9 Easy Steps to Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes

Standard Package

The Full Course
$ $499 Lifetime access
  • Epic Grand Landscapes Video Course
  • Field Walkthrough
  • 290-Page Full Course eBook
  • Bonus Tech Lessons on Filters and Exposure
  • Lightroom Processing Demonstrations
  • Virtual Teacher Weekly Email Series
  • Instructor Q&A
Enroll Now for $499

30-day “If I can’t teach you photography I don’t deserve your money” guarantee

Trusted By Hundreds of Photographers

Josh, After watching dozens of YouTube videos on photography, and after several Udemy courses, I started to panic. Then I discovered your videos….You are a master teacher...This one course replaces virtually everything I’ve viewed to date. Now, add in your dozens of [bonus] videos (I loved the Exposure Explained series), and I see no reason to go anywhere else. You provide all the tools one needs to get started. The rest is practice and experience. Much thanks. Well done. Dan.
Dan N.
Dan N.
The specific new skill I learned on the course was to take time to analyse the scene. Before considering a photo, I ask myself questions about the scene. What do I really like? What attracts me? I mentally use your checklist and try to narrow down the features that I like and want to include in my photo. The other big change is I consider the story of my photo and how I can connect all my selected elements to make it all come together. The course was succinct and to the point and did not complicate the essential message!
Gordon Macgregor
Gordon Macgregor
Josh, thanks for the great course! I'm going back and revisiting lessons regularly as I am still finding golden nuggets on the second and third re-run.
Ian Kane
Ian Kane
I love these weekly tips! Thank you, Josh!!
Katie Grenier
Katie Grenier
The technical explanations were great – it was all new to me. I also thought the composition (leading lines especially) and post-processing modules were useful! The course offered more tools in the toolbox for capturing a scene.
Ben Homnick
Ben Homnick
What I lacked most was the ability to SEE a possible image just before my eyes. For me the most important thing I`ve learnt is searching for FOREGROUND!
Gabi G
Gabi G
I was not a beginner in photography but I learned a lot. I was using Luminar, before, for editing and Photoshop only for some purposes, but now I switched completely to Photoshop. This was the biggest transformation. If I have to name the single most valuable thing definitely the luminosity masking helped me most in my post processing skills. I think your course is quite comprehensive so I don’t see any areas that you would not cover. I am keen and happy to learn new things!
Zolo D
Zolo D
Thanks for putting together a terrific and enlightening course. I watched the whole nine lessons in a row and I can say, “Very well done, sir.” In my opinion this course is very well balanced and gives an excellent base that any person can fully understand and practice without being flooded with excessive technical details. I continue to review the material and videos, and they will serve wonderful references for my future efforts.
Alan Monheit
Alan Monheit
Josh, Really a great course. You really bring the elements together. Thanks many times over!! Don
Don H.
Don H.
I purchased your 9 Steps to Grand Landscape course and loved it. I appreciate the way you teach. It’s with clarity, a sense of enthusiasm and joy; and you make it seem very easy, although it’s not necessarily so. The layout of the course is comprehensive and the thought process flows perfectly. Your level of sensitivity to the subject matter and love of the craft really comes through and that is contagious!
Elizabeth S
Elizabeth S
I really enjoy your videos and the online workshop I recently purchased. Your teaching style really resonates.
Paul Judy
Paul Judy
I just finished the course! Thank you so much for all the easily digestible and valuable information. You have given me more confidence and inspiration to go out there and make it happen. Your instruction on composition and post-processing was very helpful. The course tied things together well and will be helpful for any type of landscape photography! It has been way more beneficial than the countless number of miscellaneous YouTube videos I have watched.
Chris Baker
Chris Baker
I think this is REALLY good. I always try to make things simpler & this is ideal!
Linda Garland
Linda Garland
This has been the best photography course that I have taken. You explain things in a manner that even beginners can understand. The big A-Ha moment has been the “live-view” focusing technique. It has really made a difference in my photography. I also appreciate the amount of post-picture taking material. That has made a big difference as well. Keep up the great work - it is greatly appreciated.
Eric Podley
Eric Podley

Frequently Asked Questions

How long is the course?

