Photography Explained Podcast

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🎙️ Ever opened a RAW file on your computer and thought you'd ruined the photo? You haven't. In this episode I explain exactly what RAW and JPEG actually are, why your camera's screen has been showing you something that isn't your real file, and why I shoot RAW myself - plus the genuine irony that every RAW file ends up as a JPEG eventually anyway. Perfect if you've ever wondered what all the fuss is about.
📝 What's covered:
●        📸 A JPEG is a finished, plated meal - cooked by your camera in an instant
●        🥕 A RAW file is the raw ingredients - completely unprocessed
●        🖥️ Your camera screen shows you a JPEG preview, even when shooting RAW
●        ✅ JPEG photos can look genuinely great, and choosing JPEG is not a mistake
●        🎛️ RAW gives you far more room to fix brightness and colour without it falling apart
●        💾 Why RAW files are so much bigger than JPEGs
●        🤝 Shoot RAW and JPEG together - you lose nothing and gain the option
●        ⚙️ Where to actually change this setting on your camera
●        🔄 The irony: every RAW file ends up exported as a JPEG anyway - just a properly made one
📖 Read the full blog post, with photo examples and more detail:
RAW vs JPEG. RAW What? JPEG What? What Is This Nonsense?
🔗 Related episodes:
Episode 226 - Why Are My Photos Too Dark? Understanding Exposure for Beginners - the exposure fundamentals that RAW editing gives you so much more room to correct.
Episode 227 - White Balance Explained - Why Your Photos Look Too Orange or Blue - goes deeper into fixing colour casts, which this episode also touches on.
🔮 Next episode: What on Earth Are the Letters and Symbols on the Turny Dial? That dial on top of your camera is covered in letters and symbols that mean nothing to you yet. It has a name, and a purpose. Find out just enough to be properly curious, before the full explanation in the episode after that. Out Friday 23 October 2026.
📺 Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy
🌐 Website, courses and resources:
rickmcevoyphotography.com
rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
Support the show
Get your question answered
This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography.

Thanks very much for listening

Cheers from me Rick

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🔺 Ever felt like the exposure triangle needs three hands and a maths degree just to take one photo? It doesn't. In this episode Rick explains aperture, shutter speed and ISO in plain English — what each one actually does, how they work together, and which two settings he actually controls himself on every real shoot. If you're new to cameras, or you've never quite got your head around exposure, this one's for you.
What's Covered
●        🔺 What the exposure triangle actually is, and why photographers call it a triangle
●        🔘 Aperture — why the f-numbers feel backwards, and what depth of field really means
●        🎯 Shutter speed — freezing movement vs blurring it, and everything in between
●        💡 ISO — what it's actually doing to your photo (it isn't what you've been told)
●        ⚖️ How all three trade against each other in stops
●        😅 Why Rick doesn't juggle all three — the two settings he sets himself, and the one he leaves to the camera
●        📱 How the exposure triangle works inside your phone, even when it's hidden from you
●        🏢 Exactly what Rick does on a real architectural shoot
Blog Post
Read the full blog post here
Related Episodes
Episode 226 — Why Are My Photos Too Dark? Understanding Exposure for Beginners
If today's episode has you wondering why your own photos come out too dark or too bright, this episode digs into exactly that problem and how to fix it.
Episode 215 — ISO Explained: The Simple Guide to Better Photos in Any Light
For a deeper dive into ISO specifically, including when it's worth raising and when it isn't, this episode covers it in full.
Episode 234 — Oh No. Another Blurry Photo. Here's How to Stop It Right Now.
If shutter speed and blur are still tripping you up, this episode walks through exactly why your photos come out blurry and how to fix it.
Next Episode
🎙️ Next episode, Rick's tackling two little file formats that cause more confusion than almost anything else in photography — RAW versus JPEG. What they actually are, and which one you should be shooting. Join him for that on Friday the 9th of October.
Find Rick Elsewhere
📺 Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy.
🌐 Website, courses and resources
🎓 Courses
Support the show
Get your question answered
This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography.

Thanks very much for listening

Cheers from me Rick

Send us Fan Mail
🎙️ Turn on image stabilisation, they said. It'll save your photos, they said. Nobody mentioned you'd need to turn it off again.
You've been told to always leave image stabilisation switched on. But put your camera on a tripod, and that same advice flips completely. In this episode, I explain exactly what image stabilisation does, how many extra stops it can buy you, and the moments where it can actually work against you. Whether you're shooting handheld, on a tripod, or panning a moving subject, this one's for you. 📸
🔧 What's In This Episode
●        What Image Stabilisation Actually Does — the one job it's built for, and nothing more.
●        How Many Extra Stops It Buys You — the genuinely useful benefit, explained properly.
●        Why It Fights You On A Tripod — and why the advice to switch it off makes total sense.
●        Two Different Places Stabilisation Can Live — in the lens, the body, or both.
●        The Panning Exception — the one time you move the camera on purpose and it still helps.
●        Video Needs More Help Than Stills — why your settings shouldn't be identical for both.
●        It Runs Your Battery Down Faster — the practical cost nobody mentions.

