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Articles Table of Contents   Page 1: Keep and Use Classic Lenses For an Unusual Look Page 2: Shoot One and Only One Subject Page 3: Shoot One Lens, and Not a Zoom Page 4: Choosing a Lens by Focal Length Page 5: Fast Lenses—Shutter Speeds / Background Blur (Bokeh) Page 6: Shoot a Fast Lens at Dusk or Dawn Page 7: Blur Can Be Beautiful Page 8: Making Sharp Photos Handheld Page 9: Shoot Another Format (Size or Aspect Ratio) Page 10: Use Manual Exposure for Perfect Results Page 11: White Balance Tools Page 12: Understand Perspective and Size Variance Page 13: Look For Natural Patterns Page 14: Depth of Field Is Oh-So-Shallow Page 15: Depth of Field—How Far To Stop Down Page 16: Depth of Field and Megapixels Page 17: Never Go Traveling Without a Backup Camera Page 18: Don’t Assume a New Lens is Good! Page 19: Infinity Focus Requires Care! Page 20: How to Carry Large and Heavy Lenses Page 21: Shooting Tip: Use Mirror Lockup Page 22: Shooting Tip: Aurora Borealis Page 23: Shooting Tip: Grizzly Bear vs Black Bear Scat Page 24: A brief glossary of photographic terms

Shoot One and Only One Subject

Pick one subject, not allowing yourself to move more than a fixed distance (eg a 20-foot radius in a garden).

The subject should be a challenge—something ordinary, so that you’re forced to work hard to make an interesting image. Shoot it with as many lenses, angles, apertures, etc as you like, but restrict yourself to that subject only.

Your homework after the shoot is to analyze your work: did you come up with something new or different from your usual approach?

This exercise is a good one for those outings where you have other duties (eg supervising kids), where you’d otherwise be bored stiff. You can also do it at a restaurant table, lying on your back under a tree, waiting in line at a bus stop, etc.