Think in terms of the visual story you want to tell. Then, prepare your composition.

• Start by presetting your camera’s ISO and white balance well before you begin your actual shoot.
  • Think through whether you're going to have a fast-moving subject (needing a high shutter speed) or need wide depth-of-field (closed down f/stop) or both.
    
• Now, compose your picture, leaving a space in the composition where your main subject will appear.
• This works best when your subject's appearance is predictable.
  

Example:

Setting up this photo of my granddaughter, Sophia, on a zip-line at her camp was easy. I watched several other children as they came down to see where their "drop" ended. Then, I aimed my camera to capture that space when it was Sophia's turn.

I used a high ISO so that I could have a fast shutter speed to stop the action and still have enough depth-of-field so that my camera's quick autofocus would give me a sharp picture.

I took several shots on different zip line runs. This one was the best!

Capturing Birds In Flight:

I lined up this picture of the bay in Marblehead, Massachussets as an aesthetic composition. It worked fairly well with just the bay and sky area.

But, I had a hunch that there was a good chance a seagull might just fly into the picture.

Why?

Because I was standing on a pier where freshly caught fish were being offloaded from a truck to my right for the restaurant on my left that owned the dock.

Sure enough, a seagull flew into the picture, perfectly filling my open space. I'm not sure if he planned on posing for me. But, that's what he did with his gaze firmly locked on a possible easy meal on the deck beside me.

Maybe I was just lucky.

Bees On Flowers Are Easy Subjects:

A bee's job in life is to go from flower to flower collecting nectar. You can count on it!

If you're in a botanical garden all you need to do is to find a beautiful flower grouping with bees flying around.

Set up a nice composition containing a key flower or flower grouping.

Watch the bee land and wait. Snap your shutter when the bee's position is right.

The shot you'll get can be either the long one, emphasizing the flower grouping, or you can crop later for a dramatic close-up of the bee at work.

This approach will work well for butterflies, too. Just wait to snap your prize-winner. There's very little luck about it!

Children At Play Are Perfect For Captured Moments In Time:

Look for a possible story-telling composition when you see children playing.

I spotted these kids frolicking under a water spray at Disney World in the late afternoon. I decided to take advantage of the backlighting with an under-exposed, partial sillhouette.

With moving children it's tough to catch the perfect moment. So, I just set up my composition and kept on firing away, figuring I'd go through the pictures later.

I had incorporated the black area on the left in my composition. My idea was either to use it as a framing element or crop it out in my print.

Then, I got totally lucky as another child ran into the picture in front of my black space. Her image added just the extra spontanaety the picture needed.

Yes, luck has something to do with getting good grab shots. But, you'll be amazed how often it will work in your favor!