Every time I gaze upon amazing photos taken from unique angles, I cannot help asking myself: what will I do if I am in the event? At times, I find myself wanting to capture the moment with a camera, but I find that the pictures I take cannot express the thoughts I had at that particular moment. I believe that a high-quality picture evokes emotion and thought from the audience.

When I was a film reporter, I usually went to press conferences with photojournalists. However, the photos turned out to be monotonic- mostly medium shots of movie stars posing before a movie poster and smiling. Later, I attempted to take pictures by myself but things didn’t improve. As Kenneth Kobré states in his book Photojournalism, a medium shot should, like a news story, contain all the storytelling elements of the scene. This requirement makes medium shots a tough task if a photojournalist really wants to capture an excellent photo.

While reading Kenneth Kobré’s Photojournalism, I find that all the sample photos showing in the book were not taken in press conferences. Though a press conference is a good source for photojournalists to take pictures, it may be the least possible approach to capture a vivid and impactive picture because the subjects in press conferences cannot be candid, for they know there are many cameras focusing on them. I believe the best pictures usually arrive by accident and most of the time occurs in a casual situation. To be at the right place at the right time and shutter at the right moment with the right gear is really a skill that cannot easily be taught.