When to take a picture?

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JaackBrown

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Jack
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I've always enjoyed taking beautiful photos, and now I've gotten into photography, I want to know when too... I can't explain this well, but most of the photos I take, I think are pretty boring, my friends say they are good but I dont know.. How do you know when to take a great shot?
 
Now if I knew that all my shot's would be great :lol: :lol: :lol:

It's a difficult one to answer really, what do you enjoy taking pictures of, if it's landscapes then sunrise and sunset are always winning times of the day, if portraiture is you interest then night light can still come into play of course unless your talking studio stuff in which case your normally totally responsible for the light on the shoot...

so what is it that interests you then maybe we can give you an idea :thumbs: though friends if I'm honest are usually useless as telling you if you've really shot a great photo, as they don't want to offend you if it really isn't that good or frankly most of the time don't know a good photo when they see one....I'm somewhat lucky I've got a hell of a lot of photographers on my facebook so they'll normally be totally honest with my photos :D

I'd say your best bet is to post your photo's on the forum for some full and honest critique, it's by and far the best way to learn, I've developed so much as a photographer since joining this very forum :thumbs:

Matt
MWHCVT
 
Take your time, think, compose.
 
One thing I've learned over the years is that the photos are only good when you believe they are, adding a bit of Bokeh will make people think it's an amazing shot but then it's down to the composition, you need to be at the point of squinting when walking to the Co op to get some milk and think that will be a great shot etc :)
Time will have great effect and it won't be long before you're on the track to some cracking shots :)

My biggest bit of advice is just get out and do it, I sit here now at 23:55 on a forum when I could be outside with a 10-20mm taking starscapes (hint hint)
 
kendo1 said:
Take your time, think, compose.
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^this.

There are loads of ways of working though. NO one way is the right way.

I work on a project basis... whereby I never really walk aroud with a camera at all. I don't "go out shooting". I plan a project, based on something that interests me. I research it.. I make contacts with the people I need, find locations etc... I do visual research... keep a log book/journal.. then I shoot, test, evaluate, reshoot, develop... sometimes I'm on a project for weeks, or months at a time.

That's my personal work though... you can't work like that for a living.

That may not be to everyone's style, but it works for me, and you end up with a series of images on a theme or subject, and these tend to be of more interest to the viewer.


If you like to walk around, then obviously there's a great deal of luck involved, but really slow down.. compose well... take risks too!! Visual risks.. not hanging off buildings or anything :) Try to find ways to shoot things differently. Avoid clichés, and work the image... shoot from every conceivable angle.. test what works and what doesn't. Just don't do the first obvious thing that comes to mind.
 
JaackBrown said:
I've always enjoyed taking beautiful photos, and now I've gotten into photography, I want to know when too... I can't explain this well, but most of the photos I take, I think are pretty boring, my friends say they are good but I dont know.. How do you know when to take a great shot?
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You never know "when " to take a good shot presuming you mean something a bit different. It depends on what you are taking a photo of, wildlife for example could mean waiting and still nothing happening.
The real test is first of all are you satisfied with the photo, you are your own hardest critic if you care about what you take, and secondly if others like your work as well.

No one is going to show their worst photos anyway so trying to do a comparison of shown photos only gives an indication of what can be achieved.


Realspeed
 
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For walk around photography sometimes the subject can be interesting or unusual enough to make a good image if composed well, so it's worth looking out for them.

But saying that and from a personal point of view I'm always on the lookout for light rather than subject.

Even the most mundane of subjects from a twig to a bench can be transformed into something special when the light hits it in a certain way, you just have to be aware of it.:)
 
JaackBrown said:
I've always enjoyed taking beautiful photos, and now I've gotten into photography, I want to know when too... I can't explain this well, but most of the photos I take, I think are pretty boring, my friends say they are good but I dont know.. How do you know when to take a great shot?
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Watch this.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpHMuK7Htic

:)
 
I watched it.

