, the sweet spot is probably around f/5.6. If it opens to f/4, try f/8.

At the sweet spot, your lens is sharpest with best contrast and minimal aberrations. Wide open, most lenses are softer. Stopped down too far, diffraction reduces sharpness.

Find your lens sweet spot by testing. Take the same shot at different apertures. Review on your computer at 100%. You'll see where your lens performs best.

Once you know your sweet spot, use it whenever maximum sharpness matters and depth of field requirements allow. This is especially important for landscape and architectural photography where sharpness throughout the frame matters.

Related episode: Episode 179

Your lens sweet spot gives you the best image quality your lens is capable of. Use it.

TIP 20: PHOTOGRAPH THINGS YOU'RE ACTUALLY INTERESTED IN

This sounds obvious, but it's not. Too many people photograph what they think they should photograph, or what gets likes on Instagram, or what other photographers are doing. That's a recipe for boring photography and photographer burnout.

Photograph what interests you. What makes you excited. What makes you want to grab your camera. It doesn't matter if it's popular or cool or trendy. If you're genuinely interested in your subject, that enthusiasm shows in your photos.

Your photography will be better, more authentic, and more sustainable if you're photographing things you actually care about. Passion is visible in photographs. So is obligation.

Related episode: Episode 187

Don't photograph landscapes because you think you should. Don't shoot portraits because everyone else does. Photograph what genuinely interests you, and your photography will be stronger for it.

TIP 21: ONLY EDIT PHOTOS YOU'RE GOING TO USE

Stop editing every photo you take. It's a waste of time. Instead, be selective. Look through your photos. Mark the good ones—the ones you'll actually share, print, use, or keep. Then edit only those.

Most photos you take aren't worth editing. They're not bad necessarily, but they're not special either. They're just… there. Don't spend time editing them.

Related episode: Episode 99

Professional photographers don't edit everything. They cull ruthlessly, keeping only the best, then edit only what they'll use. This isn't wasteful—it's efficient.

Your time is valuable. Spend it editing photos that matter, not mediocre shots you'll never look at again.

TIP 22: DELETE RUBBISH PHOTOS

Delete bad photos. Blurry shots. Obvious mistakes. Test shots. Photos where you blinked or someone walked in front of you. That series of near-identical images where only one is good—delete the rest.

Keeping rubbish photos serves no purpose. They clog up your hard drive. They make it harder to find good photos. They waste backup space. They're digital clutter.

Be ruthless. If a photo is bad, delete it. You're not going to fix it later. You're not going to use it someday. It's just taking up space. A rubbish photo will always be a rubbish photo.

This culling should happen regularly. Ideally, delete obvious failures immediately after a shoot. Then do a proper cull when you're reviewing the full set. Keep only what's genuinely worth keeping.

Your photo library should contain only photos you're happy to keep. Everything else is just clutter.

TIP 23: BACKUP YOUR PHOTOS IN THREE PLACES

I cannot stress this enough: back up your photos. Not just once—at least three times, with one copy in a different physical location.

Hard drives fail. Computers get stolen. Memory cards corrupt. If you're not backing up your photos, you will eventually lose them. Not might—will.

My system: photos live on my computer, get backed up to an external hard drive automatically, and are constantly backed up to cloud storage. Three copies, three locations. It's not paranoid—it's professional.

Three copies of your data, on two different types of storage media, with one copy off-site. Follow this rule and your photos are safe.

Losing years of photos because you didn't back them up properly is heartbreaking and completely preventable. Set up automatic backups today. Right now. Before you read the next tip. Oh ok after you have finished this most excellent episode.

TIP 24: LOOK AFTER YOUR GEAR

Camera equipment is expensive. Look after it properly and it'll last decades. Neglect it and you'll be buying replacements far sooner than necessary.

Keep your gear clean. Sensor spots ruin photos—get your sensor cleaned regularly or learn to do it yourself. Dirty lenses reduce image quality—clean them carefully with proper materials.

Related episode: Episode 167

Store gear properly. Use a camera bag with padding. Don't leave equipment in hot cars. Keep it away from excessive moisture. Use lens caps and body caps. Always use. Lens hood. Always.

Service your gear when needed. If something's not working right, get it fixed. Don't continue using damaged equipment—you'll only make it worse.

