[monkeyleader]

So agian I found myself over the weekend struggling for a bit of inspiration (of course the weather and a monster hangover on Sunday didn't help matters)

I think it's time to re-think my strategy for weekend shoots - do a bit more planning, decide before time where I'm going to shoot, the kinda things I'm after. I also think taking some notes while I'm at a location could be good - remind me to go back there at a different time of year / day / weather ..

Just wondering how you guys plan you photo shoots - is it just a case of picking up and camera and heading out or do you plan.

Speaking with one of the guys at our Cambridge Flickr Social meet last week I was saying how the coast around here was a bit flat and boring. His instant reply was he thought the same until he looked at google earth and did some research around the subject.

cheers,

Nige

PS: did anyone else get the cracking sunrise this morning - I maanged to get myself out and about nice and early - hoping the shots came out okay !

[rrfierce]

The weather is the main influence when i decided to take some pics.

Also i start work at 7:30 and finish at 4:30, so i'm at that point when i miss both sunrise and sunset. very annoying!

[T0MAT01]

Originally Posted by monkeyleader

...decide before time where I'm going to shoot, the kinda things I'm after.

The only planning I do is to decide where I heading (and at what time of day) and then when I get there I guess you could call it planning in that I choose which lens to use.
I don't think I'd recommend deciding beforehand what sort of shots you're after as I think it'd take some of the fun out of doing the best you can as soon as you see an opportunity (if that makes sense?!!).

Planning your day will obviously help - the weather is a big factor so I check the forecast a couple of times before deciding whether I have to look for something indoors.

I'm sure we all go through phases where we get a lower keeper rate than we'd like. The last time I went out I only got 2 or 3 that I was chuffed with and they were pretty much the first and last shots I took that day, the stuff in between was pretty bland if I'm honest.

I find the worst days are those when my mind is not really on it but I suppose that stands to reason. Another thing I've found is that I've pretty much exhausted the all local areas and so that doesn't make things any easier but you can always look to places like flickr for a bit of inspiration if needed.

Anyway, I thought you were supposed to be taking photos of the weather...