تويت
Being a Minimalist Pays
A problem today with large parts of the world is that there seems to be too much choice. Too many cameras, too many photographers, and too many photographs.
I am certain that no one can come out with 1000 outstanding pictures from a 10 day trip. I personally am happy if I get one usable photograph in one field day. And over the course of a trip, I’d much rather take a dozen great photos than a hundred solid ones.
Choice is a spoiler. It is one reason why I am not too keen on getting into the 10 FPS zone. Selecting the best out of hundred is like finding a needle in a haystack. Also, if I cannot produce one good picture out of 10, I am certainly not going to produce one good picture out of 100.
So, the bottom line should always be quality over quantity. A bad picture is as good as not having the picture. Conserving your time, energy, and patience to plan for a few good pictures is way more productive than running around without focus.
Chimp, But Don’t Chimp Too Much
If you have not heard of chimping, it simply means reviewing your photos while you’re out in the field, but it has a negative reputation. If you chimp too much, you can miss an amazing scene in front of you.
I admit it, I am a chimp. But it all boils down to how much we chimp. Taking a look at the shot to check the exposure, focus and composition is all fine, and it can help you avoid making an error in your camera settings. But if you’re in the habit of reviewing every photo after you just took it, that is too much. Chimping after the scene is gone borders on pointless, while chimping during the height of the action is simply a bad idea. There is a bit of an art to finding which times are safe to chimp and will give you useful information for the next photo – but if you aren’t sure, keep your peeping to a minimum.
Have Enough Negative Space
It is true that most of us seek to fill as many pixels as possible with our subject. The bigger the subject in the frame, the more it will grab attention.
But negative space is also useful; it helps pull the observer’s eye into the picture. Sometimes, it attracts more attention than simply filling your frame with the subject from corner to corner.
On top of that, if you leave a bit of extra space around your subject, you can improve your chances of getting the shot even if your subject is moving erratically. Take a look at the gray heron picture below. In this case, I was close to the subject, my settings were good, and everything was ok with the picture, except the leg at the bottom is cut out:
NIKON D7000 @ 500mm, ISO 100, 1/1250, f/5.6
This one issue makes the picture unusable even though everything else is how I want.
Another reason to avoid a corner-to-corner subject has to do with lens. Even a lot of pro-grade lenses have some loss of sharpness in the extreme corners. Semi-pro lenses suffer even more. Add that to autofocus accuracy concerns – the tracking system working best with more central AF points – and it can be a recipe for imperfect sharpness if you place your subject too far off-center.
Of course, it’s always a balance. You don’t want to crop your photo too much. Again, 20% is about where I’d try to stay. But if you do feel that your subject is filling too much of the frame, I recommend pulling back to give yourself as much flexibility as possible and improve your odds of getting the shot.
A problem today with large parts of the world is that there seems to be too much choice. Too many cameras, too many photographers, and too many photographs.
I am certain that no one can come out with 1000 outstanding pictures from a 10 day trip. I personally am happy if I get one usable photograph in one field day. And over the course of a trip, I’d much rather take a dozen great photos than a hundred solid ones.
Choice is a spoiler. It is one reason why I am not too keen on getting into the 10 FPS zone. Selecting the best out of hundred is like finding a needle in a haystack. Also, if I cannot produce one good picture out of 10, I am certainly not going to produce one good picture out of 100.
So, the bottom line should always be quality over quantity. A bad picture is as good as not having the picture. Conserving your time, energy, and patience to plan for a few good pictures is way more productive than running around without focus.
Chimp, But Don’t Chimp Too Much
If you have not heard of chimping, it simply means reviewing your photos while you’re out in the field, but it has a negative reputation. If you chimp too much, you can miss an amazing scene in front of you.
I admit it, I am a chimp. But it all boils down to how much we chimp. Taking a look at the shot to check the exposure, focus and composition is all fine, and it can help you avoid making an error in your camera settings. But if you’re in the habit of reviewing every photo after you just took it, that is too much. Chimping after the scene is gone borders on pointless, while chimping during the height of the action is simply a bad idea. There is a bit of an art to finding which times are safe to chimp and will give you useful information for the next photo – but if you aren’t sure, keep your peeping to a minimum.
Have Enough Negative Space
It is true that most of us seek to fill as many pixels as possible with our subject. The bigger the subject in the frame, the more it will grab attention.
But negative space is also useful; it helps pull the observer’s eye into the picture. Sometimes, it attracts more attention than simply filling your frame with the subject from corner to corner.
On top of that, if you leave a bit of extra space around your subject, you can improve your chances of getting the shot even if your subject is moving erratically. Take a look at the gray heron picture below. In this case, I was close to the subject, my settings were good, and everything was ok with the picture, except the leg at the bottom is cut out:
NIKON D7000 @ 500mm, ISO 100, 1/1250, f/5.6This one issue makes the picture unusable even though everything else is how I want.
Another reason to avoid a corner-to-corner subject has to do with lens. Even a lot of pro-grade lenses have some loss of sharpness in the extreme corners. Semi-pro lenses suffer even more. Add that to autofocus accuracy concerns – the tracking system working best with more central AF points – and it can be a recipe for imperfect sharpness if you place your subject too far off-center.
Of course, it’s always a balance. You don’t want to crop your photo too much. Again, 20% is about where I’d try to stay. But if you do feel that your subject is filling too much of the frame, I recommend pulling back to give yourself as much flexibility as possible and improve your odds of getting the shot.
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