Think ! (about your photo)

[BJI]

I think a fair bit about shots and then often realise afterwards all the things I didn't consider and should have! Having to decide on and set up shots in a hurry I find is a recipe for disaster more often than not. THis tends to indicate a need to be more familiar with hte camera controls.

[Analog6]

I tend to do most of this just by habit. I've been taking ophotographs for about 45 years now (no, not continuously) and I adjust for what I am going to shoot, eg early morning, surfing, landscapes etc.

I always set the cameras to Tv 1/125 when I put them away as this is my 'grab setting' and usually enables a snap shot under most conds incl flash if something arises.

If I've done a fair bit of shooting the batteries go stra\sight to the charger when I get home, as I download.

[TOM]

there is always preperation involved however alot of the time it is just habit. i shoot mostly film so thinking about condition in advance is neccessary when loading a roll of film. as for the shot by shot, it depends on the camera being used. a compact camera can be spontaneous, where a camera like a Hasselblad will require a slower process, almost forcing you to think more.

[Seesee]

The only prior thinking I do is selecting which lens etc I want for the day, I generally dont take a huge amount each day anymore, select a couple of lenses etc and make do with that.

I select camera settings on site as conditions and lighting often vary from shot to shot, all one needs do is turn around slightly and the camera needs a new setting, I can honestly say after a couple of years now of taking pix it almost comes instinctively now.

I often use the old movie makers tool, that being your hands, if I'm not certain on a composition, or what may look good as a snippet of a scene, I simply form a square using the fingers on both hands, to simulate the final image size...helps me a lot. { small bit opf cardboard with a cut out window kept in ones bag is a good idea for me too...when I remember to put it in the bag

I keep things as simple as possible, because like when I played golf for a couple of years, I played OK until I read books on how to do it and then my game fell to pieces...a common dilemma for many it seems. Getting up to the golf tee, or photographic location with a hundred things running through your mind at the last minute too often leads to confusion and missed shot, both in golf and photoghraphy. I see so many people get out to take a pictur, deliberating over this and that and bungle the shot, playing around with copious quantities of camera menus and controls needs to be done at home, not on site...K.I.S.S. method is my aim.

[ving]

before i go out i have set in my mind what sort of photo i am going to take and pack and dress accordingly.

-birding: i take the long lens and flash only, i dress in clothes i dont mind getting dirty. set camera to either AV or manual, aperture to f8 and if manual SS to 1/200.
-landscape: take what ever lens i think is appropriate for the shot i want to take, 99% of the time its just the kit lens but i take my small camera bag with nifty 50 and flash too just in case as well as tripod and if i remember remote too. i take auto iso off if its on and do the rest of the setting on the fly depending on what i want.

[earthairfire]

I always think about what gear to take, making sure my kit is ready to go (batteries, flash cards etc etc). I don't like lugging all my gear around if I don't have to. I'll always 'plan' my aim for the shoot also, but that said, I could take a sketch and notes of what I want to create, if doing a shoot where I want a particular image, or alternately, my plan could be as simple as what lenses do I need, and where / when do I need to be there...

I always set up my camera in situ, as I never know what settings I need unless I'm in a studio I'm familiar with. As soon as lighting is a variable, I don't see how you can plan for it.

Tim

[Kym]

In summary ...

1. There is a difference between planning for the outing and thinking as you takes a shot

2. There is an important role for 'instinctive'

3. Experience allows the thinking process to get easier
(a bit like driving a car - you focus on where you are going more than how to get there (gears, accelerator, brakes etc))

4. Thinking about the results (composition, lines, exposure etc) is more important than the specific camera settings

[TOM]

4. Thinking about the results (composition, lines, exposure etc) is more important than the specific camera settings

There is a great book by Ansel Adams called 'The Negative'. Adams talks alot about visualisation in this book which is what I think you are referring to here in point 4.

[David]

I try to have an alternative site or another option in mind when I leave home.

Researching a site by googling it and looking at other peoples images also gives some ideas about how to shoot the site and the conditions, location, safety issues etc. and I try to do the same amount of research on a nearby place so i have an alternative if the conditions dont suit my first planned site.

You might have checked out things for seascapes for example and found that the low tide matches up with sunrise and think, ok, tomorrow Im going to do seascape sunrise images and use the rocks and sand and low tide water to catch reflections of light and compose an interesting foreground and.... off you go, 4am, and its raining, teaming down...for an hour either side of sunrise and youve travelled 100KS to get there and.. nada. no result.

