How do you go from a good photograph to a great photograph? Sometimes there is no option. You get the subject you get with the light you get with the background you get and you have to make do. Sadly this happens more times then anyone would like but that is the natural of the beast. But then there are those times when you have the option where you can a little bit more picky provided you put in the little extra work.
If you’re going for that great landscape and the light sucks where you’re at and the only solution is to drive a little further, then that’s what you do. If a plane is flying by and the angle isn’t right or the background is better off to your right, then you keep walking. Being picky can be a good thing if it means that the good photograph you see can be a little better. I’ll pick on this fish shot as an example. There’s millions of fish out there. Most don’t consider them all that special until they are the dinner plate. But since we are visual storytellers seeing that visual difference between a regular fish and that little bit of better color, then taking the extra time to do a bit more shooting is worth it. That hurtle of going that little bit further is crucial if you’re going to go from a good shot to a great shot no matter what the subject matter is.
Captured with Nikon D4, 85 f1.4, SB-5000 on Lexar UDMA Digital Film