Hi and welcome to Episode 139 of the Photography Explained podcast. I’m Rick, and in each episode I explain one photographic in plain English in less than 10 minutes (ish) without the irrelevant details. What I tell you is based on my lifetime of photographic experience. And not Google.
In this episode, changes coming up to my podcast, and lots more thoughts on last weeks’ episode, in particular how do we get started in photography today?
Right – here is the answery bit
People get started in photography today by taking their new phone out of the box, turning the phone on, and taking photos. That is how people get started in photography today. Which is slightly less than when I got into photography all those years ago!
You can listen to the episode here
Or keep on reading. Or do both. Entirely up to you!
More on this in a bit. But first, I want to tell you what is going to change with my podcast and why. And why it will be much better, of course.
And In the talky bit I will share some more thoughts with you on one thing from last weeks’ episode, how do people get started in photography these days?
But back to the podcast. I have mentioned this before, after 130 ish episodes of my podcast, I have been thinking about things. I missed an episode, then one was late, and I realised I needed more time to do everything I wanted, including my podcast. So, some things have to change.
I dearly love my podcast and hope that you do too. I have received some great feedback, but I need more in the way of the questions from listeners for me to answer.
And then there is the podcast survey, which you can still help me with – head over to Photography Explained Podcast.com/survey. I promise it won’t take long, and your answers will help me understand what you want from my podcast, dear listener. Yes you.
So this little lot got me thinking. And this is what I am going to do. Don’t worry, I will be brief with this bit before I get on to the thing from last week that I want to explore much more.
Fortnightly publishing
I will be publishing new episodes fortnightly. Yes, I am going from weekly episodes to fortnightly episodes. That is change number 1.
Publishing on a Friday
I am moving from Tuesday to Friday, starting with the next episode, published on Friday, 14th October 2022. Blimey seems like a long way off!
Longer episodes
Podcast episodes will be longer. More in the 20-30 minute range. See, 10 minutes just isn’t enough to do justice to things how I want to.
I have found episodes getting longer and longer anyway. The idea when I started my podcast was to make episodes lasting less than 10 minutes which I recorded and uploaded without editing. That didn’t work, but this evolution is perfectly natural.
I will still explain one thing in 10 minutes or less, but I will then expand on that and add more info to give context and share my experiences with you. Don’t worry; this will all be relevant to the subject. Oh, ok then, I will be digressing all over the place, but the stuff I digress onto will be related and hopefully entertaining.
Less often, longer, and most importantly, of higher quality, with a fuller explanation, but still without the irrelevant detail. That is the change that I am going to make to my podcast. And no, this is not the beginning of the end for my podcast – far from it. This is the beginning of the next phase of my podcast.
Like I say, I genuinely love creating my podcast, but I also want it to be the best it can be. I know; I think about this stuff too much sometimes…..
And the content will change too. I will pick up on previous episodes, just like I will do in this episode shortly, for one reason. When I have finished recording an episode, I find there are loads more things I wish I had said – I think this is just a result of how my brain works. So I will now include them in the next episode in a sort of recap/ further discussion. And while I am doing this, I will give you the opportunity to add your thoughts.
So something for both of us.
Higher quality
Going fortnightly takes the weekly pressure off me. And longer episodes give me the space to do what I want to do and the space to be more me. And also to talk more relaxedly without feeling that I have to get this over and done with as quickly as possible.
And going fortnightly gives your ears a break too….
Let’s see how this goes, ok? Any thoughts are appreciated as always – head over to the podcast website, photographyexplainedpodcast.com.
What if everyone says, “No Rick, we want to hear you weekly?”
Well, in the improbable event of that happening, I will revert to weekly, of course…..
OK – that is that done – thank you for bearing with me. Now on to the thing that I wanted to talk about. This is the good stuff; this came into my head after recording the last episode.
Here is the talky bit
I wanted to pick up one thing from the last episode and discuss it more. What do all those folks who first experience photography through phones think of photography? How do we get started in photography today?
Well, this is what I said in the last episode.
“Well, they will look at cameras and think this is so old school.” That is what I said last episode, and there is so much more to this than just that statement.
See this fascinates me, and it was not something I had thought about until the other episode.
Let’s look at me and how I got into photography
I started as a teenager, a young teenager at that. I was a whippersnapper for sure (I am saying that as I love the fact that Word queries this word on inclusivity grounds and wants me to change it to either “younger person” or “inexperienced person”). Sorry, back in the day when I was a mere whippersnapper, I got into photography.
I have no idea where this came from. No one else in my family was into photography. It was just me. My parents bought me a camera, which I was very fortunate to be given. And not too long after that, I had my very own darkroom, where I used to process my own films and do my own prints. Badly it has to be said, but I leant lots.
When I left school (not a great success, it has to be said), I went to Art College, enrolling on a Foundation Course in Art and Design, where I studied all sorts of arty type stuff, finishing with a whole term dedicated to my chosen art, which of course was photography.
When I say all sorts of stuff, I mean one week of each of the following
- Knitting and weaving – yes really – I hated that
- Painting – I hated that
- Ceramics – I hated that
- Graphic design – I tolerated that but was rubbish at it
- Photography – my one week of sheer bliss and enjoyment
And the other weeks? Stuff I have erased from my memory.
I didn’t last long in the art world, though, just about making it to the end of the summer term, and after leaving, I got a job labouring on building sites– I needed the money for beer and to live my life as a 19-year-old.
