Create a macro reminder list.   You should have a macro reminder list that you can review before you head off for a shoot, so that when you show up you haven’t forget some important piece of equipment.

The other day I drive out to one of the local parks to shoot, and realized I forgot my L-bracket for my camera. I recharged the battery and took off the L-bracket and forgot to put it back on before heading out. Now I can’t mount the camera on the tripod without the L-bracket, and I can’t hand hold a shot to save my life, so no shooting this time.

This is not the first time I’ve forgot to check my reminder list, I’ve got to a shoot and forgot SD cards, and once forgot the tripod.

So I don’t practice what I preach very well.

To avoid looking like this,
please check your macro reminder list.

Many years ago, one of the students in my workshop said,  "I take all these photos, but what do I do with them".  I said you share your images, let people see all the interesting artwork in nature that you have captured.

What I love about facbook, is that they allow us to create photo groups, where photographers can share all the photos that they have captured.  

I have four photo groups, where my photo friends, and macro geeks, can post their images.  

I have a group just for the members of my, Mike Moats Macro Photo Club.  Various groups for everyone to join called, Macro Madness Geeks,  a fun group called, Let's See You Best Shot, which is a weekly theme based group, and a brand new group called, Share Your Flower Photography.

It's not only fun to share your images in these groups, but also a learning experience by seeing what other photographers are posting.

If you are on facebook, type in the search box any of these names, and when they pop up in the search, go there, and hit the join button.

Yesterday I posted that making a great macro images isn't as much about the equipment you use, but more about finding a great subject, composing the subject properly in the frame, and I forgot to mention, good post processing.

I also forgot to mention that it takes time to identify good subjects from poor subjects, it takes time and some education to learn how to compose properly, and lots of patience and time being good at post processing.

I started photography in 2001 and in the first three years I was shooting, not one of those images I produced are on my website today.  Not that my equipment and skills with the equipment were not good, it's just that I was shooting subjects that were not interesting, and my composition was all wrong. 

In 2004 I found the internet and was excited to find a group called Naturephotographers.net.  It was a critique site where you could post your images and people would give you advice to help out. My very first image I posted (which I thought was perfect) I was helped out with my mistakes on the composition of the image. 

In those first three years I was learning on my own and not doing well, and also didn't search out that education that would have helped me make better images. 

After I got help from the online sites, my photography took off. In the first year on the site, I took a second place image of the year in the flora category, and took a first place and third place in the next two years.

I studied all the great images that were being posted by other macro photographers, started to see good subjects and how to compose them, and also at that time I started to learn about post processing.

So those first three years on my own, no success, a little help from the more experienced photographers, listening to what I was taught, and I'm winning awards, getting images published in magazine, and getting companies wanting the sponsor me.

One last thing, once you learn all the correct ways to create a great image, you have to spend a lot of time shooting and working with the post processing tools to get to the level you want to be.

A camera store salesman was telling me about his frustration since photography online forums were created. Customers come into the store looking for a camera and lenses and ask for his advice. He would go through his sales pitch and once he was finished the customer would start in with, well this guy on this forum said this, and another guy on this forum said this and on and on. Every sale was a battle with the customer on who was right, the salesman or the people online.

So he came up with this line. When a customer comes in and starts with the, what everybody online was saying and paying no attention to what he says, he tells them to find a photographer that they look up to and admire the look of their images, find out what kind of equipment they use and buy that.

If you use the same equipment as the photographer you admire, than your images will look just like theirs, Right? LOL

Many photographers spend so much money on their equipment and no money, or very little on education. As Ansel Adams said, “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!” Spend some money on education so that the twelve inches behind your camera will have the knowledge on what goes into taking a great photo. Join my Flower Photography Club online.