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📸 You’ve got the camera. You’ve found something worth photographing. Now what? In this episode, Rick walks through the seven steps that happen between picking up your camera and pressing the shutter — the process that determines whether your photo is sharp, well composed, and actually what you intended. Practical, in order, and immediately usable.

🎟️ In this episode:

1. Hold the camera with both hands — every single time — Right hand on the grip, left hand under the lens. Both hands reduce camera movement and reduce blur.

2. Look through the viewfinder — When you look through the viewfinder you have three points of contact with the camera. Far more stable than holding it out to look at the screen. Use the viewfinder.

3. Compose the frame before you focus on anything — Composition is a creative decision. Make it first. Focus is a technical one — make it second.

4. Half-press the shutter button to focus — never stab it — Two stages: half-press to focus, check it’s on the right thing, then gently press fully.

5. Stand still. Breathe out slowly and shoot — Breathing is movement. Movement is blur. Stand still, breathe out slowly, and shoot.

6. Check the shot you just took — every single time — Playback immediately. See what you got. Adjust if needed. Delete rejects at your computer, not in camera.

7. Take one great photo and move on — Usually the first photo is the best one. Take your time, get it right, and move on. This is the one photo rule.

📝 Full show notes: rickmcevoyphotography.com/blog/how-to-actually-take-a-photo

🎙️ Related episodes:

Episode 93 — How Do You Hold a Camera Properly? This Is Very Important!

Episode 152 — How My One Photo Rule Will Help You Take Better Photos

⏭️ Next episode: Episode 232 — I’ve Got Hundreds of Photos on My Camera — Now What? — Friday 8 May 2026.

🌐 Website, courses and resources: rickmcevoyphotography.com

📺 YouTube: Rick McEvoy on YouTube

 My brand new course Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico, will teach you exactly how to get out at sunrise and come back with photos you love all told in plain English. it includes real footage of me photographing an actual sunrise in Mexico with an entry level camera. Find out more at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses.

If you want to start taking stunning sunrise photos, and why wouldn't you, check out my Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico course at rickmcevoyphotography.com/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

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📸 About This Episode

You’ve just got a new camera. The excitement is real — but most cameras come out of the box in a state that will cause you problems at exactly the moment you most want to take photos. In this episode, Rick walks you through seven quick setup steps — about twenty minutes in total — that get your camera properly ready before you take a single shot. Perfect for anyone who’s just unboxed their first camera, or who wants to start things off the right way.

✅ The 7 Setup Steps

1. Charge the battery fully before your first shoot — and order a spare battery today. One battery is never enough.

2. Format the memory card inside the camera using the camera’s own menu — not your computer, not by deleting files. It sets the card up in exactly the right way for your specific camera.

3. Set the date and time correctly in the camera settings. Every photo is stamped with the date and time it was taken — that stamp is how you find photos later.

4. Set image format to RAW and JPEG. Start working with JPEG files straight away, and have those RAW files ready for when you’re ready to edit them.

5. Set image quality to the highest setting your camera offers — Fine, Large, or equivalent. Storage is cheap. Quality matters.

6. Spend ten minutes with the first chapter of the manual. Just ten minutes. Know where the controls are before you go out.

7. Put it in Auto mode and go and take some photos. Build confidence. Build enthusiasm. That takes you further.

📝 Full Show Notes and Blog Post

Read the full episode notes and transcript: Episode 230 — Shiny New Camera? Calm Down and Do This First

🔗 Related Episodes

Episode 225 — I Just Got My First Camera — What Do I Do in the First Week?

Episode 228 — How to Know If You’re Ready to Move from Phone to Camera

Episode 229 — What Can an Entry Level Camera Really Do?

🗃️ Next Episode

Episode 231 — Camera. Check. Something to Photograph. Check. Now How Do You Actually Take the Photo? — publishes Friday 24 April 2026.

🎦 Support the Podcast

Get the video version of every episode on Patreon: patreon.com/c/rickphoto

🌐 Find Rick

Website: r

 My brand new course Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico, will teach you exactly how to get out at sunrise and come back with photos you love all told in plain English. it includes real footage of me photographing an actual sunrise in Mexico with an entry level camera. Find out more at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses.

If you want to start taking stunning sunrise photos, and why wouldn't you, check out my Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico course at rickmcevoyphotography.com/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

📸 Think you need an expensive camera to take great photos? You really don't. In episode 229 of the Photography Explained Podcast, I take my entry level Canon R100 to Mexico for two weeks — kit lens only — and come back with portfolio-worthy images. Under £500 of gear. Real conditions. No tricks.

In this episode I reveal 7 things an entry level camera can genuinely do brilliantly — and the results might surprise you.

💡 THE 7 THINGS COVERED:

1️⃣ It produces genuinely excellent photos — right out of the box

2️⃣ The kit lens is a much better starting point than you think

3️⃣ Programme mode is a perfectly valid way to shoot

4️⃣ It handles low light significantly better than your phone

5️⃣ A tripod unlocks a whole new level of what's possible

6️⃣ Auto Exposure Bracketing helps you handle tricky light

7️⃣ It will make you a better photographer

🔗 USEFUL LINKS:

📝 Blog Post (Full Episode Text)

🌄 Mexico Portfolio — Shot on the Canon R100

🎓 Photography for Beginners Hub Page

📖 RELATED EPISODES:

• Episode 228 — How to Know If You're Ready to Move from Phone to Camera

• Episode 225 — I Just Got My First Camera, What Do I Do in the First Week?

• Episode 106 — Programme Mode: What Is It? Is It OK For Me to Use It?

• Episode 160 — What Is Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB)?

• Episode 60 — What Is a Kit Lens?

🌐 My Website: https://rickmcevoyphotography.com

📺 YouTube Channel: Rick McEvoy Photography

🎓 My courses page

📚 Resources Page

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 My brand new course Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico, will teach you exactly how to get out at sunrise and come back with photos you love all told in plain English. it includes real footage of me photographing an actual sunrise in Mexico with an entry level camera. Find out more at rickmcevoyphotography.com/courses.

If you want to start taking stunning sunrise photos, and why wouldn't you, check out my Photography for Beginners: Sunrise in Mexico course at rickmcevoyphotography.com/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