Back when I was taking pictures just for the fun of it, I never once thought to optimize my preparation. There was no preparation -- no shot list, no scouting, no mood board. That all changed when making pictures became my job and my livelihood.
The first thing I always say to the participants of my photography workshops is to always spend enough time in preparation. I strongly believe that in order to make a good photo, no matter the genre, you have to be prepared as best as you can.
If there is a type of photography where a great planning increases your chances of success, that’s Milky Way photography.
Your actor headshots, combined with your actor showreel, are the foundations of your actor profile. They are without a doubt a key marketing tool for your acting career. It’s important to prepare yourself in order to get the most out of your session.
Due to circumstances that are generally out of our control, not all landscape photography trips are a success, but with a bit of planning you can increase the likelihood of having a productive outdoor photo shoot. The soft morning or late afternoon light that all landscape photographers are after is generally a short-lived event and being as prepared as possible will enable you to capture it when the moment is right.
While some may think that award-winning photos are simply snapshots created at the right place and right time, there's often a huge amount of time, effort, and dedication that goes into the process. For Mexican photographer Sergio Tapiro, it was over 15 years and over 300,000 photos.
Detaching ourselves from the amount of work we've spent on something, and the end result, is a critical part of the creative creation process. Nobody cares how hard it was to create something unless it shows in a material way.
My name is Albert Dros, and I am a professional landscape photographer from the Netherlands. People often tell me that I am "in the right place at the right time." But I obviously don’t post "failed" shoots. And not only that, I also spend a great deal of time planning my shots in order to make my chances of success as high as possible.
Sometimes, when you show an image to somebody, you hear, "Oh man!… How lucky you were to catch that light there!." And yes, there is always a bit of "luck," but there are also a lot of small details that help you to be better prepared for a photo.
This photo shows what Sports Illustrated photographer Simon Bruty packed for the Rio 2016 Olympic games, the 8th Summer Games he has covered.
Thomas Heaton is quickly becoming an industry-favorite landscape photographer thanks, in large part, to the informative videos he's been creating, and his latest video is no exception. In it, he shows you how he's planning, packing, and otherwise preparing for a major landscape photography trip to the Alps.
You never know when a good photo opportunity will present itself to you. Always be prepared.
Back in the spring of 1980, Magnum photographer Bruce Davidson began to photograph the subway system in NYC for …