Town photography tips

As you live there you'll have a rather good idea about what's around your town but do you always go there at the same time? By taking a walk during different times of the day you'll be able to see how the light/angle changes and how many people will be there. If you go early morning you'll find that the light is more diffused where as twilight will give you a dark blue sky and detail from the lights in the town/city. If you don't want people in your shot then early morning is better and the streets are cleaner, less cluttered. If you want people in your shots, the town at nine o'clock in the morning will have those on the commute while three hours later you'll have shoppers. Also, people do draw attention away from the surroundings so unless they add to the composition of the image do you really want them in the shot?


Gear
A zoom will let you capture details and a wide angle lens will give you a bigger depth of field to help the viewer understand the location. A tripod such as those made by Slik and Velbon are good but as you're on the move a monopod is even better as is a bag that will give you quick, easy access. Spare batteries are always handy too.

Technique
Why not shoot to tell a story or pick a theme? You could choose to photograph the theme of food suppliers, for example, and this could be anything from greasy spoons to greengrocers and supermarkets. Or how about a project on shop windows, or numbers, or signs? If there's any construction going on, make a series out of the building work. If you know of a major renovation you could do a photo a day from start to completion.

Look for shots that show how your community live. Meeting places, parks or even washing lines full of washing outside someone's house can all make for good pictures - and have a social element. 

Contrasting architecture, colours and textures work well and all towns feature buildings built in different years, event centuries. A brand new, metal and glass tower block will contrast an old, pub well for instance. 

Reflections in buildings, in puddles or even water features can add a twist to an architectural image. You should take your time to see what angles work best and if glare gets too much use a polarising filter.


You've read the article, now go take some fantastic images. You can then upload the pictures, plus any advice and suggestions you have into the dedicated Photo Month forum for everyone at ePHOTOzine to enjoy.