My Favorite Time Of Day To Photograph
Last week a friend of mine passed by the studio and we talked about many things as we usually do. While the caffeine from the coffee was kicking in he asked what was my favorite time of day to photograph. I was left speechless for the first time in a long time. The last time was while I was watching Notting Hill for the 457th time and still wondered why Hugh Grant let Julia Roberts walk out of his store before leaving for good. I pondered the question long and hard and told him I would get back to him on the exact time of day is my favorite to photograph.
I really thought about it for a while off and on for a few days. Was it during the morning when the day is new? Could it be mid day when the afternoon is getting going? What about late afternoon when the sun is just about to set in the west? Everyone knows night time is the right time, right? You would also need to take into consideration what time of year if you really wanted to get into it. But I decided not to take the seasons into consideration. That would just add to my decision making process and take more time. He called about 6 days after or conversation in the studio just to talk about the latest Walking Dead episode and asked just in passing if I had an answer. I did not.
But I said that I would have an answer for him in 24 hours. With the clock ticking and Jack Bauer racing to the finish line looking for an answer I thought what about now? As in my favorite time of day to photograph was right now. Why not? Capturing images cannot be set to a specific time of day. If you have an idea do you wait for the right moment to write it down, no you take care of it right then and there. My mind set while taking pictures is simple, you take what is given. If it is sunny use it, if it’s raining deal with it. Your photographs should not be taken within a exact time.
I like to go for walks with my camera in hand and usually head out without a plan. I allow the situation and location to dictate how or what I photograph. That could be 5pm or 5am. Although 5am may not work for you. Most of the time while on a shoot both for business of pleasure I follow a certain number of guidelines but usually that changes as I feel. So I cannot pick a certain time of day because infinite details go into how the images are taken, and that is the awesome part. When my friend passed by once again my answer was simple. Right Now.
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