As part of my going further with photography, I’ve been seeing two different approaches to shooting in public:
- The quick shot where you look for a shot, set up and take it. Move on. Set up can involve a tripod or lens change, but the idea is to grab it quickly and move because you are in public and time can be critical (light, crowds, etc.)
- See the shot. Take some test shots. Check your work. Move around a little looking through the lens to look for compositional ideas. Set up. Take the shot. Take your time. Try some different apertures, shutter speeds and maybe bracket (some would argue you should always bracket—if you want an HDR shot, you will have to bracket, may as well do it for all the shots/setups) before moving. Stop and think about it. Take your time.
I have always, when doing my own shooting, usually alone, been in the former. But I see the benefits, both philosophically and literally, of taking time. This video of Trey Ratcliff trying to get a shot set up at Cinderalla Castle in Disney World:
(video from this g+ post by William Beem)
Very patient man. At the end of the video, you can see the results in the final image, but I wanted to share it here to make my point about taking the right time to get the right shot:
image by Trey Ratcliff. Follow him right now. Trust me.
Very inspiring to see how a shot like this comes together. If you want to be blown away, check out Trey’s portfolio: click here for g+, SmugMug (he sells prints).
I’ve got a long way to go and a lot of images to make. But I like it that way.
