How do you make each click of the shutter count?

Decide Who Youre Shooting for

Sometimes I shoot photos of places and I dont really know why.

So ask yourself who your photos are for.

Are they for you?

Something to reference later on?

If so, ask yourself what it is specifically that you want to remember.

Are they for showing to your family?

If so, you might want to verify youre in a good chunk of those photos.

They dont want to see the place you went, they want to see you at that place.

Or are they for your friends or social media?

If thats the case, your photos will need some flair to draw more engagement.

The whole point of you taking photos is to tell a story only you’re free to tell.

Who is that story for?

Have a Subject and Connect

Youneeda subject.

What specifically is it that you are trying to capture in that particular moment in time?

When in doubt, he recommends you bring some humanity to your photos.

Look for storiestheyre happening all around you.

Find a local whos doing something different or unique in that space and capture it.

If you have a living subject, connect with them.

Put the camera down for a moment and have a real conversation.

You never know where that story will lead.

He suggested I develop a healthy case of FOMAS, or the fear of missing a shot.

You cant do that if youre just snapping away at some building youll never care about again.

Your goal is to show people a new perspective on something.

Remember, nobody wants to see the same wide shot of 20 buildings.

When he gets to a new spot, the first thing Ozturk looks for is people and lighting.

He also recommends you get low with your shots.

As in, set your camera on the ground and shoot from there.

It gives you a whole new perspective and foreground element to play with.

Also, you have a full range of motion to make your subjects look and feel larger than life.

Get the Lighting Just Right

When it comes to photography, lighting is everything.

Bad lighting can make the most interesting of subjects look terrible.

Your best bet is to shoot at the right time of the daylikegolden hour.

It makes photos look amazing.

you might find out when it is each day with variousonline calculatorsand apps.

Its best if you use a high f-stop for this (f-14 to f-16), says Ozturk.

Thats when the good stories are.

Thats when the good photos come.

Its about being in the right spot at the right time.

Once youre in a good spot, its time to wait for that perfect photo.

It helps tobring food and water with youso youre not always needing to run to your next meal.

You dont want to miss out on an epic photo because youre fidgeting with controls you dont understand.