Ask Jim

Every month, Jim will answer a question from his online students, from people who participate in his tours and workshops, or from subscribers to this magazine. If you have a question you’d like Jim to answer, please drop him a note at photos@jimzuckerman.com.

Q: Jim . . . Do you think I should have moved in closer to the frog and filled more of the frame with it? Sometimes I’m not sure what to include and what to exclude in a shot. Nelson Fuller, Carlsbad, California A: You often don’t have a lot of time to analyze a shot with respect to composition. Especially with wildlife, things can happen fast and an animal may only stay in a good position for fractions of a second. Therefore, don’t hesitate to take a lot of pictures and decide later which one or ones you like. Compose closeup, then take another shot that shows the environment. Shoot both horizontally and vertically and change angles. Unlike film, it doesn’t cost anything to take a lot of frames -- except the time it takes to edit.

In this case, I think both scenarios would be appropriate. I like the flower environment because this shot gives a sense of place and shows how small the frog is, but a closeup would look good, too. Often, you will like more than one composition of a particular subject.