I’ve been out on lots of photoshoots, as I’m sure many of you have been too. But some of you are new to the experience and, hopefully, you can learn from our own experiences and shortcomings when planning an outing. Often the thought of going somewhere particular (for me it’s the Western Treatment Plant) can be very exciting with hopes and dreams of the shots you can get, but there is some preparation required first, otherwise what you hope for may just not happen! I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve come across other ‘togs’ who had a flat battery and couldn’t continue, or whose card was faulty and they didn’t have a spare, or they just hadn’t yet downloaded the shots they had on the existing card and didn’t realise they only had room for 20 more shots before it became full. Don’t let yourself become one of those people, disappointed with themselves, because they just hadn’t realised and hadn’t prepared for the big outing.
Planning for a photographic outing
When you know you’re going to be on an outing for a few hours or a full day, and that you’ll be taking a couple hundred shots at least, what do you need to prepare to be ready?
- Fully charged camera battery – or batteries if taking more than one. It would be wise to have some idea how long a battery lasts for. Some cameras have batteries that can take up to 1,000 shots, other cameras can only manage 200+ shots per battery before being fully depleted.
- Reformatted camera cards. Always wise to have more than one with you, even if the one can hold thousands of photos. Cards do and can fail. Or you might plan to take videos and that can use up space too.
- Check your settings before you leave – in case it’s not in the correct mode wanted for the days’ trip. It’s easy to forget to do this and then be disappointed you didn’t have it set right for the day’s adventure.
- Fully charged phone in case of the need to contact someone if there is an emergency or caught up somewhere.
- Check the weather forecast for where you will be visiting in case you need protective gear for your camera and yourself.
- Tripod or monopod – will you need these too?
- Make sure you pack drink and food if you’re planning to be away for several hours. Also suitable clothing and footwear for the area you are visiting.
- Prepare the night before – do not leave it till the morning of the day. So easy to forget something if there’s a last minute rush.
If necessary, having a check sheet or preparation list will ensure that your day’s adventure won’t suffer disappointments due to the lack of preparedness.
Have fun and we look forward to your shots from your next exciting outing.
Kathie Thomas
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