📖 Read the Full Blog Post
Read the blog post here

🔗 Related Episodes
Episode 235 — Do I Really Need a Tripod? Really? Why Rick, Why? — start here if you're still deciding whether a tripod is worth carrying at all.
Episode 224 — Why Are My Photos Blurry? All the Reasons and How to Fix Them — image stabilisation is only one piece of the blur puzzle.
Episode 234 — Oh No. Another Blurry Photo. Here's How to Stop It Right Now. — a practical follow up on camera movement generally.

⏭️ Next Episode
Everyone teaches the exposure triangle. I barely use it. Find out why in episode 242, out Friday 25th September 2026.
🎥 More From Rick

Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy.
rickmcevoyphotography.com for everything else — courses, resources, and my weekly email.
Courses: rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
Resources: rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
Support the show
Get your question answered
This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography.

Thanks very much for listening

Cheers from me Rick

Send us Fan Mail
🎙️ Your 50mm lens isn't really a 50mm lens — and once you know why, you'll never buy a lens with the wrong expectations again.
In this episode Rick explains crop factor in plain English. No maths degree required. If you've ever wondered why your lens doesn't seem to do what the numbers on the barrel suggest, this one's for you.
What's Covered
●        🎞️ What a full-frame sensor actually is, and where the name comes from
●        📷 What a crop sensor is, and how to spot one on your own camera
●        🔢 What the crop factor number means, and how to work it out
●        📐 Why your 50mm lens behaves like a 75mm lens on most beginner cameras
●        🛒 What to check before you buy your next lens
●        🌙 Whether crop factor genuinely affects image quality
●        📱 How this applies if you're shooting on a phone
Full Blog Post
Read the full blog post here
Related Episodes
Episode 239 — Your Kit Lens Says 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 — What on Earth Does Any of That Mean? The episode right before this one — you already know what those lens numbers mean, now find out what crop factor does to them.
Episode 229 — What Can An Entry Level Camera Really Do? Almost every entry-level camera is a crop sensor camera — this episode puts its real-world capabilities to the test.
Episode 8 — Why Is Camera Sensor Size Important? The foundational episode on sensor size, worth a listen alongside this one.
Coming Up Next 💝
You Say I Should Use Image Stabilisation — Then Why Oh Why Would I Ever Turn It Off? We're talking image stabilisation: what it is, how it works, and the times you genuinely should switch it off. Episode 241, publishing Friday 11 September 2026.
Find Me Elsewhere
🎥 Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy
🌐 rickmcevoyphotography.com — courses, resources and my weekly email
📚 Courses — including the beginner-friendly Sunrise in Mexico course
🛠️ Resources — the gear, software and tools I actually use and recommend
💬 Got a question or an idea for a future episode? Text me directly from the podcast feed.
Support the show
Get your question answered
This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography.

Thanks very much for listening

Cheers from me Rick

Send us Fan Mail
🎯 Your kit lens has something printed on the barrel. 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. Confident. Specific. And absolutely meaningless — unless you know what any of it means. This episode fixes that.
In episode 239 of the Photography Explained Podcast, I explain every number and letter on your kit lens barrel. In plain English. Without the irrelevant detail. Including why the aperture numbering system is completely backwards — and why whoever invented it clearly did not consult anyone who was actually learning photography at the time.
In this episode:
●       📏 Tip 1: 18-55mm — the focal length range. What wide angle means. What the longer end does. Why the zoom ring is your best friend.
●       📷 Tip 2: f/3.5-5.6 — the aperture range. What aperture actually is. Why the numbers seem backwards (and they are). What maximum aperture means.
●       🔄 Tip 3: Why the aperture changes as you zoom — variable aperture explained, what a stop of light is, and why your kit lens is actually being very sensible.
●       🌟 Tip 4: What aperture does to your photos — depth of sharpness in practice, a birthday party in low light, and the two things you need to know about f/3.5 and f/5.6.
●       🔤 Tip 5: USM, STM, IS, and Roman numerals — what all those letters mean and why none of it is random.
📖 Full episode notes and blog post: rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/kit-lens-18-55mm-f35-56-explained
Related episodes 🎧
Episode 60 — What Is A Kit Lens?
If you want to understand more about what a kit lens actually is, what it is good for, and whether you need anything else right now, this is the one to listen to next.
Episode 155 — What Is Aperture In Photography?
We covered the basics of aperture today. This episode goes much deeper on aperture and depth of field (depth of sharpness).
Episode 203 — Understanding Focal Length and Its Effect On Composition
Focal length does more than zoom in and out. This episode explains exactly what else it does to your photos.
Next episode 📅
Episode 240 is out on Friday 28 August 2026. The title? Crop Factor. Sorry — I Know It's Boring But It's Really Important. Here is the question that will keep you thinking: when is an 18mm lens not an 18mm lens? Find out in two weeks.
🎬 Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy
🌐 Website: rickmcevoyphotography.com
📚 Courses: rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
🛠️ Resources: rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
Support the show
Get your question answered
This is what my podcast is all about: answering your photography questions. Just head over to my shiny new website to find out more about me, my podcast and my photography.

Thanks very much for listening

Cheers from me Rick