Camera equipment is a tool for making money or preserving memories. Either way, it's valuable. Treat it accordingly.

TIP 25: KEEP PRACTICING AND GETTING BETTER

Keep shooting. Consistently. Regularly. Don't wait for perfect conditions or perfect locations or perfect gear. And think when you take every photo.

Photography is a skill. Skills improve with practice. The more you shoot, the better you get. It's that simple.

Every time you go out taking photos, try to get one great photo. Not dozens of mediocre ones—one great one. That focus on quality over quantity will improve your photography faster than any daily target or goal.

Consistent practice with deliberate focus on improvement will make you a better photographer faster than anything else.

TIP 26: AIM TO BEAT YOUR PORTFOLIO WITH EVERY PHOTO

Remember that portfolio of twelve photos we talked about earlier? Use it as your target. Every time you take a photo, aim to take one that's better than the one photo in your portfolio.

This gives every shoot purpose. You're not just taking photos—you're trying to create something portfolio-worthy. Something good enough to replace one of your current twelve best.

Most of the time you won't succeed, and that's fine. But aiming high pushes you to try harder, think more carefully, and take better photos than if you're just shooting aimlessly.

And occasionally—maybe once a month, maybe once every few months, once a year, once a whatever, you'll take a photo that is good enough. A photo that beats one of your twelve. And that's when you update your portfolio and raise your standards again.

Always aiming to beat your own best work is how you grow as a photographer.

TIP 27: IGNORE THE NOISE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is full of photographers showing off their gear, arguing about camera brands, debating technical details, and posting processed-to-death photos designed for likes rather than quality.

Ignore it. All of it.

Social media can be useful for inspiration and learning, but mostly it's noise. Distraction. Other people's opinions about what you should shoot, how you should shoot, what gear you should buy, what's "good photography."

None of that matters. What matters is you taking photos you're proud of. Photos that serve your purposes. Whether that's documenting your family, building a photography business, or just enjoying a creative hobby.

Don't let social media make you feel inadequate because you don't have the latest gear. Don't let it pressure you into shooting what's trendy rather than what interests you. Don't let it convince you that your photography isn't good enough.

Social media is a tool. Use it when it's useful. Ignore it the rest of the time. Your photography will be better for it. As you may have gathered I am not a fan…..

TIP 28: USE A TRIPOD

Get yourself a tripod and use it. Not occasionally—regularly. A tripod transforms your photography in ways you might not expect.

Obviously, it keeps your camera steady for sharp photos in low light, long exposures, and landscapes where you want everything sharp at small apertures. But there's more to it than that.

A tripod slows you down. It forces you to think about composition more carefully because moving your camera isn't as quick as handheld shooting. You compose more deliberately. You check your edges. You wait for the right moment. You think before you shoot.

A tripod also lets you take the same shot with different settings to compare later. Bracket your exposures. Try different apertures. Experiment. Because your composition stays identical, you can see exactly what each setting change does.

Yes, tripods are a bit of a faff to carry around. Yes, they slow you down. But that's the point. Slowing down makes for better photography. And the sharpness you get from a solid tripod beats even the best image stabilization.

Get a decent tripod—not the cheapest one you can find, as it'll be wobbly and useless. Something sturdy that holds your camera steady. Your photos will thank you for it.

Related episode - Episode 95.

TIP 29: ENJOY YOUR PHOTOGRAPHY

Finally, and most importantly: enjoy your photography. If you're not enjoying it, what's the point?

Photography should be fun. Creative. Satisfying. Whether it's your profession or your hobby, you should get genuine pleasure from doing it.

If photography feels like a chore, step back and ask why. Are you photographing things you don't care about? Are you putting too much pressure on yourself? Are you comparing yourself to others too much? Are you obsessing about gear instead of enjoying the process?

Find what makes photography enjoyable for you. Maybe it's the technical challenge. Maybe it's the creative expression. Maybe it's capturing memories. Maybe it's getting out in nature. Whatever it is, focus on that.

Photography is too time-consuming and too expensive—whether in money or time cost—to do if you're not enjoying it. Life's too short for hobbies you don't enjoy and careers that make you miserable.

So enjoy your photography. Take photos that make you happy. Photograph subjects you love. Use whatever gear makes you smile. Share your photos or don't—whatever brings you joy.