So my photography career, first time around, started in about November, and was over by the end of May the year after!
But photography stayed with me to varying degrees over the years before I got back into it properly in about 2000. That was when I studied, worked hard, practised, took courses, and created my website—and learned from many of the great tutors of the time. I went to all sorts of photography shows and seminars. I worked and worked and eventually got myself qualified as an actual professional photographer.
Yes, a “real photographer” – it’s ok – I am using air quotes – you can’t see them.
I have been for some years, and still am now, a proud Associate of the British Institute of Professional Photography, having the letters ABIPP after my name.
See, I have worked hard to get to where I am now. Years of hard work, diligent study—all that good stuff.
Why am I telling you this?
Simple.
The modern day equivalent is this?
Get a new phone. Open the box, take the phone out, and take photos. All done, you are up and running.
Am I oversimplifying things? Not at all. For most people, this is what they do. For most people, they do not know any different. This is now the natural way for people to get started in photography.
Open the box, take the phone out, and take photos.
Why does this matter?
First, I am not criticising; it is just how things have evolved. This is the world we find ourselves in now.
If you can take photos that you are happy with using your phone, do you need anything else? Do you need a camera? Would you happen to need a PC to edit your photos on? Do you even have a PC?
And as for aperture, shutter speed and ISO, the exposure triangle – who knows? If you are taking photos with your phone only, you are not bothered by any of that stuff. You might have never even heard of them.
And that is just the beginning; there is a whole world of stuff we know as photographers that people who take photos with phones will not know. And might never know.
Photography these days is in a completely different, instant, constantly connected form. And the photos that you can take with phones are amazing these days. Let’s not forget that the images you can take with a phone in 2022 can be to a fantastic standard.
Am I jealous of today?
Yes and no. I have learned so much over the years that I am so grateful for. But I said it in the last episode – if I could do a commercial shoot with my phone only, I would do it. Why wouldn’t I?
But the tech is not here yet, not for what I need. So whilst there is an immediacy to photography these days, there is still learning that needs to be done to improve, to progress, to take better photos. To take pictures to a professional standard. But the gap is closing.
Photography has changed.
Photography today is an activity that is instantly available to the majority of people. I know that there are people not fortunate enough to have phones, but photography is more accessible today than ever.
And the software on phones, and other mobile devices, is pretty amazing too.
The question is how to engage people to develop and grow their photography. How do we get people who are happy taking photos with their phones to learn about composition and light? How do we get to these people?
That is the challenge for today, for all those good folk who work in all areas of the photography and media industries.
We need to get that message out to people who are happy with what they have and what they are creating. If we do not, how will they find this stuff out for themselves?
Or have I got this all wrong? Is everything we as photographers know now going to fade away to nothing in the future? If you can take great photos with a phone without ever knowing about aperture, shutter, ISO, exposure triangle, and all that stuff – will you ever need to know in the future?
Maybe not.
Will cameras end up being phones that take better photos? Back to the future – next episode.
So that is what I wanted to say. And blimey, I feel better for getting that lot off my chest!
What do I do?
I create a podcast. And I have lots of other things that I do. So that is why my podcast is going fortnightly. Quality over quantity. And longer episodes give me the time to share what I want to share with you all, like in this episode.
More of me, which I hope is good for you, my dear listener….
And with all that I do, I educate folk in photography, all the stuff I have discussed here. And I do this by telling you what you need to know and no more.
Next episode
Episode 140 – What Does The Future Of Photography Look Like?
Well I touched on this in the last episode, so I am going all in next episode, which I will publish in 2 weeks. Yes, two weeks from this episode.
And talking of future episodes – my survey is still out there
My Photography Explained Podcast survey is still on the podcast website – there are just a few questions that should take less than a minute to answer – head over to Photography Explained Podcast.com/survey. And thanks for your help.
You have a photography question you would like me to answer in plain English, in less than 10 minutes (ish), without the irrelevant details. Do you? Great – head over to PhotographyExplainedPodcast.com/start.
This episode was brought to you by, erm, a cheese and pickle sandwich and home crisps, prawn cocktail, sat here in my homemade, acoustically cushioned recording emporium. I have had a rejig of my recording space, giving me more room for the cushions, which has worked nicely and made recording much more comfortable as there is more room for me.
I’ve been Rick McEvoy; thanks again for listening to my small but perfectly formed podcast (it says here) and giving me 10 (ish) minutes of your valuable time. OK, I am going to have to stop saying 10ish minutes – I will come up with something for the next episode.
Take care, stay safe
Cheers from me Rick”
Right – that was the podcast episode.
Want to know more?
Head over to the Start page on the Photography Explained Podcast website to find out more.
And here is the list of episodes published to date – you can listen to any episode straight from this page which is nice.
Let me know if there is a photography thing that you want me to explain and I will add it to my list. Just head over to the This is my list of things to explain page of this website to see what is on there already.
Let me send you stuff
I send out a weekly email to my subscribers. It is my take on one photography thing, plus what I have been writing and talking about. And anyhting else on my mind. Just fill in the box and you can get my weekly photographic musings straight to your inbox. Which is nice.
And finally a little bit about me
Finally, yes this paragraph is all about me – check out my Rick McEvoy Photography website to find out more about me and my architectural, construction, real estate and travel photography work. I also write about general photography stuff, all in plain English without the irrelevant detail.
Thank you
Thanks for listening to my podcast (if you did) and reading this blog post (which I assume you have done as you are reading this).
Cheers from me Rick