Happened to me a few times so now I look for alternative things to do when the weather conditions dont suit what I want and research an alternative site for shooting if the seascape bombs out. For example, a planned trip to the Sunshine Coast to do seascape sunrises failed so I went to Buderim Falls instead after dawn and the cloudy weather conditions suited the rainforest alternative.
'
That means carting more lenses and filters and so on with you but the trip isnt wasted. The other thing Ive learnt is that if the conditions are absolute garbage for the day you are there you can use the time and place to scout for future photo shoots. I did that at the Glasshouse Mountains in QLD one day when it was pouring rain and awfully dark sky an blahhh conditions. Located some unique places to compose images of Mt Tibrogargan and took a couple of 'test' shots and kept them on my computer and when the conditions were right went back there and shot the scene again, much better.

on SAFETY I say hunt in pairs,.....many times Ive been alone in a rainforest or bushland somewhere out in the middle of nowhere and come a cropper and put myself at risk with falls etc. but there are also weirdos out there who can freak you out if you are alone.

One time at the end of Nudgee Road I go the feeling i should not be there when 2 men came out of a van at 4am asking me *** I was doing there with a camera; needless to say Boondall Wetlands didnt get a gurnsey that day and David NEVER went there again alone. Another time I was walking down the track to Purlingbrook Waterhole alone at 5am and a bloke comes by the other way with a rifle slung over his shoulder, says Gday as he wanders past with a smile, and left me A. Wondering.. what the.... and B. Extremely paranoid for a good hour.

So yeah, dont go alone unless you absolutely have to and have an alternative shooting site option in mind and if your going bush TELL SOMEONE WHERE YOU ARE GOING. ..seems so basic but how often do we forget/neglect to do that one ?

Cheers

David.

[41jas]

I find myself thinking more about that more and more. I suppose it's the experience of shooting lots and looking and learning with what you have already taken and taking in and remembering for the next time.

[Dylan & Marianne]

I usually try to consider hard what I want to shoot, what angle and what time of day /lighting.
Especially when going overseas to locations you're not likely to return to, I find I type in some key words in flickr , deviantart and smugmug , look for some images that I like and I often contact the people who took them about how to get to those locations etc.
I try to take nearly all of my shots on a tripod for a few reasons:
- forces me to compose more than I would if I just stood in awe and snapped away
- allows me the option of taking bracketed shots at many differenct exposures and manually too
- removes the limitation of shutter speed and aperture that would otherwise limit and handheld shot in situations.

despite this, I've still made so many errors - forgetting cable releases, forgetting I put filters in the wrong bag etc etc .....even once forgot the CF card was still in the PC .....

[old dog]

not trying to fill any pockets with liquids but I am definitely thinking more about what I am doing after being here on this site. A wealth of information abounds herein. I quite often take only one lens (on the camera) and see what and how I can shoot with it. I think I was a bit spoiled with the pana fz30 (except for iso performance and EVF). So thanks guys again for your help.

[Redgum]

Horses for courses. I've now adopted the US Marine motto "Shoot and ask questions later". The nature of my work dictates that. Animals/remote travel really don't allow an alternative and with a cammy that can shoot 7fps up to 100 continuous shots I've got to strike it lucky, and usually do. Same applies with photojournalism, particularly news.
The only way I'd get setup for wild animals is when they're asleep and anyone can do that.
The organising comes in at the front end and it needs to be simple. Two camera bodies, two lens, four batteries and two polarisers. Set ISO and shutter speed and wait. Oh! and organise transport a week ahead.

[Luna-blu]

I like to think my shots through, but it can be frustrating working with people,

a little to the left - no a little to the left - just a little to the left,
(sigh) alright back to the right.

Then they have the nerve to get the irrits and walk away muttering words that are most uncomplimentary!!

[Allann]

I found that when I first started I used the spray and pray technique to shooting and though it gave me a few shots that "worked" each time I went out, I found I spent considerable time throwing away shots with very poor keep/junk ratios. I watched a podcast a few months back that made me take a step back and changed "the way" I looked at photography which has taken me to the next stage in my photo "career" (and i use that term very loosely).

Basically, I ask myself two questions now before I take a picture, and believe me when I say, this is REALLY hard;

1. Why am I taking this shot?
2. What story do I want to tell my audience with the shot?

I have a basic understanding of the technical aspects of taking a shot, but I wish I had been asking these questions from the beginning because I feel my photographs have been taking a different direction and "improving" since I started doing this.

