“Stop and take your time to notice things and make those things you notice matter.”- Cecelia Ahern
Often times many people think that when it comes to the art of the photography, all it takes is point and shoot. While that is a very important step in photography, there is a lot more to it than that. First, you have to know what you are pointing at. Sometimes I look at photos that some people take, and I ask myself “what’s the subject?” When we aim the camera, we have to know what is being aimed at. I never will forget a lesson I learned while reading one of my first photography books, it said that we have to remember what we see in the frame is what we see in the photo. While that might sound very basic, it’s true. Whenever I aim to take a photo I try to consider everything that I am seeing in the shot with the assumption that it cannot be removed during post. Second, lighting and shadows are very important to pay attention to. No one wants a shadow to cover a large portion of the subject, and we want the light to be in all of the right places.
Last week I finally finished going through all of the photos I took when we went to South Mountains State Park on vacation in mid-June. It had taken me several weeks to go through all of them for a couple of reasons. One, I had been busy with family and completing projects around the house. Two, I had taken over 150 photos, and I needed to go through all of them. For me, post typically involves me working with the .raw format, adjusting the lighting, potentially removing an object from the photograph, and placing my water mark on the photo I took. I used to rush the process in order to get new content out as soon as possible, but I learned that when I take my time, my photos look way better. Here are some lessons I have learned about the post process.
It takes a lot of work to take photos. I don’t want to waste that hard work on my putting out my best.
Set up a time where you focus on post. It might be a particular day. For me it is when it is raining outside. I love spending time in nature, but if it’s raining, I typically stay inside.
Make sure you have a work area ready to go. I typically work in my living room. I usually have some background noise going. It could be music or a movie I have seen before. Make sure your work area works for you.
It’s okay to delete photos you have taken. There are some that don’t work out, and that’s okay.
Remember the pictures you take are amazing. Take your time with them, and bring out the best.
I hope these words of advice are helpful. Share yours in the comments or send them to me on a DM on Instagram.
Through Griffin's Lens 
Good blog post on post. Post can turn a good photo into a great photo by straightening, cropping out unwanted background and adjusting brightness and contrast. I usually limit myself to that. Many like to say that there photos were taken with no filters and that is great. I don’t use filters either, but I do adjust in post. Cheers. Allan
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I use filters on my camera on occasion, but it’s usually to capture waterfalls. The only time I use a filter in post is when I want to see what a photo would like in black and white. Post also gives me that one last look at something before I post it.
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Great post! I still remember having to send the film in to get it developed only to find that several weren’t worth printing.
Most people think we just point and shoot and they have no idea what the elements of composition are. I look at various camera angles, lighting, shadows etc. before I ever snap the pic. Sometimes I will take the same pic over 5 or 6 times with 5 minutes between each shot and it can make all the difference in the world.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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I had to explain to my kids once about how you had to wait on a photo to be developed in order to see how it turned out. They looked at me like I was insane 😂. Thanks for sharing about looking at the different angles. I think that’s a benefit of revisiting somewhere for the second time or beyond. You know what to expect, and it allows you to plan a little before heading out.
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