Getting the Best Shot: Take Lots of Photos, But With a Purpose

I'll be honest: while I quickly grew out of the "spray and pray" phase I started my photography career in, I've still never quite bought into waiting for the precise moment when I click off that one perfect frame. This helpful video beautifully articulates why I think a philosophy somewhere in the middle is best.

Coming to you from Mitchell Kanashkevich, this video examines the pitfalls of the two extreme ends of the shooting spectrum and why a more balanced approach is probably best. Most photographers denounce the "spray and pray" method as a mindless way of going about shooting that relies more on luck than vision, but I also tend to believe that there's a such thing as going too far in the other direction. As Kanashkevich articulates, it's more about shooting with a purpose and learning to explore different angles, lighting, compositions, etc. through the viewfinder. There have often been times when I've been very sure during a shoot what "the shot" was, only to come home and stare at the collection in Lightroom and realize that I had missed something that made it a less worthy image or I simply like another photo more than I realized at the time. Had I not given myself the options, I would have been stuck with that first and only image.