I had to step back, and say to myself, "Why have I taken all these photos, if I am storing them on the HD and never going back to look at them, or print them, and in MANY cases never showing anyone"? And to me this was a very valid point as I have 10s of thousands of shots sittong on HDs and many will probably never see the light of day. And if I can't use them, why have them (generally speaking).

Don't get me wrong, the technical workflow required to take a photo is still if the back of my mind but as has already been mentioned, it starts to become second nature, instinctive, and even happens sometimes without active thought.

[Redgum]

Your workflow is determined by genre. Those working in the studio/weddings or any formalised setup will pay more attention to setup, scripting, planning and outcome. Photojournalism is all about opportunity, people, animals, situations where the difference between a great shot and everything else is but an unscripted moment in time.
Leopards are hard to spot in Africa and to see one in the open spans a time frame of 10/20 seconds. A snapshot of a VIP smiling/grimacing can be one in a million. You can't prepare for that moment to any great degree other than pre set your cammy for the location and when the opportunity arises press the trigger (and hold it down).
This is probably why so many "cover" shots are now lifted from HD video, 25fps. 1920 x 1080 resolution and 1500 shots per minute. How the tables are turning.
From a commercial perspective there is little return for one good shot. Look at the high quality of work on this website and look what that's returned. Sorry, I guess I've just defined the difference between a hobbyist and a professional. Both have a very legitimate place in the art. One for pleasure, the other for profit. Sometimes you cross that line. I guess that's the topic. We shoot differently purely to achieve an outcome.

[Kym]

Redgum you make some great points.
This was purely opportunistic - http://www.ausphotography.net.au/for...ad.php?t=17503 but happened on a meet where I was thinking a lot about what I was doing.
I guess have your camera 'ready' (mode, ISO etc.) is pre-planning and then it depends on the Genre as you say.

[Jules]

...Basically, I ask myself two questions now before I take a picture, and believe me when I say, this is REALLY hard;

1. Why am I taking this shot?
2. What story do I want to tell my audience with the shot?

...

Allan this is brilliant in its simplicity.

Photos you have taken yourself will be viewed in light of your own experiences, memories and the knowledge of the intentions with which you shot the image in the first place. Other people won't necessarily interpret the image the same way you do and the message you wanted to convey may be lost. Simply considering the audience before you take the photo could make all the difference.

[Allann]

Allan this is brilliant in its simplicity.

Photos you have taken yourself will be viewed in light of your own experiences, memories and the knowledge of the intentions with which you shot the image in the first place. Other people won't necessarily interpret the image the same way you do and the message you wanted to convey may be lost. Simply considering the audience before you take the photo could make all the difference.

Thanks, you got it. And that is the difference I think between getting a good shot and a great shot. Once you understand the basics of composition (e.g. 1/3 rule, 80:20 rule, etc) this should be in the forefront of your mind as you shoot.
It's true some styles use the machine gun approach to good effect but I'm sure that when the shutter is pressed, knowing why your taking the shots will still help. If you wAnt to sell those pics to a magazine, I'm fairly sure you considering their requirements.

[Tannin]

I have bit of a problem with this question. First, the possible answers are non-exclusive. Yes, I usually think my shots through. Yes, I need to think more. Which one do I vote for? Both are true.

Second, Ithink there is a hidden current flowing through here: an assumption that thinking and dedication to quality results has to do with not taking bad shots. In film days, when your number of shots was strictly limited, it was very important not to take any bad ones. But with modern equipment, the number of shots you can take is more-or-less unlimited, and the best strategy for producing quality work has shifted from the negative (avoid bad shots) to the positive (take good shots).

The number of bad shots you take today is irrelevant! (Except from the point of view of the amount of time you can afford to spend sorting and discarding.)

Don't ask "is there a chance something could go wrong with this shot, should I take it?" Ask "is there a chance everything could go right with this shot? If yes, then don't stand there thinking, take the damn shot!"

Of course, this all depends on the circumstances. It's very obviously true with sport/action/wildlife/event photography, where the only thing you can absolutely guarantee is that if you don't press the shutter at the significant moment (cutting the cake, breasting the tape, striking the prey) you won't get the shot. On first sight, something like landscape photography is very different. You have any amount of time to think everything through. No you don't! Light can change constantly, and quite often, even with landscapes, there are many, many times when you really do need to seize the moment.

Seize the moment without thinking? Hell no - you still think, but the sun is about to go behind a cloud, you better think fast!