See, Think, Compose, shoot
If you really think about it, there are four steps one needs to go through to ‘make’ good pictures: See, Think, Compose, and Shoot; the last step is obviously the easiest…why? Because clicking the shutter is the easiest part of photography, and it doesn’t take a lot of artistry or talent to do it.
So, let’s take it step by step:
See: I’ve talked about this maybe a million times to both my online classes with the BPSOP and during the daily critiques in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct all over the probably round planet.
When you’re walking around, whether it be street shooting or whatever else you like to shoot, don’t just look straight ahead; I witness people doing it all the time. When you do that you’re only seeing 25% of the possible photo ops. Each couple of steps look to the right, then the left, then look behind you as well. This will cover 100% of the playing field that will greatly increase your chances of going home with the ‘good stuff’. I call it 25X4=100.
Think: When you do see something interesting, try to pre-visualize the composition as far back as you can so that when you get to what you were thinking about, there won’t be any time wasted. Light and those ‘moments’ are so fleeting that you can miss either or both in the blink of an eye.
Make sure of your message, and be ‘crystal clear’ as to how you want the viewer to perceive and process the information you’ll be giving him/her in the form of a photograph. Remember that you won’t be around to explain what you were thinking so unless you’re going for an abstract, letting people decide for themselves what it is, make it a ‘quick read’.
Compose: There are three things that I tell my students to remember if nothing else they get from me when they are in my classes or workshops. The first one I call my “Fifteen Point Protection Plan”…click on the link.
The second is called my “Border Patrol”...see the link. The third is what I call the 4 corner checkoff.
If you are diligent about using these tools for stronger photos, I can guarantee you that your photography will go up to what I refer to as ‘up a notch’.
Shoot: Once you’ve clicked the shutter your not done yet. If you take just one photo, one POV, the odds are against you to go back home with a ‘wall worthy’ image. Unless you’re street shooting and that one moment in time allows you to get off one shot, shoot as many variations as you can, with slight adjustments for each one.
I rarely shoot just one idea, It’s a series of shots from different angles, different light, and shutter speed exposure combinations that segue to what I consider the last shot that I’m comfortable with.
So, my fellow photographers, there are a lot of things you need to be thinking about before you click the shutter. Remember what I said about clicking the shutter is the easiest part of picture-making…even a caveman can do it.
Visit my website at www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. Come shoot with me sometime.
JoeB
