"It's not about the camera." Strangers often try to compliment me by saying, "What a nice camera -- you must take great pictures," mistakenly assuming camera gear is the primary reason for a photographer's success. Indeed, photographers typically invest in learning how their cameras work, but believe repeated trial and error is all that's needed to take great photos. This seldom works. A photographer's skilled eye is the most important factor in capturing superior photos, not the camera equipment. Knowledgeable photographers can shoot far better pictures with mediocre gear than an uninformed novice with state-of-the-art equipment. Unfortunately, many shooters never train their photographer's eye. "Great Shot!" changes this by teaching a pro's approach to taking outstanding pictures. Most professionals learn their skills by accompanying another pro on assignment to see how he/she does it. "Great Shot !" lets its readers virtually accompany me to see firsthand how I took my 100 best pictures, learning the tricks of the trade that helped me win me over 25 professional photojournalism awards, including 2-time New England Newspaper Photographer of the Year. Train your eye to see what a professional photographer does. Visualize the best photos for almost any situation. Anticipate great photo opportunities before they occur. Position yourself to react and capture the powerful images. Create photos you can be proud of, good enough to get published. Discover hundreds of tips for making your own pictures professional quality by going on assignment with a professional photographer.
Michael Maher is a freelance photographer and author of the "Great Shot" photography blog at maherphoto.blogspot.com. As a photojournalist with The Lowell Sun (Ma.), he was twice selected New England Newspaper Photographer of the Year, winning numerous awards from the National Press Photographers Association, Associated Press, Boston Press Photographers Association, and New England Press Association. His photographs have appeared in newspapers, magazines, books, news wire services, corporate publications, and an HBO Documentary. Maher has photographed the full gamut of subjects, from professional sports to Little League, US presidential candidates to school board races, international celebrities to garden clubs, major news events to minor car accidents. Among the many major photojournalism contests he has won are awards for spot news, general news, features, sports, and personality photographs. He began his news photography career at Boston University (BU), where he shot photos for many university publications, international wire services and local newspapers. After graduating with a B. S. in Journalism, Michael worked as a full-time newspaper photojournalist for the Lowell (Ma) Sun, until leaving to become a freelance photographer. Maher subsequently received a Master's degree in business administration from Columbia University, and pursued a career in advertising and digital marketing. In addition to his freelance photography, Michael also continues to pursue his many other photography passions, including books, blogging, lecturing, etc.
