When taking photos, research and planning are important, but to quote the poet Robert Burns, “The best laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.” In other words, things don't always go as planned. When that happens, you need to throw all of your preconceived notions out the window, and instead go with the flow. Here are three strategies for successful photography even when your best-laid plans get derailed.
Focus on the things that come closest to your vision.
You can't always get what you want, but sometimes you can get something that comes pretty close. During a recent trip to Badlands National Park, wildfire smoke meant hazy skies, and I wasn't getting the storm clouds I am always chasing while photographing this area. This meant empty, boring skies for the wide-angle compositions that I prefer. So, I opened my mind, exploring the area looking for something that would fit my preferred approach. When I found this deer skull, suddenly I had a solution to my empty skies. Getting low and close to the skull, I let the horns fill the sky and frame the distant landscape feature. Not quite what I was originally hoping to get, but close enough, and surprisingly effective!
Let go of your preconceptions, and instead focus on what is offered.
If what you came for just isn't there, it's best to cast off your disappointment as quickly as possible. Instead of wallowing in what could have been, focus on what you actually have. Basically, pivot, and emrbace what is offered. During a photo trip to Madagascar, the landscape and wildlife photo opportunities weren't really lining up with my creative vision as well as I had hoped. Part of the reason why was that many of the most interesting species in Madagascar are nocturnal. Night walks were offered at almost every location I visited, so I took what was offerered. Although night photography isn't typically my favorite, I embraced the opportunity nonetheless. This led to one of my favorite photos from the trip of a pair of mouse lemurs emerging from their daytime hiding place at twilight.
Change your approach to optimize what is offered.
On a trip to photograph autumn color on the Big Cypress Bayou of Texas, I arrived to find out that most of the color had been torn off the trees by a freak late-season tornado. All I had to photograph were colorless trees clad in ghostly pale Spanish moss. So, I changed my approach to optimize what was offered to me. In this case, it was as simple as shifting my white balance and cooling my photos.
This is probably my favorite photo from that trip to the bayou. It doesn't feature much at all of the colorful fall foliage I was hoping to photograph. I didn't expect at all that blue would be the primary color in my autumn bayou photos. But, things didn't go as planned, so I dispensed with my expectations, and embraced instead what was offered by the landscape.
Conclusion
Flexibility is the key to successful photography. Unique among art forms, it relies on spontaneity and the magic of the moment. Although scouting and planning can be useful, you would be wise to avoid getting locked into a preconception so rigidly that you can’t dispense with it if the need arises.