The video course run time is about 120 minutes. There are 10 chapters comprising 14 total lessons. Most videos are 5-10 minutes long. The additional bonus lessons add another 45-60 minutes of instruction on filters, post-processing, exposure, and more.

How long do I have access to the course?

How does lifetime access sound? After enrolling, you have unlimited access to this course for as long as you like, across any and all devices you own.

Can I download the course lectures, videos, PDFs, and bonuses?

Absolutely! Every lecture, worksheet, and transcript is available for you to download.

What is the Virtual Teacher Weekly Email Series?

The Virtual Teacher is a weekly email series that walks you through the most important parts of each chapter. I know you are busy and sometimes watching a video doesn’t fit into your schedule. But if you have 3 minutes to read an email once a week you will still pick up the absolute most critical parts of each lesson.

How does this course compare to an in-person workshop?

I am working as hard as I can to make sure this course delivers the same value as a workshop, if not more. I don’t want to waste your time or your money so I’ve worked to make sure every lesson is useful, practical, easy-to-understand, quick to consume, and information-dense. Based on my experience teaching workshops I’d say most students can absorb three to four of these techniques in the course of a 3-day workshop. So this course delivers roughly 2-3 workshops’ worth of information that you can consume on your own schedule. And like a workshop with this course you can ask questions, get feedback, and build a community of friends and fellow photographers.

Can I pay with PayPal?

Yes you can. You will see the PayPal option on the checkout screen.

What equipment do I need for this course?

  • You will get the most out of this if you have the following gear:
  • DSLR / Mirrorless Camera
  • Wide or Ultra-Wide Angle Lens
  • Sturdy Tripod
  • Remote Shutter Release
  • GND Filters (Optional)
  • Extra Batteries, Memory Cards, Lens Wipes
  • Snacks (Not Optional)

I saw another photography course on Udemy that was 15 hours long and cost $20. What’s different about this course?

Think about every “How To” video you’ve ever watched online. Ever notice how the presenters talk for 20 minutes before getting into the actual technique they’re trying to teach? Don’t you wish they would just SHUT UP AND TEACH you how to do what they do?

“Shut Up And Teach” – That’s the philosophy I used when creating the lessons for this course. No filler, no blather. Just fantastic information in easy-to-digest bites.

This is not a sprawling “how to do everything in landscape photography” kind of course, which is what those other courses tend to be. In those ponderous courses you’ve got sit through the instructor talking about a bunch of stuff that’s not relevant to you before you pick up that nugget of info that actually is. Who’s got time to watch 15 hours of video just to learn one salient point?

The whole idea of 9 Easy Steps to Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes is to get you a real photographic transformation in as little time as possible. The techniques I’m presenting in this course took me years to learn, and thousands of dollars in time, travel, excursions, and practice. I want to help you understand them as quickly and easily as I can. You can watch the course this afternoon and start taking epic grand landscape photos tonight.

I also want to keep the community small, engaged, and full of dedicated photographers who genuinely want to learn and improve their photos. I would much rather have 20 really excited photographers in the course than 20,000 who don’t care. “Bargain Basement” online courses don’t provide value, don’t give you incentive to continue learning, and don’t encourage you to achieve the results you’re looking for. This course does.

What if I am unhappy with the course?

I have a full 30-day refund policy. If you have completed at least three lessons and are unsatisfied with your purchase contact me and I will give you a full refund.

Got a different question? Let me know!

Enroll Now and Transform Your Photography Today

Here is what

YOU’RE GOING TO LEARN
Enroll in the course!

Master a practical framework for creating Grand Landscapes.

And you can shoot these kinds of photos anywhere you are, whether it’s New Zealand, Italy, or Death Valley. You can watch this course this afternoon and go take photos like this tonight.
Now you may be saying Practical Framewhat?? What are you talking about, Cripps? Well let me tell ya! It turns out that virtually every grand landscape photo is built from the same 9 fundamental building blocks. And that’s true even for photos that look totally different!! At first glance these photos don’t have much in common, but believe it or not they are built from the same 9 parts.

And if you understand what those parts are you can easily create killer grand landscapes wherever you are, whether it’s New Zealand, Italy, or Death Valley. You can watch this course this afternoon and go take photos like this tonight.

