Being in the right place at the right time is not just luck
but sometimes being lucky helps, usually it has taken
a lot of work and planning helping you to increase the
odds of getting that photograph you had visualized.
When planning an outdoor photography shoot a number of factors
need to be taken into consideration.
1. Location - find a location you find interesting with lots of good
subject matter to photograph.
2. Times - at sunrise and sunset or golden hour your will get the
best colours in the sky, land and sea.
3. Tide details - low tide or high tide will make a difference to the
appearance of a coastal landscape, rock
formations appearing and disappearing, areas of
sand increasing or decreasing depending on
sea water levels, this information can be accessed
on line and viewed on your mobile phone or
computer while at the planning stage of your
photo-shoot.
4. Weather forecast - cloud cover, what are the chances of rain,
wind speed, temperature, humidity there are
many weather apps for smart phones that
give very accurate weather predictions, YR
weather, SkippySky and MeteoEarth.
5. Previsit to location to identify interesting view points and pay
attention to the position of the sun rise/set for when you return.
6. Equipment - which lenses to pack, a wide angle, a medium
telephoto lens, and long telephoto lens, extra
batteries, memory cards, backup camera and
a good tripod essential for super steady shots
which will be important if you opt to bracket your
images, a small torch and a headband torch if
you are going to be at the location in near dark,
a small ground sheet always come's in handy.
7. Method of photography - your use of filters ND grads for
balancing scene exposure, graduated filters for slowing/blurring
water movement and polarisers for cutting through glare or opt
for bracketing your shots with a view to combining later
in photoshop.
8. Go online and find photo's of the location, use smart phone
apps like TPE, Photographers Ephemeris to study the angles of
the rising or setting sun or moon to visualize how a scene will
be illuminated at a particular time of day or night.
9. From theses photographs try to identify possible shooting
angles and positions, with each photograph viewed think of
how the photographer set up the shot, try to visualize where
the camera must have been placed, then try to think of ways
to improve on the original image.
10. File saving - select RAW and Jpeg, if you shoot by
bracketing your images this will leave you with six files per
scene, 3 RAW and 3 jpeg.
11. The direction of light , shoot into the light or photograph
objects illuminated by the rising or setting sun.
12. Composition - rule of thirds, golden spiral, foreground
interest, isolate objects within a scene and try to keep the
scene simple and uncluttered.
13. Clothing - it goes without saying, wear suitable clothing and
strong walking boots for the outdoors.
14. Food - remember to bring some water and sandwich in case
you get peckish.
15. First Aid - pack a small first aid kit, once while out taking some
coastal photos I sliced my finger on a sharp rock and spend
the rest of the shoot with a tissue wrapped around my finger.
On Location
When you first get to your location do not put the camera onto the tripod immediately,
take a walk around casually photographing the scene, use your phone camera,
get a feel for your surroundings, when your happy you've identified your perfect
position set the camera on your tripod and take a few photographs, review them on the
display and adjust your camera or tripod position accordingly, a better view may just
be a step or two to the left or right.
Do not look for a photograph, look for a subject, some element of the scene that
attracts you, makes you go that’s what I want to photograph. Then walk around and
look for a composition that works, look at your lighting, do I want to side light, back light
or front light, then decide on your camera settings and take the photograph, review the
photograph and adjust as necessary.
At a coastal location always keep one eye on the sea and don't get stuck surrounded by
water and unable to get back to the shore line, and remember the golden rule,
“ Never turn your back on the sea”.