BE READY
The best advice I can give to you is to
always be ready. By that I mean that you should take the camera out of
its “Never Ready” case and hold it in a semi-shooting position. Then when
the photographic scene appears, all you have to do is raise the camera
to your eye and shoot. Many potentially great photographs are missed because
the photographer was not ready.
SHOOT FIRST THEN THINK ABOUT IT LATER!
Another thief of good photographs is procrastination.
If you put off shooting till later, you will sadly learn that the scene
somehow doesn’t look the same -- even buildings and statues shot at the
same clock time on a later day will look different.
ANTICIPATE
Small digital cameras are notorious for their
shutter-lag. That means there is a slight pause between the time you press the
shutter and the actual exposure taking place. To correct for this you have to
anticipate the timing of exposure and "shoot" ahead a fraction of a second. CANDID SHOTS OF PEOPLE WITHOUT EMBARRASSMENT
If you hold your camera close to your
waist with the hands in “ready” position, you can quickly place the camera
to your eye, shoot, and return the camera to the former position. As you
do this, you should have a casual expression on your face, or a friendly
smile. Most of the time, people will not be offended by such an action.
Then if you feel it is necessary, you can ask them if they mind having
their photograph taken. If you ask people if it is all right before you
photograph, you will not get natural expressions.
PREPARATION
Research the place you are traveling to -- look
at photographs of the area shot by professionals so you can get an idea of what
to photograph and the shooting viewpoint. If you don't have the time for
research, then look at postcards when you get there -- they usually show the
best viewpoints and best subjects. HAND CHECK FILM WHEN TRAVELING
Film cameras have almost become dinosaurs, but
there are a few dedicated photo die-hards that still want to shoot with film. It
is for them that this last hint applies. Always have the airport security people
check your film by hand instead of sending it through the X-ray conveyor.
It is a well know fact that airport X-rays damage the film. They will tell
you that this is not so, but I have seen it with my own eyes. It is not so
damaging to slower ISO rated films, but anything at ISO 400 or higher is in
danger.
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