at what point do you just take the photograph

[Sirius Glass]

I tried once, to carry two bodies one with color and the other with black and white, but it didn't work for me because I found I couldn't "See" in both mediums at the same time, and what made a good color picture didn't make a good monochrome one.

It took time to learn to switch back and forth. I do it very quickly now.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I only have this problem when I'm testing out films or developers. I have to keep telling myself to stop fiddling with the composition, just focus and take the picture already! I was shooting a video earlier this week of developer test, and had to tell myself several times to smarten up and just release the shutter.

 

[Vaughn]

Fleeting moments require swiftness
Take your time when it's given to you
There are no rules

And fleeting moments need anticipation gained thru experience.

Swiftness can be needed at anytime -- for example when I was under the redwoods and a herd of elk walked into my long exposure with my 8x10. The bull started to make mean noises and I never tore down my 8x10 and got it into the pack that fast before!

 

[benjiboy]

It took time to learn to switch back and forth. I do it very quickly now.

It's academic to me now Steve, carrying two Canon F1s is beyond my capabilities, they aren't light cameras.

 

[Sirius Glass]

It's academic to me now Steve, carrying two Canon F1s is beyond my capabilities, they aren't light cameras.

Time to step up to Hasselblad and then you merely swap film backs.

 

[wiltw]

at what point do you just take the photograph? its all a battle of compromises anyways ...
(im not going to ask when you know if your print is done cause nothing is ever done )

In the context of a professional hired gun, my goal was that the technical aspects of the craft were down pat, so that complex situations are not that difficult to resolve quickly. You might actually spend a few moments thinking through the puzzle in the lulls, so the technical things fall into place via the background knowledge applied to circumstance, and the shooting happens quickly and consists of a lot of people arranging. Trying to do all the wedding formal shots as quickly as possible, so as to not keep everyone waiting at the reception, means a good handle on both technical and organizational skills.
Or showing up at an event, assessing the best location to set up a shooting location and lighting, needs to be done quickly, so that it is only a matter of posing groups and moving them through in a smooth progression.

I had a lot of photojournalism experience relatively early on, and one needs to be quick yet technically proficient to get the shots in as short a time as possible...capturing candid action forces that skill. You get the shot, or it is gone in a moment.