Making the Most of Any Photo Location
David Johnston
Class Preview
1:16
- In-depth Instruction; over 69 mins
- On-demand video access anytime
- Bonus downloadable PDF resources
- Access to class Q&A
Introduction
2:56
Welcome to this course on how to make the most of any photography location. Let me ask you a question. Have you ever felt like you were missing out on photo locations that are close by to your home? The fact is that there are amazing places to take photos no matter where you are in the world. You just have to know where to look, and more importantly, how to capture stunning photos. In this course you will learn how to find, scout, and squeeze every drop of photo beauty out of any photography location.
Essential Gear to Tackle Any Location
7:36
What kind of photography gear do you seriously need to invest in and what doesn’t really matter? This is the question I get more than any other question in photography. In this lesson, I’ll explain what photography gear you need to take seriously, and what kind of gear you might be wasting money on. The goal of this section is to get you high quality images, and get the most out of the gear that actually matters.
Plan Not to Fail
12:57
Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” Even if you know all of your local roads like the back of your hand, chances are you can still squeeze more out of them if you know how to plan. In this section of the course, I’ll share some secret apps you can use to plan amazing photos, how to use them best, and how to find even more places to take photos without stepping a foot outside. The power of technology is amazing, and you can use it to your advantage!
Scouting For Guaranteed Success
9:33
Possibly the most forgotten art in outdoor photography is the ability to scout a location for guaranteed success. Even the outdoor photography greats like Ansel Adams spent tireless days scouting and finding the best locations and photo options. In this lesson, I’ll reveal how to scout even the most familiar photography locations so that you can get different compositions all throughout the year!
Local Locations Composition
5:45
The hard truth about local location composition is that it’s harder than going to a national park. You have to work harder to find subjects and parts of the photo to guide your viewer through the frame. Even if that seems like some bad news, the good news is that when you master this concept through what you’ll discover in this lesson, you’ll be even better at composition no matter where you are in the world. This will truly make you a better photographer.
Mastering Different Perspectives
6:17
When you think about your photography, what percentage of your photos are taken at eye level? If you’re really honest with yourself, that number could be over fifty percent. Now, that is a huge opportunity for you to see local locations in a completely different way! In this section of the course, you’ll learn how to see every photo in three different perspectives and how to decide which one of those perspectives is the best fit for each photo.
Maximizing Locations with Wildlife
5:07
Wildlife is all around us. Even if you like in a dense city, you could step outside and see birds. When I was starting out with my photography, I was not capturing all the opportunities for wildlife in each photography location. However, when I realized the opportunities I was missing, my photos got way better. In this lesson, I’ll share what I discovered so you can level up your photos too.
Fail-Proof Settings for Wildlife Photography
5:37
Even though you don’t have to change locations for landscape photography and wildlife photography, you do have to change your settings on your camera. The two genres are incredibly different even though you don’t have to move your feet from one to the other. After watching this lesson, you’ll know the fail-proof wildlife photography settings to be able to capture stunning animal images.
Wildlife Composition to Live By
4:05
There are two basic types of wildlife photography composition. One has to do with featuring the animal alone and the other pairs wildlife and landscape photography genres. Both are incredibly fun to photograph. The beauty is that you can double the fun by trying both! I’ll show you how to tackle each kind of wildlife photography composition so you can add them to your photo bag of tricks.
Next Level Long Exposures
7:06
At this point, you might be thinking that there can’t possibly be any more to photograph at a single location, right? Wrong. Long exposures are the ticket to squeeze the last bit of juice out of a photo location. Long exposures allow you to manipulate time by lengthening the exposure of your images. All you need is one extra piece of gear. I’ll show you exactly how to tackle this kind of photo.
Conclusion
1:15
After going through this course, you now know how to find local locations, scout them, plan for great photos, and capture stunning images with confidence. You now have all the tools necessary to get out to places nearby, and all over the world, and take great photos.
Making the Most of Any Photo Location is an outdoor photography course designed to help you create compelling images anywhere, especially close to home. Instead of relying on famous destinations or expensive gear, this course teaches you how to find hidden opportunities, plan effectively, and fully explore every location you photograph. You’ll learn what gear truly matters, how to scout and pre-visualize scenes, and how to strengthen composition through perspective, wildlife integration, and creative techniques like long exposures. By the end of the course, you’ll have a repeatable system for turning ordinary locations into extraordinary photographs, giving you the confidence to capture stunning images no matter where you shoot.
David Johnston
David Johnston is a professional outdoor photographer located in Tennessee. He loves photographing the older mountain landscapes of the Appalachian Mountains and he ventures to other locations around the world to capture amazing outdoor scenes. Originally a fan of print photography, he switched to digital photography after college and began his business photographing the outdoors as well as teaching people how to improve their skills in outdoor photography.
Bonus materials available after purchase
