If you're asking that question, I can highly recommend David duChemin's work - he's put out loads of freebies over the years - photo assignments, videos, ebooks - and is selling plenty courses and books, too.
Browse his blog - and
podcast
What Makes The Image Work? >> Watch part 1 of his latest course for free.
and browse chapters of his portfolio, full screen
To try to answer your question, these days it's pretty much a given that everyone's kit is good enough, and they know how to use it. Although we all get duff or missed shots, of course. So a few thoughts -
- patience, yes. Taking 10-100 progress shots (not on rapid fire) and building on them is the way to get that NatGeo cover.
- immerse yourself in the subject, and get to know and understand it.
- get closer, frame well, experiment with light, break the 'rules'.
- context, depth (with some elements out of focus).
- tell a story. Looking through the day's photos at home, you'll find that 9 are just OK but that 1 stands out, due to subtle differences usually in the people - eyes, hands, mouth, posture. After spotting this, the other 9 shots are rendered inferior.
- a master photog never shows his 90%+ mediocre images! If you go on a trip with 1000+ images, try to get just 10 photos you'd be proud to have on your wall.
I particularly like the idea of capturing a moment in time. So even if another photographer visits the same location, he's unlikely to be able to recreate your shot.
Question: How would you take a good photo of this ... ?
David's answer: I wouldn't.
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