Take Better Digital Pictures: Slow Down!

By Ibarionex Perello

I am almost always in a rush, even when I'm sitting down doing nothing. I'm often thinking of what lies ahead, a dozen different thoughts fighting for some elbow room inside the little space within my skull. Meditation helps a great deal in quieting the noise and providing me the breathing room to focus, but nothing really does it for me as when I go out with my DSLR camera and begin to photograph.

One of the biggest mistakes I see students make when they are photographing is that they are in such a rush. They see something interesting, something that makes them stop in their tracks and inspires them to make a photograph. And that's what they do. They make "a" photograph. And then they are eager to rush on to the next thing. They haven't even gotten started. They haven't even given themselves time to really see what they're seeing and they're off looking for the next best thing. That's no way to live a life and that is not a way to be a photographer.

Admittedly, I often have to fight the same tendency, but experience has shown me that I'm always served by sticking around a bit and exhausting as many possibilities as I can in the pursuit of taking better pictures. Though not every scene or moment can afford such leisure, when it can, I always find that it provides me the time to refine my vision, excising those things that work and building on the things that do.

Such was the case on a recent morning, when I walked out to a beautiful day with amazing light and clouds. I walked to the church that is down the street and started making images, drawn by the strong lines of the building and sky. For the next 30 minutes, I shot over a hundred images at different angles and perspectives, trying to find what image best expressed those qualities that made me stop in the first place. I even made some images that I didn't think would work, but created them anyway simply because the thought came into my head to take that picture. It might not work, but that's not a good enough reason not to make the photograph.

When I go out to photograph, that is time I'm dedicating for myself and not for anyone else. It's my gift to myself, and it's not intended to serve the needs of a client or a student or a friend. It's time that I take out of my day to practice something that I love and that provides me so much joy. So why rush it? If photography for me is ultimately about exploring and discovery - with a side benefit ending up being the production of a beautiful photograph - then why don't I just get out my own way and allow myself to enjoy the process and the moment.

So, I slow down and don't worry about the next thing or the next shot. I just stay present and raise the digital SLR camera to my eye and working on discovering something about what I'm seeing. In the end my photographs are the better for it.

More information: Learn to take better digital pictures in Ibarionex Perellos excellent online photo class: The Pursuit of Light. In addition, BetterPhoto.com's online photography school has many more courses designed to show you how to take better digital pictures.

Note: All photos copyright by Ibarionex R. Perello

Comments

[Glenn Sackett]

Thank you for this observation. Several years ago in the film era I wondered why I had published so few of my tens of thousands of images. Soon I understood the answer: Photography is a form of meditation for me. It moves me from the race for time and the race for space into timeless moments which stretch all the way from being grounded in the "here and now" to the other side of infinity.

The digital era has brought the capability of "drive by shootings" and other quick/shallow image capturing methods; while they add to the collection of usable images, they do not feed my soul. So I have to remind myself more often now to slow down and sink into the timeless moment with all its possibilities.

Thanks for the reminder.

[Kerry Drager]

Hi Glenn,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts - much appreciated!
Kerry

Kerry Drager
BetterPhoto Content Manager & Instructor