As I sat on the train this morning en route to work, I found myself listening to the excellent Inside Aperture podcast. It featured Derrick Story interviewing
Joe Buissink, wedding photographer to the stars.

Joe Buissink talks about training your eye to capture decisive moments, keeping your equipment simple so that you always get the shot, and how to bring emotion to your photography. Derrick Story interviews Joe in this exclusive O’Reilly Media podcast. (Inside Aperture, 17:21).

While I’m certainly no wedding photographer, I have shot a few as both the primary and secondary shooter. When asked how he keeps his work fresh, Mr. Buissink replied, “I make myself the assistant”. Basically, he tasks his assistant with capturing the posed portraits and the like - important to the family, but not the most spontaneous or creative shots. He recedes into the background, looking for the moments of emotion and beauty that can’t be planned for. I’ve always enjoyed shooting the receptions more than the wedding itself, anyway.

Steve Simon also writes about mental exercises:

Basically, when he’s (Buissink) out in his life and he sees something that would be a good picture but he’s not shooting, he will say the word “Click” out loud, or snap his fingers. This physical act he says, helps to train him for capturing moments when he’s working, which makes him a sharper, better photographer.

I do find that I feel like I have a camera in my mind much of the time (just ask my wife). I hadn’t thought about a physical “click” to cement the image into place, though.

While this podcast is Aperture-centric, I do find that both it and the companion blog are very well-written and contain loads of deep photography wisdom and insight. This is especially true in the digital realm, regardless of the tools you use.

One more:

By the time she grows up, I’ll have plenty of experience shooting divas.

Posted in Life, Photography, Work