Tips for Amazing Photos

So I just came back a week in Hawaii on Oahu Island. It definitely wasn’t enough to get everything I had wanted to capture, but I did get one of the shots I had wanted to get which brings me to the topic of this video. In this post, I'm going to share some tips for taking amazing photos, which is sort of like a process? Or checklist of things to do when planning for a shot, whether it’s street photography, landscape photography, etc. I'll be explaining the reasons for why I go through this kind of process and planning and how they have actually helped me get the shots I had envisioned in my head as well as ones I didn’t even expect to get.

Let's start with the first tip, which is to do your research on where you want to shoot. This is a crucial step that can make or break your photoshoot. Before you go out to shoot, you need to know what kind of location you're going to and what kind of shots you want to capture. Researching ahead of time can help you determine the best time of day to shoot, the ideal weather conditions, and any other factors that could impact your photos. For example, if you're shooting a landscape, you might want to look up the position of the sun at different times of the day to know when the light is most favorable (or direction of the sun). Doing this kind of research can save you time and ensure that you get the best possible shots. For this particular Hawaii trip, it was this beautiful crater called the Diamond Head Crater. Before the trip even started, I had researched a couple of places that I found interesting and wanted to go to to photograph. This was one of the first places I found as it is quite a popular location to hike for tourists. While I did get photos from the hike, which is definitely something you should try if you ever go to Honolulu, I wanted to get my own photo of the crater in its entirety. I did research not only online for potential locations to shoot the crater from, but I physically tried going to locations when I was in Hawai’i to see where would be the best place to fly my drone from. After a couple of trial and errors mishaps, I ended up realizing I should be shooting near sunrise instead of near sunset because of the way the sun will hit the outer ridges of the crater as well as where the sun comes from during sunrise vs. the sunset. This is only touching the surface of the questions you can ask yourself. A couple of other ones include how you’ll get there, the cost if you need to rent transportation, restrictions for drones or the height you can fly up to, cameras, etc. if there are any, and so on.

The second tip is to pack light and bring only what you need. As a photographer, it's tempting to pack all your gear and lenses just in case you need them for whenever that situation may arise. But, overpacking can actually hinder your ability to move around and get the shots you want. Instead, pack only the gear that you know you'll use. This will not only make it easier for you to move to your location and around it, but it also makes everything less complicated. Instead of worrying about every single composition available, having limited gear will allow you to focus only on things you can capture with the gear you have. For this particular shoot, I knew I only needed a drone for the shot I wanted, but in the back of head, I was tempted to bring my camera because what if something presented itself during the shoot that I would need my camera? That might’ve held me back and distracted me from getting any additional shots with my drone, which I’ll speak more about later. This allows you to worry about what’s important rather than worrying about everything, which can be stressful. In a related topic as well, this limits the amount of things you can lose, which for me sadly, may have been my Go Pro as I wasn’t able to find in my luggage after coming back. This makes it my second lost Go Pro.

The third tip is to give yourself plenty of time to get the shot. If you're shooting a landscape, for example, take your time to explore the area, experiment with different angles from different heights, and find the perfect composition. Be patient, and don't expect to get the perfect shot on the first try. Remember, photography is all about trial and error, and the more time you give yourself, the better your chances of getting the shot you want. Talking about time though, this actually leads into my next two points.

The fourth tip is to arrive at your location 15-30 minutes earlier than you think you need to. This gives you time to get set up and prepared for the shoot. For example, if you're shooting a sunrise, you'll want to arrive at the locationa at least 30 minutes or so before golden hour (or for me, blue hour) to give yourself enough time to set up, prepare, and get in position. Arriving early also gives you a chance to scout the area and find the best spots for your shots. You’ll already know how the area is from researching previously online or scouting the location at a different time, but under different conditions, the location can be totally different. And because the conditions are totally different, you never know what you’ll run into. With this same Diamond Head shoot, I knew I wanted to wait until the sun was over the horizon enough to shine on the edges of the crater. But I still went before blue hour to see what else I could capture and also just get my drone in position to get the shot. What I found out was the sun actually rose between two mountains in the far distance and I was able to get this shot of the sun rising between them. I got a bunch of versions of this picture, but I found this shot where you can see the sun was the one I liked the most. The clouds also just added to the magical kind of feeling. Nature is unpredictable and I just happened to get lucky with this shot, but I would’ve never had that opportunity to get lucky if I hadn’t been there early.

The fifth and final tip is to stay a little longer than you think you need to. Photography is all about capturing the perfect moment, and sometimes that moment can happen when you least expect it. Staying a little longer gives you a better chance of capturing those unexpected moments. For example, if you're shooting a landscape and the light suddenly changes, you'll want to stay a little longer to capture the new lighting conditions. Or, if you're on the street and the perfect subject appears, you'll want to stay a little longer to capture the moment. Using this Diamond Head Crater shoot as an example again, The clouds had actually been blocking the sun for most of the sunrise so there wasn’t any sunlight hitting the crater for a good portion of the golden hour. I knew the sun would eventually get over the clouds, but I didn’t know how long that’d take. And by then, how long would that be? A couple of hours? I didn’t know, but I told myself just to stay for a little bit longer. At least until I could tell myself I stayed and waited. Then I wouldn’t regret anything. So as I was bringing my drone back, I noticed the sun was coming out of the clouds so I quickly flew my drone back to the same spot it had been in (thank god for DJI tracking your route of your drone), and quickly took a few photos before the sun ultimately got covered again by the clouds. That would happen for a good 10-20 minutes. And while that did cost me an additional $10 or so because of the scooter I had rented to get out there, I’m glad I did, because I was able to get the photo I had wanted of the Diamond Head Crater rather than settle for a cloudy version of the photo which I thought I was going to get because of all the clouds.

So, there you have it, my process for going out and planning for amazing photos. These tips have helped me get some amazing photos, and I hope they'll help you too.