Photography Explained Podcast

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🎛️ Thirty-two modes. Two cameras. One very long episode. I go through every mode on the dial, every scene mode and every creative filter, and I tell you what each one does and when you'd use it. Then I confess the only three I actually use. If you've ever stared at your camera dial and felt guilty about the letters you've never touched, this one is for you. 📸
What's in this episode
•       🎛️ Tip 1: Every mode and submenu setting, what it is, and when you'd use it. One very long tip, and the whole point of the episode.
•       📷 The main dial: from full auto to Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority, Manual and Bulb.
•       🌄 The scene modes behind SCN: Portrait, Landscape, Sports, Panning and six more.
•       🎨 The creative filters, and the one thing you can't undo.
•       📱 What if you use a phone? Same decisions, different clothes.
•       🧭 What I actually do: the three modes I use, and when.
•       ✅ Your action: five photos in Aperture Priority, changing the aperture each time.
•       💭 Thoughts from the last episode: a correction. I said 11. It's 32.
📝 Read the full blog post, with all 32 modes in one place: Camera Modes Explained: What Every Mode Does and When
🎧 Related episodes
Episode 31 — What Are The Different Camera Modes? The first look at the dial, a good warm-up for today's detail.
Episode 107 — What Are Creative Modes In Photography - And What Are The Other Modes? The difference between beginner modes and the modes that give you more control.
Episode 230 — Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First Where to start if your camera's new and the dial feels overwhelming.
💝 Next episode: Friday 20 November
Metering Modes? I Forgot They Even Exist. Here's Why. Your camera judges the light before every photo you take, and there's a setting that decides how. I forgot it existed for years. Next time, I explain why that was fine, and when it very much wasn't.
🔗 Find more
▶️ YouTube: 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

Send us Fan Mail
🎧 Your camera has a dial on top. It is covered in letters and little pictures. And not one of them tells you what to do. This episode is for beginners who bought a camera and cannot work out the dial. I read out every symbol on a Canon R100 and a Canon 6D. By the end, that dial looks like a short list, not a wall of hieroglyphics.
In this episode:
📷 What the mode dial on a camera does. It decides who controls your settings, you or the camera.
🔤 Why the letters on a camera dial differ between manufacturers. Your dial is not wrong.
🖼️ What the little pictures on a camera dial mean. Every symbol on the R100 and the 6D, plus the menus behind them.
🎯 How many camera modes you really need. Far fewer than the dial suggests.
🔄 Can you change the mode dial whenever you want? Yes.
🚫 Why some camera settings are greyed out. Look at the dial first.
👀 Why you should check your mode dial before every shoot. It takes one second.
💡 Bonus: the missing Tip 8 from the RAW versus JPEG episode. Where to actually change that setting. 
📝 Read the full blog post: https://rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/what-do-the-letters-on-a-camera-mode-dial-mean
🎧 Related episodes:
▶️ Episode 31 — What Are The Different Camera Modes?
This is a first look at the modes on the dial. It is a good warm-up before next episode.
▶️ Episode 107 — What Are Creative Modes In Photography - And What Are The Other Modes?
This one explains the difference between the beginner pictures and the modes that give you control.
▶️ Episode 230 — Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First
If your camera is new and the dial feels overwhelming, start here.
🔜 Next episode, Friday 6 November 2026: 11 Camera Modes Explained — and the Only 2 I Actually Use. I explain every mode on the dial. And I confess to the only two I actually use. If today left you staring at your dial, next episode is where it finally clicks.
▶️ Find me on YouTube by searching Rick McEvoy.
🌐 Website: rickmcevoyphotography.com
🎓 Courses: rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses
🧰 Resources: rickmcevoyphotography.com/resources
Buzzsprout tags (paste into the separate tags field, not into the show notes):
camera mode dial, camera dial letters, camera dial symbols, camera modes, canon r100, canon 6d, beginner photography, photography for beginners, camera settings, scene modes, hybrid auto, aperture priority, shutter priority, photography podcast, learn photography
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
🎙️ 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

Send us Fan Mail
🔺 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