Indigo Photographers McDonough Ga.
(Sunrise over the Grand Ole Opry at Imaging USA)
One of the differences between a professional and an amateur photographer is that a professional knows when NOT to shoot.
Just because you have a camera, and you ended up at place XYZ, doesn’t mean you need to make a photograph.
Sometimes, the light just sucks. Sometimes, you have the wrong subject. Sometimes the background just won’t work. When it isn’t working. STOP! Reset. Reframe. Start over. Go somewhere else. Try something else. Shoot something else. Take a break. Read a book. Have a beverage.
Then, take a deep breath and live to fight another day.
When I first started shooting seriously, I was of the belief that I might as well shoot SOMETHING, every time I went out with my gear. That didn’t serve me well. We shot slides back in those days and we had an expression: “The slides won’t get any better sitting in the drawer.”
Sometimes it’s okay NOT to shoot. Really.
-Scott Bourne@photofocus.com