So that’s what I mean by a practical framework, and that’s what you’re going to learn in this course.

I’d love to ask you a question: have you ever looked at photos on Instagram or in Outdoor Photographer Magazine or on 500px and you were totally blown away, but at the same time you were totally frustrated because your photos didn’t look like those photos?? You know that feeling, inspired but annoyed at the same time? Send me an email and let me know if this has happened to you. It definitely happened to me when I was first learning and I was incredibly frustrated.

I set about dissecting those amazing photos and understanding exactly what they’re made of. I developed my framework of 9 parts, and that’s you’re going to master in this course to start creating your own epic photos.

If that sounds good to you, just hit this button to get your name on the course launch priority list.

Click here to enroll in the course today and take epic photos tonight!

HEY! I’M JOSH CRIPPS.

I’ve helped thousands of people improve their photos. Here’s how I can help you.

I’ve been teaching photography for over 10 years. In the beginning I was teaching only myself. But as I began to understand what made a good photo I quickly moved on to assisting other photographers on their workshops, and then to teaching my own. Since then I’ve instructed thousands of photographers in person in some of the most beautiful places in the world.

But I didn’t stop there. I also created Pro Photo Tips, one of the most popular photography channels on YouTube, which has over 300,000 subscribers and 12 million video views (and counting!).

Throughout these years of teaching (as well as refining my own photography) I’ve learned a lot about what makes a good photo and what doesn’t.

I’ve also come to realize when you’re learning photography you need more than just theory. You need practical approaches, step-by-step processes, and go-to ideas about how to craft a winning image. You need a framework to start from that you can build your own creative ideas off of.

That’s why I created 9 Easy Steps to Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes. To give you a framework you can use to create breathtaking photos like the ones you see in magazines.

This course lays out that framework in black and white. There are 10 chapters and 14 total lessons (including a complete start-to-finish walkthrough of how I created one of my favorite Grand Landscape shots) which teach you everything you need to start creating epic grand landscape photos today.

WHAT’S INSIDE THIS COURSE
  • 10 individual chapters and 14 total instructional video lessons with 120 minutes of kick-ass education. Each lesson is short (most are less than 10 minutes), to-the-point, and digestible. Tons of examples, visuals, and downloads make learning easy and succinct, with clear takeaways for each lesson. No filler and no blather means you get results today.
  • 5 additional, complete bonus lessons on in-depth post processing for grand landscapes, using filters, getting a perfect exposure, and more.
  • Guided learning at your own pace. You can start and stop the course whenever you like, watch lessons as many times as you want, and skip around in the course curriculum.
  • Bonus materials to help your learning. There are tons of example images, handouts, notes, and guides to accompany the lessons, helping you get the most out of the course.
  • Q&A. Ask questions and get answers from the instructor. AKA Josh Cripps. AKA me!
LESSON TOPICS

Here are just some of the key takeaways you’ll learn inside 9 Steps to Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes.

