Scott Murray
Senior Member
I am wondering what thought processes you go through when you decide yes this will be a great photo
Post away
Post away
There is a reason why I am asking and it has to do with my film camera sitting in the dry cabinet waiting for me to load it. This has made me rethink how and why do I take a photo.
And we can shoot and hope, it doesnt work adjust and shoot again. We have gotten lazy..Back in my film days I had to be a lot more careful. Early on when I was doing all my own processing at home I had to plan out my shots before I left home. Triple check all my settings before I started shooting and recheck before each shot.
That got a little easier when I started working in photo labs and was required to shoot and have film processed at each lab I visited each time I visited so I usually had at least 1 role of film a day processed and printed.
I think with digital all of us old film shooters got a little sloppy with our thinking. We know we have 64GB of storage in our cameras so big deal, go ahead and shoot and delete later. That is what I am trying to cure now.
Thanks MichaelDuring my morning coffee actually I get some mood taking photos. This is also when I am on vacation. I have to add that I am a man who likes taking photos in different moods, just to see the out coming, and I am curious the pics are gonna show the mood I was in.
Example: Street. I decide then which lens, where to go, north, west, east or west.
Or I get an Idea taking a park walk, landscape or a in front of my house, using tripod, etc..
I see something interesting, than I think all in frame or just some details. Every time I keep in mind what I wanna tell through the photo, for my business, for my friends, for people who see the first time the photo.
In some situation I see something but it is not showing through the viewfinder what I see, I switch thinking to light and shadow for b/w version.
Many times I am at the same place,. So taking photos there is a challenge for me which I like.
I separate general photos and photos only for family. Example, some family shots in front of some great background I will take again without family in there.
Over all I wanna catch "This" moment.
I have been working on this process a lot lately. I used to just see something that I liked and shoot it. Lately I have been forcing myself to be more picky.
- I like the subject.
- Why do I like it?
- Have I shot it before and did I like how it came out?
- How is the best way to shoot this so that it stands out in a crowd?
After all this I then decide to shoot it or I go on to the next shot. Lately I have been passing up 3/4 of the shots I would have taken before BUT I am getting a lot more photos that I actually do like.
Shoot less...Keep more
In all honesty, when you've done it enough, the above starts to become second nature. It reminds me of learning how to ride a bike. Initially you struggle to think of all these different things (or realize later you've forgotten to do some of them), but as you focus your attention on what to do, over time it becomes more automatic. I find myself looking at the scene while my fingers are changing the aperture, but I'm not giving any direct thought to selective focus. Just like when you steer the bike to the right or to the left to avoid a nail, you don't think what do I do so I don't run over it?? You start to react automatically. THAT's why it is important to intentionally work on each compositional element until it becomes ingrained into your actions.