Photography is an Activity, Get Up and Explore!

Last Updated on February 12, 2024 by Travelationship

In this post for Maynard’s photography tips, we will discuss exploring a subject. There are plenty of times when our first shot is not the best, so we must learn that it’s okay to shoot your subject from multiple angles and vantage points. This is what’s great about digital photography: you have nearly limitless film. When I first learned photography with a film camera, you had ten exposures or 24 exposures, and you treated each one as if it were your last.

I remember walking around looking for things to take photos of and then pausing and asking myself if it was worth one of my precious frames; thankfully, those days are over. The point is that it’s okay to experiment. Hell, it is encouraged. If you need a refresher or you missed either of the first two articles, you can check out the one regarding manual controls here, and taking your composition by the reins here.

Getting Active with Photography

I have noticed that there is a photo stance these days, with your camera held at eye level about 8 inches from your face, standing straight up. Don’t get me wrong, plenty of great photos have been taken from this position. What is great about being a photographer is this is your chance to interact with your surroundings, with people, and with your subject. Let’s learn how to have fun with photography by making it an activity. Photography is an active hobby, so let’s be active!

Take Control of Your Photos

One of the easiest things to do is change that photography stance. Try putting that camera up as high as you can reach and take the shot, or kneel and change the perspective altogether. Let’s practice. Take that first photo in the natural stance, then take three more photos and force yourself to do something different, to look at it from a different angle. Then compare those photos and see what you think. Maybe the straightforward shot is the best one for that subject, and maybe it’s not. As we discussed in our composition article, think about what caught your eye, and then think about the best way to showcase that thing.

Photography Requires Practice

For my example, I took some photos of a car I found while walking in an alley close to our house. It’s a stationary object in a space I have no control over. It became my mission to move around and figure out the best way to capture it. I spent about 10 minutes walking around the car and trying to take different photos from alternate vantage points to see if there was something hidden there waiting to be discovered. Some of the subtle differences between your photographs may not be apparent on that 3-inch screen on your camera. Still, when you look at them later on your computer, I think you will notice some fundamental differences.

You might not get 10 minutes alone with every subject; sometimes, you may only have a few seconds to take a photo, and the purpose of this exercise is to get you to take the best picture with whatever time you have. So go out there, explore, experiment, and have fun!

Let us know in the comments how your experiments went.