Click a perfect picture

Are you one of those who have travelled extensively and still wait for the shot which can be called ‘perfect’? Try these handy tips to create magic in the frame.

Are you one of those who have travelled extensively and still wait for the shot which can be called ‘perfect’? Try these handy tips to create magic in the frame.

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Shoot from the hip. Often the subjects are not comfortable being photographed, or there just isn’t time to compose a shot. A good way to make these shots feasible is to keep walking and simply point and shoot the camera from wherever you are carrying it without lifting and aiming. This takes practice, and a wide angle lens (below 30mm).

It is essential to ensure you have enough memory, spare batteries and the right lenses for longer journeys, or a small lightweight camera for brief excursions. If you are unsure, look up pictures of your destination on the Internet and try to visualise the environment you will be going to.

Stop as often as you can to check your pictures. In areas with rapidly changing light and colour dynamics, for example, moving around a shaded market in the afternoon sun, it is all too easy to be stuck on the wrong settings and get a bunch of unusable pictures.

Keep your camera accessible. Camera stuck in the depths of your backpack may mean missing on a priceless picture. So always keep it handy.

Know when to move on.You may well miss that colourful wedding procession just around the corner if you stubbornly remain in the same place waiting for the sun to reach that perfect angle, or for that equally stubborn donkey in the corner to face you.

Arjun Jain is an avid traveller and a photographer
arjunjain999@hotmail.com