Energizer Ultimate Photo Contest 2009

1. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #1 Move, Don't Zoom

   

   Don't get me wrong. I love zoom lenses and carry them all the time. But it's all too easy to succumb to their charms, and then we use the zoom ring when we should use our feet. Nothing improves pictures like moving around and finding a better angle. These charming ducklings in Cornwall are a pretty good example. My first shots were looking down on them, zoomed in tight. Then I kicked myself into creative gear and started moving around. Soon I found I could set the camera on the quay, zoomed back to wide angle, and move in really close. Suddenly it was a much more interesting picture, with the village houses filling the background and momma duck eyeing me with suspicion.

    

2. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #2 Add Some Light

   

   Photography is light. It's a truism but it's a very good truism. So don't be afraid to add a little light to your pictures once in a while when nature hasn't quite provided everything you need. This Buddhist Temple in Lhasa, Tibet, is a good example. Everything about the scene was nice, the golden roofs glinting in the sun, but the colorful prayer flags were in deep dark shadows. This was a perfect opportunity to pop a little flash into the scene, lighting up the flags just enough. (You'll need to know how to adjust your flash exposure compensation, which is why you always read the instruction manual, right?) Besides a flash unit, I carry a small flashlight in my bag, which can come in very handy for lighting small objects.

    

3. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #3 Explore the Night

   

   Digital cameras can just about see in the dark. They're amazing, and exploring what they can do not only makes great pictures, it's a lot of fun. Suddenly we don't have to put away our cameras when the sun goes down (or resort to dull flash shots, either). When I was in Provence last year I fell in love with the Roman coliseum in Arles. The day had been cloudy and gray, the pictures pretty ordinary. But as evening fell and the lights came on, the place came to life. The fading blue sky balances out with the street lights perfectly. Couples on their evening stroll probably thought I was weird, lying there on the ground, but I was happy.

    

4. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #4 Wait for Moments, Anticipate Action

   

   It was 2:15—in the morning!—when the captain came over the intercom on the National Geographic Endeavour cruising the Arctic with the news we had all been waiting for—they had spotted a polar bear out on the ice. The moment had come, finally! Waiting for the right moment is an essential part of making great pictures. The ice floes in Svalbard were beautiful, but the bear made the picture. When that moment comes, it's time to turn up your ambition. Don't be satisfied with a static picture. The bear's leap elevated the picture. Getting it depended on being ready with my motor-drive camera, shooting right through the action with the motor drive going, then picking just the moment later. Look, I'll tell you honestly, great action pictures and perfect moments almost never come from seeing something and grabbing a camera. They come because the photographer anticipated the action and was ready.

    

5. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #5 Experiment in Advance

   

   The photo experiments that pros use to make really unexpected images take practice. If you see a stunning image and wonder how the photographer did it, there are two answers. One is the technical part, but the real trick is this: they probably developed and practiced the technique back home before they ever went in the field. For example, I had done pictures back in our kitchen with the sink sprayer to see what running water would look like if it was totally stopped in the picture. A small flash will do that because of the very short flash exposure time. So when I got to the coast of Cornwall one evening I already knew how to stop the water and where to put the flash. What I hadn't learned yet, however, was just how wet I was going to get. But the way the crashing waves are revealed made it all worthwhile.

    

6. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #6 Weather and Light Are Worth the Wait

   

   Machu Picchu lives up to its billing! What a magical place (and what a wonderful morning I had there.) But I'll be honest, the kind of weather and light I had for this picture doesn't happen all the time. So I fell back on a photo technique I use a lot: stubborn doggedness. I just set up my camera in one location and waited it out. Light changed, shafts of light came through the clouds, fog that totally blotted out the scene came and went, clouds gathered and dissipated, and still I hung on—for three hours. One spot, never moving, just standing there waiting. In the end this scene, as you see it, lasted for about 30 seconds.

    

7. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #7 Lighten Up!

   

   "Lighten up" is advice I give to other photographers and advice that I have to remind myself about all the time. And I mean it in two ways. First, there are plenty of times when having less equipment is a big, big advantage. Going into the Cafe Royale with my friend Jim I was glad to have just one camera and lens. (What was I going to do with a big telephoto here anyway?) Just getting around in the crowded pub was much easier, and I didn't have to wrestle with my big bag. Second (and sometimes more important), I mean really lighten up: Have some fun! The only way your pictures are going to convey the great, rollicking nature of the place is if you join in the general hilarity. So have a good time and your pictures will probably be better, too.

    

8. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #8 Explore Reflections

   

   Reflections are fun; it's just that simple. I love photographing still lakes with mountains reflected at sunset, obviously. But reflections are all around us, ready tools we can use to add flavor and texture to our photographs. This museum in Marrakech had a grand central pool that let me double up on the ornate Islamic architecture, with the added bonus that I also got the pattern of the tiles in the pool's bottom. My bonus trick is to get the camera right down to water level (but still dry) where the reflections are most symmetrical. Look around for other reflections like buildings reflected in shiny car tops, mirrors in historic museums, oddly distorted reflections in silver tea sets, whatever. Looking is the essence of photography.

    

9. Top Ten Photo Tips

   #9 Frame It Up

   

   Frames announce that something is special. Pay attention, they say. Certainly the Taj Mahal doesn't need fanfare to proclaim its grace, elegance, and grandeur. It's tough to take a bad picture of this monument to devotion. But then my Indian photo guide said he wanted to show me something and took me inside the mosque to a spot where the magnificent white marble tribute was perfectly framed. He was right! It added depth and context to the picture. Using frames in photography often do just that, they let us step back and draw attention to something in a more subtle way (without “shouting”). Some frames are perfectly overt, like this one, and some are very subtle, hardly frames at all. But, done well, they add depth and meaning.

    

10. Top Ten Photo Tips

    #10 Find Better Subjects

    

    I often tell photography students one simple truth: If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff. I confess, I'm a better photographer standing in front of the Grand Canyon than I am when I standing in front of a car wash! (My apologies here to the great car wash photographers of the world. I'm not one of them.) So one of my tricks is finding better subjects. I do a lot of research before I ever leave home, reading books, searching the Internet, trying to arm myself with great locations and interesting photo opportunities. (You should see my maps all marked up!) It is this simple: No amount of knob turning will make up for a boring subject.

     

Jim's Top Ten Photography Tips

1. 1

   Move, Don't Zoom

2. 2

   Add Some Light

3. 3

   Explore the Night

4. 4

   Wait for Moments, Anticipate Action

5. 5

   Experiment in Advance

6. 6

   Weather and Light Are Worth the Wait

7. 7

   Lighten Up!

8. 8

   Explore Reflections

9. 9

   Frame It Up

10. 10

    Find Better Subjects