HOT TIPS THREAD

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THIS IS A THREAD FOR HOT TIPS ONLY. I'LL START:

1. Sometimes the light is just going to be coming from the wrong direction and there's nothing you can do about it right then and there. Come back when the sun is in the other part of the sky. Lifted shadows just look fake and lame.

2. Whenever you're going to start a photo session, try to take 20 or 30 unique photos in the first five minutes or so. They don't need to be good or technically great, they just need to be unique. You probably won't even get any keepers out of it, it's just an exercise to get the creative juices flowing and to loosen up your shutter finger. When I say unique, I mean having a motif, composition, approach and statement that's different from the photos preceding it. It's not enough to just have 30 photos of 30 different mailboxes, for instance. You want to have a photo of a mailbox and a deadpan photo of a dumpster and some trees and the sky and maybe a totally out of focus photo, etc etc etc.

3. If you're doing model/fashion photography, it's also extremely helpful to have a bunch of throwaway "burn frames" in the beginning to loosen up both you and the model. Don't jump straight into the serious money poses.

4. In general, be committed to shooting a lot of photos and throwing most of them away. This is true EVEN IF YOU SHOOT FILM. Don't get married to your first shot of a scene. Work it, explore it. Let your camera hang from your side and just walk around it. If you're shooting street, sit there and observe the ebb and flow.

5. If you're walking a long distance, buy good shoes.

6. If you're nervous about shooting in public, try to own the discomfort and work with it. Inconvenience people. Set your tripod up in the middle of the sidewalk. Act like you belong. Would a TV news crew act shy? Probably not, so why should you?