I take a practical approach to photography. To paraphrase the old saying, we don’t want to lose good photos in pursuit of perfect ones, and we shouldn’t lose opportunities because we are concerned that we may not achieve a technically perfect image. Subject matter counts, and the overall result—if pleasing and resonant—is the test. It remains subjective. Too many photography club pundits and contest judges over-fixate on the technical. Pay attention to them, but do not discard your own instincts.
For example, you may often find yourself on a bus, whether part of a tour or just getting to a place, or even as just a passenger in a car. Everything in a country foreign to you is new, and therefore potentially interesting subject matter. I was recently in Hungary and wanted to capture something of the countryside as a small group of us, on business, were traveling some distance from Budapest. Photography pundits will also you to not photograph the first thing you see, but sometimes you don’t always have the luxury of scouting.
Here is an image from Hungary’s wine country and shows one of the vineyards. While much of what we traversed was flat, there were hills breaking up the terrain from time to time. I shot generally in shutter priority with as fast a speed as I could—even if it meant not perfect exposure, since I knew I could compensate for that later in Lightroom. I kept the lens close to, but not touching the window, and the window would serve as a filter. I knew I could sharpen the image and make colors pop through appropriate adjustments. Again, I was after the subject, something that captured in an iconic way what I was seeing, and which I could not otherwise get. Not every image will be blur-free, but you can evaluate what could be successful upon proper sharpening.
Watch out for reflections in the window, but you can probably get rid of them later. Shoot towards the distance to eliminate the blur of objects closer to you. Try to shoot straight out or even slightly backwards, to eliminate the motion. And don’t worry too much if, when on the screen and in extreme close up, it is not perfect. I shoot several, and usually at least one is sharp. If not exactly sharp due to motion blur, it may be so slight that while it is visible on the screen at double the size, at normal size, whether on the screen or in print, it may well be fine. Trust your eye.
It's better to have it as a good and interesting and pleasing image, than not to have it at all because I was not sure I could render it “perfect”—whatever that means.
For example, you may often find yourself on a bus, whether part of a tour or just getting to a place, or even as just a passenger in a car. Everything in a country foreign to you is new, and therefore potentially interesting subject matter. I was recently in Hungary and wanted to capture something of the countryside as a small group of us, on business, were traveling some distance from Budapest. Photography pundits will also you to not photograph the first thing you see, but sometimes you don’t always have the luxury of scouting.
Here is an image from Hungary’s wine country and shows one of the vineyards. While much of what we traversed was flat, there were hills breaking up the terrain from time to time. I shot generally in shutter priority with as fast a speed as I could—even if it meant not perfect exposure, since I knew I could compensate for that later in Lightroom. I kept the lens close to, but not touching the window, and the window would serve as a filter. I knew I could sharpen the image and make colors pop through appropriate adjustments. Again, I was after the subject, something that captured in an iconic way what I was seeing, and which I could not otherwise get. Not every image will be blur-free, but you can evaluate what could be successful upon proper sharpening.
Watch out for reflections in the window, but you can probably get rid of them later. Shoot towards the distance to eliminate the blur of objects closer to you. Try to shoot straight out or even slightly backwards, to eliminate the motion. And don’t worry too much if, when on the screen and in extreme close up, it is not perfect. I shoot several, and usually at least one is sharp. If not exactly sharp due to motion blur, it may be so slight that while it is visible on the screen at double the size, at normal size, whether on the screen or in print, it may well be fine. Trust your eye.
It's better to have it as a good and interesting and pleasing image, than not to have it at all because I was not sure I could render it “perfect”—whatever that means.
© Steven M. Richman