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🏞️ Photography Explained Podcast - Episode 213: Your First Five Steps into Landscape Photography (Even in Your Local Park!) 📸

What if you could take stunning landscape photos without traveling to exotic locations? In this episode, your host Rick McEvoy makes photography accessible by showing you how to find beauty right where you are—even in your local park. We’ll get straight to the point with five simple, practical steps to help you capture images you'll be truly proud of.

💡 Your Five Steps to Stunning Landscapes:

1. See the Scene: Find Your Best Viewpoint
Don't just stand there! Your most powerful tool is to move around. Get low, get high, move left or right. Explore different angles to eliminate distractions and find a unique perspective that changes how the scene looks.

2. The Light Magic: Best Times for Photos
Light is everything. Avoid the harsh midday sun. Instead, aim for the "golden hour"—just after sunrise or before sunset—for warm, dramatic light. Overcast days are also fantastic, offering soft, even light that's perfect for woodlands and intimate scenes.

3. Build Your Photo: Simple Composition Rules
Use simple rules to guide the viewer’s eye. Try the Rule of Thirds by placing your horizon or subject on one of the grid lines, not in the middle. Look for leading lines like a path or a river to pull the viewer's eye into the scene.

4. Camera Settings Explained: Get Everything Sharp
For landscapes, you want maximum sharpness. Your key tool is a narrow aperture (a large f-number like f/11 or f/16), which creates a deep depth of field. Use a tripod for stability with the slower shutter speeds this requires, and keep your ISO at 100 for the cleanest image possible.

5. The Small Details: Use Foreground Interest
Add a small, interesting detail close to your camera, like a unique rock or a patch of flowers. This "foreground interest" gives your photo depth and scale, turning a flat image into a three-dimensional one that invites the viewer in.

📱 Landscape Photography with a Phone:
Your phone is a great tool for landscapes. It already has a deep depth of field to keep everything sharp. Just remember to use the grid lines for composition, tap to focus on a foreground element, and use panorama mode for wider scenes.

🚀 The Next Step:
Next week: Episode 214: Finding Your Best Angle: Simple Tips for Better Composition.

Podcast Website Update! 🥳 The podcast content has moved to its new home on rickmcevoyphotography.com. Check out the new website to listen to this episode and explore all the new pages!

A quick plug for me:

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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