Release the pressure!

 Pressing the shutter release button in photography can be a frenetic final action but, why not stay a bit longer with your subject, a lesson that have learned from my analog-film age (Oh boy! It was yesterday in my blown mind). Because when you give the order to your finger to press it there is a small delay even after the moment "you think" the picture has been taken. Therefore "anticipation" has become a key success word for many renowned photographers and for the none-renowned ones 😉. 

Be ready is a thing but staying calm and concentered is important too. We live in a constant moving world which we are learning that everything are not really staying still in place because there is always some kind of on-going replacement, or a growing (or its invert) or a changing in aspect, etc. So, taking a picture is not really finished the moment you have decided to press the shutter release button.

There is a technical prolongation to that initial shutter release action, and we must respect and cope with that fact. If you start exiting your attention of the subject just after you have pressed the button, you may provoke a blur or simply miss the peak moment of your subject.

Old cameras use to have a noticeable "shutter release delay" for mechanical reasons and the manufacturers have reduce it substantially over the years. Today and especially with electronic shutter release that delay is almost forgotten but still, there is also what we may call the "mind decision delay" between your anticipation and the very moment the picture is taking. We used to say: if you can see it with your eye, it is already too late to be register in the camera, and it is true. To counteract this phenomenon, some cameras have the option to record continuously pictures before you trigger it (In fact, the moment you half press the shutter, you activate a kind of prior picture buffer). That's a cute trick but it won't prevent that your subject peak action will happen between two pictures! (OK you can take 50 pictures/sec to prevent that and fill up your memory card or, at this point, why not doing cinematography instead?).

At the end, what we are trying to underline here is this: instead of hammering your camera shutter release button, rather do introduce more fluidity in the way you are interacting with it. Hold your lens with the palm of your left hand and liberate the pressure of your right hand. In doing so you will feel more comfortable and confident to get good, steady, and interesting moments to photograph. Photography may be relaxing too!

Photos Daniel M: Fujifilm X-H1 /XF18-135mm R LM OIS WR