The Benefits of Approaching a Shoot Without a Plan

Thomas Heaton continues to produce quality videos documenting his journeys as a landscape photographer. In this video, Heaton highlights the importance of occasionally approaching a shoot without a plan in place to keep his work interesting and to spark creativity. With this in mind, he ventures out early in the morning to a local beach to capture the sunrise and is able to come away with two amazing images.

Although I am not a landscape photographer, I enjoy watching Heaton’s videos because I learn a great deal from his technique, as well as his approach to photography. In his first shot, we see Heaton capturing the sunrise from the edge of the beach. He spends time explaining what factors he is considering when capturing the shot. He then talks about what details help determine how he chooses his location, how he uses specific techniques like focus stacking and adding filters to get the detail at each area of the image, and how he uses his phone to help determine if he has found the best composition.

For his second image, only shortly after the first, Heaton is able to capture a completely different type of image by deviating from how he would normally approach the shot. This image is a beautiful photo of the sand on the shore that details the shapes and textures of the surface. Again, he uses focus stacking and explains why he has to use this method to capture this image. By looking at the two photos, you would guess that the images were likely taken by two different photographers because of the vast differences in style. Heaton then discusses the importance for him personally to not be locked into a specific style as he continues to grow as an artist.

Levi Keplar's picture

Levi Keplar is a wedding and portrait photographer and educator. He currently owns and operates his studio, Katie & Levi Photography, with his wife and is based in the Wichita, Kansas area. He has a passion for both the technical and the business sides of photography and helping others to grow in those areas as well.

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