Making Pictures vs. Taking Pictures

What matters most when you are trying to get a good picture? The camera? The light? The subject? Color?

How about the mind of the photographer?

If you want to make better pictures, the first thing I can recommend is to consider your active participation in the process.

I tend to break my photos into two categories...

Snapshots

Let's say it is birthday party time, you want some photos to document the festivities and maybe something for the scrapbook. No problem, pull out the camera and blast anything that moves! If you take enough pictures, some of them will probably be fine, you will get everyone, and at the end of the day you will have a lot to look at. Nothing wrong with that, and it is easy! Unfortunately, this is what we do most and end up with positively average pictures most of the time.

This is definitely a snapshot. No thought about the distractions on the table or decapitating people in the background (sorry Julie), and overall just not a nice photo.

Canon 40D, EF-S 17-85, f4.5, 1/60, iso400, built in flash

Intentional Pictures

When taking snapshots, there are sometimes those wonderful little surprises, pictures that I really like. Taking the next step to intentional photography makes that happen a lot more often! As with most situations, it is usually wise to avoid the tendency to "shoot first, ask questions later." It may be just as simple as waiting an extra second before taking the picture, changing angles, or zooming in a bit... but you will only know if you think first about what you are trying to get.

This is a little better than a snapshot... a little consideration about the light, and zoomed in enough to minimize background distractions somewhat.

Canon 40D, EF-S 17-85, f5, 1/60, iso 200, 580ex Flash bounced off ceiling

This sounds simple enough, but when you really start thinking about the picture before you take it tends to cause more questions than answers. Having that vision in your head prior to pushing the button also allows for failure when the picture turns out nothing like you thought. It is easy to go back to just snapping away mindlessly.

Like any exercise, it does get easier with practice and knowledge, which is what this is all about. We'll cover the details as we go along.

My favorite birthday cake shot last year...

Canon 5D, 70-200, f4.5, 1/45, iso 800, off camera flash to the left of the camera for just a little fill.

Don J