How do you make the most of the time you have to photograph? I use a process I call previsualization to come home with great images almost every time I head out.
This article talks about how I use previsualization to get better images when I go out to photograph. This is important to me because I don’t have an unlimited amount of time to be photographing (actually, I have already planned more trips than I will ever be able to take, so if your like me your time is limited as well). I am sure that no matter how much time you have to be shooting, 1 day or 300 in a year, employing this technique will increase the quality of images you come home with.
To maximize my time shooting in the field, I previsualize images that I want to take, and I will sketch out basic ideas that I want to go for. Sometimes I will look at other images to see what has been taken in an area, and consider ways I can create unique images. Before I jump into the process I use, I want to give credit to storyboarding (a process commonly used by movie makers) as the primary source of inspiration for my own previsualization process.
Here are the steps I use in my previsualization process.
First of all I consider the logistics of my shoot. I layout how much time I will have, and what I will realistically be able to do on a shoot with that time where I am considering shooting. Some places are easy to get around in, and others are quite difficult. For me it is essential to consider the logistics before I seriously start the previsualizing and trip planning, I tend to try and throw way too much into a trip or shoot! I have discovered that planning for only a few important images leads to much better images and lower stress, and often I am still able to capture more images in addition to the ones I have planned for. Some images will not be possible to make in relation to others in a specific time frame due to the logistics involved. So I do some basic planning to determine how much time I have, where I can be in that time, then I will previsualize, and finish planning based on the images I have a priority to try and get.
When I get to the previsualization process I break it down into subjects I will find and hope to find in a location and consider all the ways I might photograph them. Going through the previsualization process like this I can usually get the creativity going from quite a few different angles and come up with more ideas than I would if I had just headed out cold turkey only having seen a few popular images.
Here are the main things I will consider in my previsualization process to try and come up with as many different ideas for images as possible.
- The known landmarks.
- Subject matter that I will likely and hope to encounter.
- Different Compositions that I want to make with whatever may be found in a location.
- Types of shooting techniques, like macro, and telephoto.
- Images with people in them.
A side note on previsualization; I record these previsualizations in words and actual drawings, sometimes just one or the other for an idea but often combined. The picture above is an example of how I did this for a trip to Havasupai Indian Reservation near the Grand Canyon.
Another note, these are categories of images I consider primarily as a nature photographer and these are what I will discuss here. I also do this for shooting portraiture where people are the main subject rather than things in nature. When previsualizing for portraiture I typically focus on what poses and elements of the person I want to show.
Previsualizing images with known landmarks.
I try and consider the main landmarks in a place when I am planning a trip. Landmarks are great starting points for considering what images there are to capture as well as mentally preparing for what types of physical conditions are likely to be present (forests, desert, mountains, ect.), this helps the next category’s previsualisation as well.
Subject matter that I will likely encounter.
This category is based almost entirely on what I know is there, and what I think I will find there. In Arches National Park, I will find arches. It is also a desert. There will be desert animals, and plants. There is potential for blooming flowers at some times of the year. I think about how I could incorporate these subject matter into images, for example I would love to incorporate some flowers and an arch in an image (wow, that’s a good idea I will have to record for next time…). My next trip to Zion National Park will include plans for images involving, hopefully, big horn sheep and the amazing red or white sandstone which I missed last time.
I also consider what will be the easiest to photograph here rather than elsewhere, and what I shouldn’t worry about too much because I have been able to shoot it previously.
Overall in this category I try and consider the variety of subjects I will likely come in contact with and previsualize images that they would potentially be a part of.
Different Types of compositions that I want to include in images in my collection.
There are a lot of images that I have made not based on the subject matter but on a specific type of composition. One big example is panoramas; I love them but struggle to consistently capture them. I also try and include vertical compositions that are pleasing to the eye, I don’t naturally take these so planning them out helps me to bring more home and have a more balanced image collection. So I consider the compositions I want to make and think about how the previously considered subject matter may be used to create these. Here previsualization helps me big time to be more successful.
Different shooting techniques or perspectives.