Enjoy it.

A QUICK RECAP

This is the recap of the last 221 episodes of the Photography Explained Podcast. How utterly splendid. Move on Rick.

HERE'S SOMETHING FOR YOU TO DO, DEAR LISTENER

Pick three tips from today's episode that you're not currently doing. Just three. Write them down. Make them your focus for the next month.

Don't try to implement all twenty-nine at once—that's overwhelming. Pick three. Practice them deliberately. Make them habits. Then come back to this episode, pick three more, and repeat.

Incremental improvement beats trying to change everything at once. Three tips per month? In less than a year, you'll have implemented everything and transformed your photography completely.

Start today. Pick your three tips. Write them down. Then go take some photos using them.

WHAT IF I USE A PHONE TO TAKE MY PHOTOS?

Every single one of these tips works on a phone. Every. Single. One.

One Photo Rule? Works on phones. Walking, looking, thinking? Nothing to do with gear. Rule of Thirds? Turn on your grid. Shoot RAW? Many phone camera apps support it. Backup your photos? Cloud storage was made for phones.

Master these tips with your phone, and you'll take better photos than most people with expensive cameras. Because good photography isn't about equipment—it's about seeing, thinking, and making good decisions.

WHAT DO I DO?

I use all of these tips. Some are so ingrained they're automatic—I don't consciously think about Rule of Thirds anymore, I just compose that way. Others, like reviewing my photos critically, require conscious effort.

Here's what I'd tell you if you asked me which tip matters most: they all do, but if I had to choose one, it's the One Photo Rule. That single approach—treating every shot as if it's your only one—forces good photography habits better than anything else.

But the tip that keeps me improving? "Review and learn from your photos." I constantly analyze my work. What worked? What didn't? Why? This self-critique, done honestly but not harshly, pushes me to try new things and avoid repeating mistakes.

The tip I wish I'd learned earlier? "Backup your photos." I nearly lost some photos with a major PC failure before I got serious about backups. That was too close for comfort.

Use these tips. All of them. They work because they're fundamental truths about photography, not trends or gimmicks. They worked twenty years ago, they work today, and they'll work twenty years from now.

ONE MORE THING

This episode represents everything I've learned over a lifetime of photography and shared across hundreds of podcast episodes. But this is the overview, the essential foundation.

If you want to go deeper on any of these topics, go back through the podcast. I've dedicated entire episodes to composition, camera settings, editing, and workflow. This episode gives you the what—those episodes give you the how and the why.

Think of this as your photography foundation. These tips are the core. Everything else—the gear reviews, the specific techniques, the advanced topics—builds on this foundation.

Master these fundamentals first. Then add the advanced stuff. But these tips? These are essential. They're what photography actually is once you strip away all the gear obsession and technical complexity.

NEXT EPISODE 🚀

In the next episode, episode 223, I'm diving into something practical and immediately useful: 5 Things We All Need To Do In 2026 To Take Better Photos.

We'll cover file naming, folder structures, Lightroom organization, backup systems, and how to never lose a photo again. It's the unsexy but essential stuff that separates hobbyists from professionals.

Make sure you're subscribed so you don't miss it.

GET IN TOUCH & SUBSCRIBE! 😅

If you have enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss any future ones. 🔔 For anything else, check out my website, RickMcEvoyPhotography.com, 🌐 where you can find out how to ask a question, ❓ get a weekly email from me, 📧 get in touch, 👋 or find out more about my splendid podcast. 🎙️ And you can text me directly from the podcast feed. 💬 I have a YouTube channel too - type Rick McEvoy into YouTube and you'll find me. ▶️ Finally, check out my courses page, 🎓 where you will find my splendid "How to Become a Real Estate Photographer" course. 🏠

This episode was brought to you by a cheese and pickle sandwich 🥪 and a Coke Zero 🥤, which I consumed before settling into my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording emporium. 🎙️🏡

I've been Rick McEvoy. Thanks again for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast and for giving me some of your valuable time. 🙏 I reckon this episode will be about 40 minutes long after editing out the mistakes and bad stuff. ✂️ Yes this is a long one! Well why not eh?

Thanks for listening 👋

Take care and stay safe. 🛡️ Cheers from me, Rick! 🍻

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Rick McEvoy

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