Compose Then Shoot – Don’t Shoot Then Compose:
by Joseph Cristina
By
So many photographers have 20+ megapixels cameras and brag about how they now have more latitude when cropping in on a photograph. This is very true but is it really as great as it sounds?
Personally, I’m of the old school film days and have always tried to get what I wanted in the camera at the time of the shutter release and not after in the darkroom. Of course, things are much easier now within our “digital” darkrooms but still today just like years ago our photographs suffer from cropping.
Let’s look at it this way…
You have a brand new shiny 21 megapixel 5D Mark II that costs you nearly $3000. Haphazardly you take an image with your wonderful new gear and find that to compose the photograph properly you must crop-in on subject by 50%. Your final image would have a whopping grand total of 10.5 megapixels of resolution; While another photographer, taking the very same image with say 50D whom took the time to compose within the camera would end up with 50% more pixels of resolution at half the price!
Let’s keep this mind: All of the expensive Gear in the world will not make up for the Wet-Gear between our ears … It’s time we all stop worrying about the tools we use and focus on the process we use before depressing the shutter.
Joseph Cristina is a professional photographer based in West Palm Beach, Florida and has over 18 years of experience in both Photography and Graphic / Media production. Click the links below to find out more about him.
Allure Multimedia, LLC
Professional Photography & Media Creation Studio
Phone: 561-762-8968
Email: jc@alluremm.com
Webiste: http://alluremm.com
Twitter: http://twitter.com/alluremm
Facebook: http://facebook.com/joseph.cristina
Photo Credit: © 2010 Joseph Cristina
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So true and sad how many self-declared photographers with deep pockets feel the gear itself is a prime qualifier. Just need to take a glance at their work to knock this growing premise. Better gear serves to support and enhance the visual possibilities of great photographers, while boasting the egos of the self-deceived and crappy.