Drove to Columbus, OH for my day job, and had fun shooting stock photos while I was out of town, here are some reflections on the trip…  What I did right:

• Planned ahead by checking out popular locations and marking them on Googlemaps, which helped tremendously with planning – Once I was at one location I could quickly scan the map and find other nearby locations, so I could see those that were near each other and prepare my photo taking.
• Looked up headquarters of companies that might be nearby, to get some idea of what was there.
• Took my time getting there, so I could pull out as I desired, like a stop at Bowling Green State University. I’d often wanted to check out the campus:

and having my camera on me at all times so when I’m moved to take a photo I can catch it before the opportunity disappears:

• Went around Ohio Stadium to get a wide variety of shots:

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 25: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio is shown on June 25, 2017. It is the home of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 25: The sign for Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio is shown on June 25, 2017. It is the home of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 25: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio is shown on June 25, 2017. It is the home of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 25: Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio is shown on June 25, 2017. It is the home of the Ohio State University Buckeyes.

• Took my time downtown, and waiting for enough people to walk into the shot to make for a more interesting photograph:

• Looked for those random opportunities that present themselves:

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 27: A sign for the Stonewall Columbus Pride Festival in Columbus, Ohio is shown on June 27, 2017. It is the second largest LGBTQ Pride festival in the Midwes.

COLUMBUS, OH – JUNE 27: An electrician works on an electrical pole near the Convention Center on June 27, 2017.

• Enjoyed photography for its sake, not thinking only of stock photography
• Let a little kid take a photograph with my camera, sharing the joy of photography with others.
• Processed the photos fairly quickly, just finished just two weeks after the trip.

What I would do differently:

• Print out a map with the popular locations, so I didn’t have to refer to the phone every time. I hadn’t realized that the saved locations don’t show when in directions mode…

You can see the photos Shutterstock accepted from Columbus here. Hope these reflections help you, and best wishes on YOUR photography adventures!

Susan