Shoot first, think later. Or not?

I shoot a lot of slide film in meterless cameras, so it's almost impossible to shoot without thinking in those instances. Much easier to shoot b&w without thinking. But I'm in general a slow, deliberate shooter, and I rarely expose more than one image of a scene/subject.
 
What I love about using meterless manual cameras is that they get me one step closer to thinking *before*.


I can't just raise the camera and take a shot. I have to think about what kind of shot or maybe what two or three types of shots i might want to take in a particular environment, try to guess where the subject might be (if not stationary) and determine the right exposure for the environment and potential subjects (DOF ammount, motion blur, etc). It take a a little time ahead of the shooting, but after that, I'm so focused on the scenario, or scenarios that I've anticipated, that I rarely fail to capture them.

Am I missing potential shots while I'm preparing? Yes, but then again, no. I choose to think like Winogrand, who claimed there were no pictures happening while he was reloading his camera.
 
OurManInTangier said:
In my experience, in terms of street type shots, I find shooting first and thinking later often gets you 'the' shot but thinking moments after that initial shot may lead to a far better shot. Do they have to be exclusive of one another?
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this.

Sparrow said:
... I don't always think later actually
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and this.


i think everybody who shoots "candid" (i hate that word) stuff has missed a few shots because of considering things rather than doing them, no?
 
If you are willing to do lots of post processing then the think-later thing makes sense. Else, you'd better get it perfect first place.
 
Many times my "best" pictures are the ones taken without thinking. Maybe not technically perfect but more "alive", warmer, less clinical. In other cases, when working on a specific project I need to think a lot before shooting. It depends on circumstances.
robert
 
Rodchenko said:
He's a very talented man trying to express something tht can't be put into words. Most of us doing what he does would end up with a load of rubbish with the very occasional gem.
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This is so true and I am sure this is happening to many of us.

I personally shoot and I build a relation in the same time - often starting wider on the object and getting closer and closer. Usually the couple of shots are on "if in doubt, click" bases, but as I get closer to what I want I pay more and more attention on what's going on. I have learned to talk in the same time so I build a "relationship" even with the people who don't want to be photographed. Few shots away as I am trying to look confident and as much natural as possible and then straight to the point. Then I fire a few more wides for goodbye :p
However, most of the time I am getting what I am after, for what it worth. Photography is a process as much as an art so rubbish shots, well... :)
Art is a word.

Regards,

Boris
 
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