Daniel J. Mitchell wrote:
<snip>Given a limited amount of time to spend shooting, is
it better to spend that time composing one perfect shot, or taking a large
number of tentative shots and then work out which ones worked best once
they're printed?
Different things work for different people. My problem with lots of
quick shots is that I often don't remember what I did, so I can't
replicate, or avoid, it. If I take notes, it returns me to the slow,
thoughtfull mode, which is closer to my natural style anyway.
On that subject, does anyone have tips on how to evaluate the shots that
worked better/worse? I can certainly tell the photos I like from the ones I
don't like, but _why_ some are better than others is still a bit of a
mystery to me beyond the most obvious flaws.
If you make pictures to please yourself, thoughtful contemplation of
what you like and dislike in your pictures should start to clarify
things. The same exercise worked on other's pictures can also be useful.
Maybe I'm an odd one. I am often struck by the beauty of pictures in
newspapers and magazines. Rather than first seeing and reacting to the
drama in a recent picture of the religious violence in India or a huge
crash in a stock car race, I was struck by the beauty of the photographs
and their perfection in capturing the whole story in one image. I
remember a shot of 3 Afgan fighters resting in a cave that just stopped
me in my tracks. Composition, lighting, subtlety of color graduation and
texture worthy of Rembrant. It made me think of things I woud like to
add to my photographic repertoire.
If you make pictures to please others, observe how others react to your
pictures and other people's pictures. Post your pictures where they can
get responses. And read those books about how it 'should' be done.
Moose
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