Whether you’re a landscape photographer, street photographer, or something more niche, there are best practices for all photographers. Here are five things every outdoor photographer ought to do.
We have all made embarrassing mistakes when it comes to photography. In the early days of my time with a camera in my hands, almost all of my errors could be traced back to a lack of planning. In this video, James Popsys goes through five things he thinks every outdoor photographer should do, though it applies to most genres. The one that resonated with me the most — for reasons just explained — is preparation.
I’ve never had a horror story in any paid job when it comes to preparation — perhaps I’m more careful with those, or perhaps it’s because I didn’t take paid work on until later in my photographer life — but I’ve had a few in personal shooting. I’ve traveled two hours to an interesting and relatively unknown location, only to find my card was still in my card reader. I’ve set out for a well-planned shoot with a camera I was reviewing to photograph a steam train at sunrise, only to arrive and realize as I waited for the moment that I had taken the battery out to write down its spec. I have gone out at 3 am to take some astrophotography images, only to find when I’m sitting shivering in the dewy grass that I hadn’t packed my tripod quick-release plate.
All of these mistakes were made reasonably early on for me, and that might have been for the best as I now prepare to a bizarre degree. But if I were to highlight the most important moves outdoor photographers ought to make, it is careful and thorough preparation.