All I saw there was someone using photoshop to make an average image a little less average. Photoshoping people out when there's only 2 people there? Just wait for them to move Scott!!... Photoshopping a broken floor tile? With that lens, it was probably 2 fee away Scott... move forward!

I agreed with was working the image though... trying every angle, direction etc.
 
I feel it is three things.
#1 The moment (this means waiting and/or being very observant)
#2 Light (for available light this will mean being at the locations and/or chantging your position. Or you may need to control the light). Sometimes you can get lucky.
#3 Technical quality (sometimes, depending on image content, it may not be all that relevent).

+1 on working a subject and being patient.
 
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Pookeyhead said:
If you like to walk around, then obviously there's a great deal of luck involved, but really slow down.. compose well... take risks too!! Visual risks.. not hanging off buildings or anything :) Try to find ways to shoot things differently. Avoid clichés, and work the image... shoot from every conceivable angle.. test what works and what doesn't. Just don't do the first obvious thing that comes to mind.
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This is probably where I often fall down ... see something interesting and shoot, then go home and find a tree coming out of a head or something similar and I end up thinking, "how on earth didn't I see that in the viewfinder?"!
 
gramps said:
This is probably where I often fall down ... see something interesting and shoot, then go home and find a tree coming out of a head or something similar and I end up thinking, "how on earth didn't I see that in the viewfinder?"!
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I notice you struck through avoid clichés :) Isn't a tree out of someone's head a cliché? My advice will help you avoid clichés. You need to get over that street photography thread :)

The problem is, when you look through the viewfinder, you need to slow down, and stop looking at the SUBJECT... instead imagine you are looking at a print. Look around... edge to edge... study it. Unless you shooting a football match or something, you have time... there's no rush. Try every conceivable angle, shoot from every direction.. work the image.
 
Pookeyhead said:
I notice you struck through avoid clichés :) Isn't a tree out of someone's head a cliché? My advice will help you avoid clichés. You need to get over that street photography thread :)
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David I will never stop taking images of people on benches or street entertainers and the like - when I go out with my camera it's to take pictures not to start out on a 3-month project!

Pookeyhead said:
The problem is, when you look through the viewfinder, you need to slow down, and stop looking at the SUBJECT... instead imagine you are looking at a print. Look around... edge to edge... study it. Unless you shooting a football match or something, you have time... there's no rush. Try every conceivable angle, shoot from every direction.. work the image.
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I do agree with this and assure you that I will, in the future, approach the people on benches with a lot more thought and consideration ... can't be fairer than that can I? :D
 
gramps said:
David I will never stop taking images of people on benches or street entertainers and the like
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Fine.. but this isn't "that" thread.... I found it amusing you felt the need to strike though the bit in my quote about clichés. If you want to take them, go for it... I will continue to advise people to avoid them whenever the subject comes up :)


gramps said:
I do agree with this and assure you that I will, in the future, approach the people on benches with a lot more thought and consideration ... can't be fairer than that can I? :D
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Nope. What is in your viewfinder that you don't notice when taking, will still be there when you get home.... and you will notice it. If you are indeed just taking images of people on benches... then they're not going anywhere... take your time.
 
Pookeyhead said:
If you are indeed just taking images of people on benches... then they're not going anywhere... take your time.
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Sometimes there's no bench :D


Caption-1.jpg
 
GASP!
 
JaackBrown said:
I've always enjoyed taking beautiful photos, and now I've gotten into photography, I want to know when too... I can't explain this well, but most of the photos I take, I think are pretty boring, my friends say they are good but I dont know.. How do you know when to take a great shot?
Click to expand...

Going back to this....

One thing I have to do is put my images away for a few months, only when the memory of taking the image and the surroundings have started to fade, can I go back and look at them objectively.

It drives my GF nuts, because often (if they were taken with her in tow) she wants to see the images and get some of them onto Facebook.
 
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