Thinking of taking a shot

nikon90s · Jan 3, 2005

I have been looking over some shots here and reading the comments about them when it came to me that there so many things that one needs to think about when making a shot that the fun can be sucked right out of photography. I know when I comment on a shot I try and be objective but find myself talking about how it could have been better. Also I have posted some shots that I was really proud of and have had others do the same. Now I am not saying that I only post great shots that could not be any better. How many things do you need to think about to get a really great shot and thought it might be fun to see what others think about when taking a photo.

Some things I think about:
DOF
Rule of 1/3
Leading lines
Lighting
Shutter Speed
Framing
If I should use a tripod or Not
What lens I should use

That is all I can think of now but I know you all will help me out :eyebrows:

Now that I have a little list going I must tell you that most of the time I find myself just thinking about 2 to 3 of them when I am taking a shot and totally forgetting the others. I was thinking of taking a list with me just to get me thinking of some of the others.

doxx · Jan 4, 2005

Some things I think about:
DOF - naturally
Rule of 1/3 - composition, except for hipshots
Leading lines - composition, except for hipshots
Lighting - oftentimes
Shutter Speed - yepp
Framing - composition, except for hipshots
If I should use a tripod or Not - almost never
What lens I should use - prefer the 35mm or the 50mm

Some things I think about (added):
subject matter - do I have a theme?
color or b/w - mostly b/w
film speed - mostly Tri-X @1600
use of artificial light - only in the studio
which camera(s) to carry - bah, always a headache,
then again, I prefer the M6
filter - red or yellow?
how much film to carry - 1-2 rolls per hour of shooting
bag or not - mostly one camera, one lens - no bag
if color - print or slide film?
if b/w - which developer to use (depending on film speed)[/i]

Christie Photo · Jan 7, 2005

All of this is important. But remember, photography is really a comination of art and science. We sometimes get caught up in the technical aspects. I think it's best to begin with the art aspect of an image... the composition.... what will I include in the image. We have control over this. Components like subject, placement, colors, etc. And, cosider how the photo is meant to "perform." What is it's purpose? Once you decide just what it is that you want to create, then you can decide how best to make it. It's a cart/horse thing.

Good luck! And, always, have fun!

nikon90s · Jan 9, 2005

Christie Photo said:
All of this is important. But remember, photography is really a comination of art and science. We sometimes get caught up in the technical aspects. I think it's best to begin with the art aspect of an image... the composition.... what will I include in the image. We have control over this. Components like subject, placement, colors, etc. And, cosider how the photo is meant to "perform." What is it's purpose? Once you decide just what it is that you want to create, then you can decide how best to make it. It's a cart/horse thing.

Good luck! And, always, have fun!

I know photography is a combination of art and science. But I wanted to know what you thought about before taking a shot. That too is a combination of art and science. If you only look at the art side your shot will fall short of what you want. So my question was what you think about before taking a shot, not just the art side or just the science side of the process. If you look back at the first post you will see that what "I" think about has both art and science aspects to it. I really don't think you got what I was saying...