I as a photographer I know how to capture images with a variety of techniques. Sometimes I just space out on different techniques to consider in shooting situations. There is macro, HDR, panoramas, and more. Sometimes this area includes different techniques but I also try and consider different lenses and what a different lens will allow me to do in different situations. This may sound silly but there have been a few times where I later think “geez a 70-200 would have been perfect for a shot like that…wait, I carried one of those 10 miles to have it available, doh!”
Images with people in them.
I love to take pictures in nature with people in them. People make great subjects in images, but I don’t naturally take them. I always have to plan for them to come home with these images. I think about all the other images I have previsualized and consider if a similar image with a person in it would work out well. More and more I don’t need to rigorously plan these types of images because I have begun to make them a part of my routine, but I still have a while before it becomes second nature.
This process of previsualization by category is done several times so I can keep adding to what I have already thought of, and so that it really turns into a creative process in itself. This is where I turn into a painter by planning and actually sketching what I will put onto my “canvas.” I will keep my notebook with me and when an idea strikes I will write it down and sketch it out so it is clear later on what I was thinking!
After I figure out the images that I want to take I start to sift through and throw out ideas that are almost exactly the same as others. This is where I begin to focus my efforts. When I have narrowed the previsualized images down to generally unique content, I will start to order ideas by priority. This helps me to identify which 3-5 images I really want to make. These 3-5 images are the ones that will make the trip or shoot worth while. I break down all images into three categories;
- Most important – these are the images that the trip was planned for, the potential best of the best.
- Would be amazing to get – Here you find great ideas that if the opportunity presents itself will make great images.
- Try this out if I have time and opportunity – Here is my category of ideas and potential images that may not work out at all. They are ideas with potential, and may be feasible if unknowns work out how I wish.
Overall that is the process. For me there isn’t a point that it ends, but I usually mentally begin it when I first sit down and go through the entire process the first time and from there it continues. I try and sit down at least 3 times and go through all those categories and the previous ideas if it is a successive session. When I go through the process a second and third time I usually am the most creative. This creativity continues for me especially when I am actually in the place I had previsualized.
One of the biggest benefits of this process is that it gets the creative juices flowing before you get to a place. It helps you once you have reached a location to more easily and quickly be able to connect with what images will be meaningful for you to be able to make there. You will have already begun to connect with the area by previsualizing before your visit. This will also help you think outside of what is right in front of you. Having previsualized images you want to make, you won’t be as likely to waste time on things that just won’t make a great image, already knowing the better things you will find elsewhere.
For me this process also helps reduce the potential I have to get lazy and give up on shooting if I am met with disappointment in an area. Having a check list of images you want to try and get keeps you going disappointment after disappointment and will help you make at least a few good images.
Don’t stick to your list of previsualized images so hard fast that you stifle creativity when you are finally on the ground in your shooting location. To avoid this I add only a few images to the “most important” category which become a priority to try and make. The next category of “would be amazing to get” is placed on the same level of other potential creative pursuits when I am trying to decide what to do next.
Here is a short gallery of images that were only made because of this previsualization process. For me the results are worth the effort!
After all the previsualization and the obvious increase in great images captured it is important to remember that this process serves multiple purposes.
- First, it helps me focus on what images I have a priority to try and make, and reduces distraction.
- Second, it helps me to mentally prepare to capture those previsualized images, this preparation makes getting these images much easier.
- Third, it helps me to be confident that I have captured what I want in an image and I don’t need to waste time reshooting things over and over.
- Fourth, previsualizing and planning on specific images to take has led to the images I take being much better compositionally, with better color balance. I can better see what to include in an image, and what to leave out because I have spent time visualizing what I want to appear on that final canvas.
- Fifth, I have a physical checklist to see how I am doing as far as images I wanted to capture on a trip (great especially when you have the inevitable mid trip schedule readjustments)
There are probably quite a few people who do something similar to this. How about you? What do you do to maximize your shooting time? What helps you come home with the very best images on a consistent basis?
Here is an article I read a while ago that is similar to this subject, called The Art and Method of Satisfaction Management. It was by Floris Van Breugel, a photographer whose work I really enjoy. He always comes home with great images, and in the article he talked about a few different techniques he uses to maximize his satisfaction for the small amount of time he has to be out shooting.
