My five personal rules of photography

Jock Elliott

Hall of Famer
Location
Troy, NY
1. Take a camera everywhere and see what happens.

2. (corollary to number 1) The best camera is the one you have with you.

3. Content trumps everything. (There is a photo from the Newtown debacle that shows a mother and child running from the scene. Their hands are reaching for each other but are separated by a few inches. For me, it is a very moving image, but if you examine it critically, the grass behind them is in sharpest focus, not the mother and child. Nevertheless, it works.)

4. Sometimes you can't zoom with your feet. (For example, when the geese are in the middle of the pond.) Sometimes it's nice to have a big, fat zoom lens.

5. Take the picture that moves you.

What are your "rules" if any?

Cheers, Jock
 
My five rules ...

1. Take wrong camera with me.
2. Shoot pictures, then when hubby asks me, "did you get any nice pictures", say "no, I don't have the right camera".
3. Point out "right" camera in "what digital camera" magazine.
4. Flash winning smile.
5. Buy "right" camera, shoot some pictures, then go back to rule no 1.
 
My five rules ...

1. Take wrong camera with me.
2. Shoot pictures, then when hubby asks me, "did you get any nice pictures", say "no, I don't have the right camera".
3. Point out "right" camera in "what digital camera" magazine.
4. Flash winning smile.
5. Buy "right" camera, shoot some pictures, then go back to rule no 1.

Karen,

That's devious . . . and awesome!

Cheers, Jock
 
Buy gear, don't let the wife find out.

Always good advice. Patrick McManus says that when it comes to fishing rods, you should never let the better half focus on a single concrete number of how many there are . . . it should be a floating concept: "all those fishing rods."

Maybe "all those cameras . . . all those lenses" could be a concept that works for you.

Cheers, Jock
 
more rules - well actually my rules:

5) previsualize the final image before releasing the shutter;
6) fill the frame/crop in the camera (how you filled the frame/cropped in the camera is of no importance);
7) Use everything at your disposal to create/heighten/enhance the drama of the image including but not limited to, camera location and angle, lens choice, aperture choice, shutter speed choice, ISO choice;
8) Shoot to your previsualized image;
9) When all else fails follow the rules (4); and
10) 1-3 above.

G
 
I shoot things that appeal to me. I try to shoot them in a new way or from a different angle that others may see them or I process them to look different than others may see them. If what I am shooting is something commonplace, I want the viewer to say, "I've never seen that before" or "I've seen that before, but never like that".

I still shoot WAY too much (6 or 7 good shots from an hour-long walk would probably best be represented as 1 or 2 great shots). When I hear of people shooting several hundred frames in a day, I wonder if they are better at "seeing" than I am or if they are not stopping long enough to see something unique and just blasting away at their chosen subject. I understand this is a personal method of working and doesn't mean other ways are any less valid. It's just how I work.
 
1. Always carry a camera
2. Ride what ya brung - there's no such thing as the wrong camera, only the wrong attitude
3. Think, before, during and after
4. Be courteous - you are an ambassador for photography
5. Know your rights, and stand up for them

Sent from another Galaxy

Bill,

I'm going to have to "borrow" 3, 4, and 5 from you.

Cheers, Jock
 
Off the cuff, these are rules I try to follow...

* Always have a camera with you and in the moment don't worry about which one it is
* Print some of your favorite pictures, post them on black foam board and study them
* Study the work of others (there's a lot of cheap used books on Amazon or free at your local library)
* Practice, practice, practice
* Go back and look at pictures you took weeks, months, years ago
* And #6... Don't take it too seriously... have fun!
 
more rules - well actually my rules:

5) previsualize the final image before releasing the shutter;
...
8) Shoot to your previsualized image;

Not trying to be smart but genuinely curious: what does 'previsualise' convey that 'visualise' doesn't?
 
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