One of the best ways to capture a great image is to slow down and actually think about what you are doing. By simply pointing and shooting you not only risk the possibility of camera shake and movement blur, but you also miss other opportunities to enhance your photographic creativity.
After all, what is the point of simply seeing and snapping a picture with your digital camera. Some models have shutter lag in any case, which will meant that the image you expected to capture is different to the one which ends up on the memory card. What is so wrong with thinking first before you shoot?
We live in times of great speed and activity. Our cars go faster on the roads that are built to gets us there quicker. Time has to be filled, it seems, lest it is wasted. Everything has to be done now. Things cant wait.
But, in photography, they can. Unless, that is, you are dealing with split-second occurrences which are unlikely to manifest themselves again.
By stopping and thinking, you can begin to create that image in your mind before you even consider pressing the shutter release. What are you trying to achieve? Who are the audience? What can YOU add to the image before you take the photo?
In this way you will begin to think of composition, angles of view, viewpoints, backgrounds, depth of field and shutter speeds.
Eric Hartwell runs the photography resource site http://www.theshutter.co.uk and the associated discussion forums as well as the regular weblog at http://thephotographysite.blogspot.com
