Shoot Now!

I had written an article for Shutterstock a while back where I talked about shooting a scene the moment it's happening. In other words, if you're driving past a beautiful landscape scene, stop and take a picture then. Don't wait. Do it now. When? Right now. There have been countless times when I have driven past a scene and thought, "I'll stop on the way back and get that shot," only to discover that the light was different or it had begun to rain etc. So I have adopted the policy to "shoot it now." It takes just a minute or two, usually, to stop and take the picture. Pull over to the side of the road or tell your spouse, "I'll catch up in a second" and take the shot. "I'll take the picture later," can very easily turn into never.

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This was put into practice for me recently when I was on my way to pick up some items. I saw some utility workers over on the side of the road and the thought struck, "That would make a good stock image. I'll stop and shoot it on the way back." Then I thought, "No. Why not stop and shoot it now?" So I stopped, shot a poke sack full of frames and continued on my way to the store. The delay cost me maybe two minutes in total. As I returned from the store guess who I passed? No really guess. Stop guessing, I'll tell you. Three utility trucks. Count them. Three. The very ones I had photographed thirty minutes prior. If I had waited, I would have missed the shot.

How did this philosophy come about? There used to be an old barn about 100 feet from my house. While exploring the ancient building with a neighbor, I discovered a huge wasps nest that had long been abandoned. The late afternoon sun shone through a crack in the aging wall and wonderfully illuminated the nest and the rugged wood where it attached. First of all, I should have had my camera with me but, because I didn't, I should have immediately walked to my house to retrieve it. Instead I though, "That old barn will always be here. I can shoot that picture anytime." Two weeks later I looked to see a bulldozer plowing through the antique building. The moral of the story: if you see a great subject, take the picture then. A few minutes out of your busy schedule won't matter much in the long run and the rewards of the perfect image will last forever.

More to come...