Think before you shoot!

With cameras now-a-days its so easy to simply pick one up, and point it and shoot. After all, that's what compact cameras are called -- point-and-shoot cameras. But, if you slow down and "Think before you shoot", the great pictures you are taking will become even better!

Here's why . . .

Photography is a way to communicate an idea visually.

Whether it is how cute some kids are, or how big and vast the Grand Canyon is, these are ideas to communicate and the trick is how to capture that idea with your camera.

Most of the time, before I shoot, I try to ask myself, "What is the subject and how do I want to communicate it?" Only after I have asked myself this do I start to explore the different possible ways to capture the scene.

For instance, when my daughter decided to run around the house, I instinctively grabbed my camera, but before I started shooting, I thought to myself, what do I want to try to capture? What do I want to communicate? And I thought to myself, "speed and motion". In order to do this, I decided to use a technique called "panning" (Which I'll eventually write an entry and post it here.). So I set-up my camera by turning off my flash, using a slightly slower shutter speed than usual and moving the camera along with Emma while I pulled the trigger. The picture is more blurry than if I had used flash, but its this blur (or motion blur) that gives this static image its sense of movement and motion.

Using a technique called "Panning" made the picture more blurry than if I had used flash, but it's this motion blur that gives this static image its sense of movement and motion which is what I wanted to capture. [Click on image to view larger.]

Or, as another example, while camping I decided to walk around one morning to take some photos. I noticed the morning mist on the lake beside our campsite and wanted to try to capture it, but before I starting shooting, I looked around and started to think about how the surroundings might be worked into the composition. I found this old abandoned dock which adds an interesting element that helps to lead the viewer into the picture and I composed the shot to make a natural frame around the picture with the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees. Both of these ideas are common "composition" elements, or what I call "photography tools".

Common "composition" elements, such as the natural border made by framing the picture with the leaves and branches of the surrounding trees, and the old abandoned dock used to add interest and help pull the viewer into the scene add interest to this scene capturing the morning mist on the lake beside our campsite. [Click on image to view larger.]

Now, don't worry if you don't know many "photography tools". That's what my blog is about. Each week I'll introduce one of these "photography tools", explain why it works and how to incorporate it into your shooting.

Spend 5-10 minutes a week reading my weekly blog entry and your pictures will get better!

Now, my entries are pretty much random ramblings of whatever is on my mind that week, but I'm going to try to tie it together in a more logical order on this page called "How to take better pictures."