Pushing Possibilities

I love taking multiple images of the same subject from different angles, why? because it gives so many postprocessing possiblities for very little extra work. Ok, you could just take one image and then process that a hundred different ways but there are reasons why I like to move the camera a few feet for a slightly different composition.

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The first reason is, I don't always get the composition right first time. Because most of the time I have family with me, and although they are very understanding, there is that slight tendancy to rush and miss something distracting. This is easily remedied by taking an extra few seconds to make sure everything is how you want it, however, we're talking about different images here of the same subject not getting one composition right so, onto reason two.

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Imagine you've taken one great photo, composition is perfect, foreground interest is adding dimension and exposure is spot on. When processing the photo days, weeks or even months later you've decided to go with a minimalist high key image thats when problems may arise. Take the above two photo's on the right, one is minimalist the other more a creative long exposure. Both were taken minutes apart but convey a different feeling. There's no way that the lower photo would work as well with the same minimal processing, the foregound is too distracting, so, a slight zoom to remove the foreground and putting the pier higher in the photo gives a sense of space.

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A lot of photos taken today can all look the same, I know, I've done it myself, the same spot that a hundred other photographers have used for that classic shot. Moving around a scene and trying different views may take that classic into something more original, something that everyone else want's to copy. By all means take that shot that everyone takes its usually a great composition thats why its popular but, by exploring your surroundings for a better vantage point you may create something that stands out.

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Similar to reason three, my reason four would be to try something different in processing. We've had a quick look at the compositional difference for minimalist processing but, we can break the rules again on that classic processing definition. This can be subjective, some people will like it, some won't, some compositions will work and some won't, even with the same processing. Being bold can sometimes get you noticed above other similar images it may not be for the right reasons but even bad press is better than no press!

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A little cheat for reason five, if you enter competitions its not usual to enter the same photo, no matter how good it is, year after year. If you have those different compositions, they're not the same, just saying!

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There are probably another hundred reasons to push the possibilities of a photo shoot and a lot of photographers will already know this but, these are a few reasons for me, its about creating opportunities and maximising time.