  • The 4 qualities your location needs to work as a Grand Landscape, as well as the kinds of locations that don’t cut the mustard.
  • Choosing the right lens for a Grand Landscape and how to vary your focal length to emphasize the parts of the scene most important to you.
  • How to tell your story of a landscape by choosing specific foreground, midground, & background elements. Hint: there’s an easy way to tell if you’ve picked the right things.
  • The 5 characteristics of an amazing foreground, what makes an outstanding midground, and the single most important thing you should look for in a background element.
  • How to pull your viewer into the frame and lead them on a visual journey.
  • Using camera position to control the visual flow of your photo.
  • Horizon placement and how it affects the story and depth of your images.
  • Bulletproof strategies for simplifying and improving your Grand Landscape compositions.
  • How to get a scene in focus from front to back every single time.
  • How emotional impact determines the shutter speed you should be using.
  • Practical methods for understanding your own artistic vision, and creatively applying that to your camera settings.
  • A no-nonsense method to picking the perfect aperture and shutter speed every time.
  • The simple secret behind creating a painterly feel with the light and exposure of your images.
  • The most important post processing steps you can take to make your images pop.
  • The secret to happiness. Just kidding. I wanted to see who’s paying attention. Although, you know, if you, if your landscape photography gets better, that is kind of a secret to happiness…
  1. The three characteristics your landscape needs in addition to beauty.
  2. Why uniqueness is so important to your grand landscapes.
  3. Why novelty is so important to your grand landscapes.
  4. Why simplicity is so important to your grand landscapes.
  5. The Grand Landscape Location Checklist.
  6. The kinds of locations that don’t work as well for grand landscapes.
  7. The lens focal lengths that work best for grand landscapes.
  8. The two wide angle lens “tricks” you can use to pull your viewer into your photographs.
  9. How to use focal length and distance from your foreground object to make certain parts of your photo appear larger or smaller depending on what’s important to you.
  10. The three elements that make up the story of your grand landscape photograph.
  11. How those three elements relate to a written story to create an opening hook, supporting details and action, and a finale for your photo.
  12. What NOT to do with your foreground.
  13. The three kinds of contrast to look for in order to make your foreground element pop.
  14. How to make sure your foreground is the right size for your photo.
  15. What makes a great midground.
  16. How to control your midground.
  17. Midground best practices.
  18. The single most important characteristic your background element can have.
  19. Why the background element is so critical to your photos.
  20. The Josh Cripps Number 1 Rule of Composition.
  21. My favorite techniques for removing distractions and simplifying your compositions.
  22. Walkthrough of my process for simplifying a scene and improving a composition
  23. The power of leading lines and the visual narrative.
  24. What is a leading line? Plus tons of examples.
  25. Best practices for using leading lines.
  26. How to control your leading lines and have them point exactly where you want.
  27. Other ways besides leading lines to create connection and strengthen the visual narrative of your photo.
  28. Still reading? Good job!
  29. The optimum horizon placement for most grand landscapes.
  30. How to tell your viewer what’s important in your photo.
  31. How horizon placement affects the depth of your photos.
  32. When to NOT place the horizon on the top third.
  33. Which ISO you should choose for 95% of grand landscapes and why.
  34. Why you want your entire photo in sharp focus.
  35. A systematic approach to getting your entire photo in focus from front to back.
  36. Three solutions to when you can’t get your whole photo in focus.
  37. The technical and artistic reasons shutter speed is so important.
  38. How your emotions determine what shutter speed you should use.
  39. The paradox of artistic intent versus proper exposure.
  40. How to use your aperture to solve this paradox (i.e. how to target an artistic shutter speed while maintaining a perfect exposure).
  41. How to use filters to solve this paradox.
  42. How to use ISO to solve this paradox.
  43. How to get a perfect exposure every time in manual mode (even for newbies!)
  44. Solutions for situations where getting a good exposure is difficult, like when shooting into the sun.
  45. A step-by-step approach to using 10- and 6-stop ND filters for long exposures.
  46. Three methods of calculating your new shutter speed when using an ND filter.
  47. How to fine tune your settings for even longer exposure.
  48. Correcting color issues with strong ND filters.
  49. Troubleshooting three common ND filter issues.
  50. A step-by-step approach to using 10- and 6-stop ND filters for long exposures.
  51. Three methods of calculating your new shutter speed when using an ND filter.
  52. How to fine tune your settings for even longer exposure.
  53. Correcting color issues with strong ND filters.
  54. Troubleshooting three common ND filter issues.
  55. The reason why Magic Hour is so magical.
  56. Exceptions to the Magic Hour rule. I.e. other times to shoot grand landscapes.
  57. The simple secret behind getting a painterly feel in your photos.
  58. Two methods of getting the painterly feel.
  59. The perfect exposure adjustment to get the painterly feel.
  60. How to get a painterly feel through post-processing in Lightroom.
  61.  A complete guide to using Graduated Neutral Density Filters (GNDs).
  62. The two most important post-processing steps to take with your grand landscape photos.
  63. Why to shoot neutral picture controls in the field.
  64. How I add contrast and saturation in Lightroom.
  65. How I process my landscape photos from start to finish in Lightroom.
  66. A complete walkthrough of how I create a grand landscape in the field from start to finish.
  67. Holy cow! You read this whole list??? You’re a rockstar!

