Sometimes I wish there was something more purposeful to shoot than the “flowers in my backyard”. And yet, if I do not know how to shoot my backyard with excellence, how can I expect (or be expected by others) to shoot with excellence things that are more important?

Regardless of where I am, regardless of what I’m shooting, regardless of how much time I have, regardless of what equipment I’m using . . . I am always striving to do my best. Striving for excellence. Then, and only then will I know how to respond and what to expect when something that really counts come along.

This week I’ve been photographing children at orphanages in Tijuana Mexico for a ministry called MissionTalk.

Now, more than ever, am I grateful that I learned in my own backyard how to get tack sharp pictures . . .

. . . how to pose children . . .

. . . how to utilize foreground, middleground, and background . . .

. . . how to look for and capture timeless moments . . .

. . . how to work with flash . . .

. . . how to implement composition techniques . . .

. . . how to maximize depth of field . . .

. . . how to shoot in dimly lit environments . . .

. . . how to conquer mental zoom and fill the frame . . .

. . . how to know what shutter speed to use for the situation at hand . . .

. . . and a million other things that have to come second nature when you’re under the pressure of the moment!

It’s easy to be a photographer these days. It’s not easy to be an excellent photographer. Learn to shoot with excellence in your own backyard, and you will know what to do when your photos really count!

Learn the basics with Lenspiration’s Basic DSLR Photography Course. Move beyond the basics at a CAPTURE Photography Workshop, for more intermediate level training.

Then for an advanced level, one of these days, I would like to integrate Lenspiration Community’s Shoot to Serve opportunities with MissionTalk’s LifeChange Action missions trips to bring photographers who have proven themselves in the PRO Community to help cover MissionTalk’s growing photography needs! When I first started shooting for MissionTalk, there was only one orphanage . . . now there’s three!

Photo by Simon