Take One Good Shot

Instead of 150 pointless ones.

The amount of time you will save in post-processing - and the money you'll save for travel, doughnuts, and penicillin injections - over the year will amaze you. People will stop you in the street and beg you for your autograph - on cheques.

The One Good Shot - hereafter referred to as OGS - can be the one that has the most artistry, the most emotion, the most colour, or the most action. It really depends on whoever is wielding the criterion at the time. That could be an editor, judge, client, or club pest.

Make it your own decision, and you gain a lot more control over your photography, not to say your own tranquillity. There's a practical way to do this:

a. Decide what you want. Really. Do you want colour? Do you want action? Do you want emotion? Do you want a doughnut?

Pick one overarching thing about the photo that you are going after and let that guide you toward getting it. If you decide on the doughnut, ask for extra cinnamon.

b. Think up where to get it. Not every photo is in every place. - sometimes you have to travel to get it. If you really want to get a knockout photo of Turtle Mountain and the Frank Slide, you can't get it from Western Australia - you need to go to Alberta.

c. Reflect on why you want the picture. This'll cycle back to what you want in (a) and may modify it. If you want a picture for good reasons you can make a good one - if it is for bad reasons, you'll get that too.

d. Decide right now where the picture will be going. Print, screen, poster, side of bus? That's going to tell you what to use to take it, how much time to work on it, and roughly what result to expect.

e. Will you get paid for it? Will you pay out to take it? Is it within your means - can it be done with the gear you have and the knowledge you possess right now? Always good if this is the case...

Okay - you're armed with self-knowledge and a plan. At this point you can conquer the world and make the image you want in very few shots. You are focused and it's been done mentally as well as manually - and hopefully at very little cost.

Now go out and get that doughnut.