IS THIS COURSE FOR YOU?
The answer is a big fat YES if you:
  • Don’t know why your photos don’t look like those in the magazines.
  • Can’t get your photos sharp from front to back.
  • Don’t get the color, light, or detail you want in a photo.
  • Let your camera make more decisions about your shots than you do.
  • Don’t know how to tell if you have a good composition, or if something should be in your frame or not.
  • Can’t direct your viewers’ attention in your photos.
  • Don’t know which lens to use and why.
  • Want to learn how to turn your artistic vision into a photograph.
  • Just don’t say WOW when you look at your own photos.
If any of this applies to you, then you are in the right place and this course is going to fix all of your problems. Well, maybe not all of your problems, but at least some of your landscape photography problems right now.
SKILL LEVEL

9 Easy Steps to Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes is a course aimed at experienced beginner and intermediate photographers but will be useful for anyone who wants to learn how to create epic Grand Landscape photos.

Enroll Now!
Here’s what people have said about Josh’s other courses:
“Oh My Gosh! This course has got to be the best investment I have ever made for my photography. Josh has such an amazing talent for breaking down and explaining things in such a clear and simple way, it makes things so easy to understand. I have experienced so many, “OMG! how did I not get that before,” moments throughout this course. I have found a confidence that I never had before doing this course, even when I thought I knew what I was doing, I realise now that I was only going through the motions and not truly understanding why I was making the decisions I was, probably because I read somewhere that’s what I should be doing. I can’t begin to explain how much I have learned and now really understand.

One example would be Lesson 3, what a forehead slapping revelation that was for me. Josh has broken down ISO, Aperture, & Shutter Speed in a way I have never had it explained before, it seems so easy now!!! I think I have every card with pictures of the lens openings, blurry bunnies and any other kind of reference to try and understand these three beasts, and all it took was a video from Josh for me to finally get it, and how to use them when taking a photo.

This course offers so much information, support and feedback, you would have to attend half a dozen workshops to receive the same amount of knowledge. It not only teaches, but also inspires you to get your camera out of the cupboard and participate in the photo challenges at the end of each lesson. Post them to the community page, get feedback and watch your photos improve every- day.

I could write a novel noting all the things I love about this course, but it would be easier for you to do yourself and your photography a huge favour and join this course, you won’t regret it.”
Gail Zoutenbier
Australia
“I am blown away by the content. It is just awesome. Josh lays out the meat of getting great photography in an easy to understand as well as entertaining way. I have already used his guideline of one of his charts titled ‘What Kind of Light Works for Different Scenes’ on a recent trip to a National Forest. I can’t always get out for Golden Hour so this was very real world helpful for me. The lesson where Josh analyzes the 4 critical parts of HIS images to show what doesn’t work vs what and why the same scene does work is one I have already watched more than once.

I think practicing in the field the 4 critical parts of an image before pressing the shutter button will increase my keepers and “WOW” photos immensely. This really is the secret ingredient of wall hanging photos. Each lesson of this course just keeps getting better and better.”
Janet Cook
Texas
LANDSCAPE PHOTOGRAPHY DOESN’T HAVE TO BE A MYSTERY
Stop wishing for better photos and get started today. 9 Easy Steps for Photographing Epic Grand Landscapes will walk you through a proven framework for crafting WOW photos. You’ve already spent thousands of dollars on your camera, lenses, tripod, and accessories. Now invest in the skills and techniques to bring your artistic vision to life.
Enroll in the course
About Joshua Cripps

Joshua Cripps is a renowned landscape photographer who has garnered worldwide acclaim for his breathtaking images of our planet’s wild places. His photos have been published by the likes of National Geographic, NASA, CNN, BBC, and Nikon Global.

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THE MT. WHITNEY GALLERY

The Mt. Whitney Gallery was founded in 2023 by Joshua Cripps as a way to share his passion stunning landscapes of the Sierra Nevada and beyond.

Set at the foot of the breathtaking Sierra with a view of the range’s highest peaks, the gallery features large format, museum-caliber fine art prints of Josh’s signature photographs.

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Lone Pine, CA 93545

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