The Perfect Photographer

I wish I could say that every picture that comes out of my camera is perfect. That is far from the truth. I am still learning new things everyday. Even things I know, I forget. I have found with digital that it is easy to click and go. I get into this habit all the time. Have you ever heard someone or even said it yourself( I know I have) say,

---"Hey it is digital it's free so I will just take a ton of pictures."

or the one I love...

---"I will fix it in photoshop."

Trust me I am guilty of saying these statements. I think these statements can get you in trouble if you rely on them too much though. I guess I come from the old school, what you see is what you get, I know times are changing and if you shoot RAW every photo need post. Even old school photogs like Ansel Adams shot film a cretin way knowing he would controls tones/details/exposure in developing and printing.

I think the goal is to get that one amazing shot. So if you take the time to slow down, look at all angles, look at the light, look at what is in your foreground and background, look at your crop and then shoot, you won't have to take 3000 pictures to get it right. You also won't have to spend the time in photoshop correcting everything. This ultimately gives you more time to be shooting and doing what you really love.

Now to contradict myself, I don't think it is a bad thing to take a lot of photos of the same subject as long as you go back and critique your work. This is the best way to learn. See what you did wrong, right, etc.

After critiquing my work from my recent travels. Here are a few tips I can offer. I think I need to remind myself.

---SLOW DOWN (this is my biggest problem) If you have time to think about the shot do it.

---Try shooting at different angles. Get low, high, on the ground something different than shooting at eye level.

--Look for beautiful light. Even at 12.00 noon there is beautiful light
somewhere.

--Push yourself to try different kinds of photography. If all you shoot is
landscapes, try portraiture you will be amazed
how much you learn.

-- If you are shooting for stock photography. Think about composition, leave
room at the top for copy, if you are
shooting a horizontal think about where the magazine seem will go( right in
the middle). Try not to have the main
subject in the middle of the photograph.

--Also for stock when you have that perfect shot, shoot one vertical and one
horizontal then change lens and do the
do the same. You never know what the buyer will want.

These are just a few simple things to remember, I noticed improvements that I need to make in my own photography and thought I would share.