Do you shoot from shot lists? If you are a commercia
l or wedding photographer, there is a good chance that you answered yes. But what about travel photographers or those of us who like to shoot our family vacations? While it is natural to make a shot list for a product shoot or to be sure you get certain shots for a wedding, we sometimes do not think about a shot list for our travels.
But renowned travel photographer and speaker Ralph Velasco recommends the use of a shot list to assure that you get a well-rounded set of images. That is the inspiration for his iPhone and iPad application called My Shot Lists for Travel. Ralph was kind enough to send me a free coupon code for this 99 cent application as I was getting ready to leave for a quick Thanksgiving trip to the beach, so I decided to give it a try.
The app comes preloaded with a number of trips, including city, national park, safari, and town or village. You can select one and find a customizable shot list. Since beach was not a preset selection, I copied national park and added a couple of categories to make it fit my destination. The app is fully customizable so you can add your own destinations to fit your travels.
Each category gives you information and inspiration about how to think about your shots. For instance, the color category talks about using color to add impact to an image and how some colors tend to fit certain locations. The recreation category encourages you to “capture scenes of leisure activities to show what keeps the people engaged in their free time.” With that inspiration, I took the shot to the right with my iPhone to show a surfer contemplating the waves before heading back into the water.
You can add your photos to the shot lists and add notes so that you can refer back to your notes at a later date. This allows you to track your progress.
I have never thought much about a shot list for travel photos, but after trying this app I am sold on the concept. As I mature as a photographer I find myself thinking more about each shot rather than just “running and gunning” as I once did. This app makes me think of Ansel Adam’s philosophy, which was to make pictures rather than just take pictures. This app is a good tool to help to train yourself do just that.
So download the app, take a trip and try it out.
All the best…Mike
P.S. I know this is not a travel site, but I would be amiss if I didn’t take an opportunity to recommend one of our favorite beaches. The Alabama Gulf Coast, along with its neighboring communities in Mississippi and the Florida panhandle have been adversely impacted over the past few years by hurricanes, tropical storms, and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill of 2010. However, the towns along the coast have rebuilt and the beach is now in great shape. Check it out!
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A college administrator by profession, Mike Kennamer enjoys the opportunity to take photos and improve his skills by shooting events at work, church, and for friends. He enjoys landscape photography, portraiture and is starting to dabble in HDR. His current photography project involves learning to control flash manually. “My goal”, according to Kennamer, “is to be the best photographer I can be.”
Kennamer is also the President of Kennamer Media Group, Inc., a provider of traditional and online media, specializing in the healthcare industry. On CurrentPhotographer.com he writes about iPhone and iPad applications for photographers.