The Canon EOS Digital Rebel XS/1000D Companion

How to Make a Photo

Every so often my grandmother decides to go to a portrait studio. As with many people of her generation, she's always said that she's off to "have her picture made."

Nowadays, of course, we would say that we're going to have our picture "taken," but this is something of a misnomer, because a good picture is made. To "take" a picture implies that the subject is just there, as is, and that your camera records a perfect representation of it. But that's not actually how a good photograph happens. The process of taking a good picture, whether it's a portrait, a still life, a landscape, a street shoot, or anything else, involves making a lot of decisions and solving a lot of problems. It also often requires you to shoot a lot of pictures as you experiment and try different ideas. Good images are not taken; they are made from the raw material of the scene you've decided to shoot.

In the rest of this chapter, we're going to talk about the process that you go through to make a picture, from recognizing a scene to composing a shot to making exposure decisions.

Recognizing a Potential Photo

The photographic process begins, of course, by finding something that you want to take a picture of. While sometimes a subject is obvious—"Look! Godzilla is attacking the Eiffel Tower, I'd better get my camera!"—more often, interesting photos are hidden from those who aren't necessarily looking for a picture.

From beginning shooters, I often hear questions like "How do you find stuff ...