They say that you should never work with children or animals, so it must go for those who have photography as their career. We shall consider therefore these subjects and two others that should be approached with caution when wanting to photograph them.
Animals
Beginning with animals, although moving on to children, the phrase “Never work with children or animals” was coined by W.C. Fields (1880-1946 / American comedian) who thought that they were completely unpredictable and scene-stealing. In terms of stealing the show, that is a good thing in photography as it makes for a cute and very nice image. However, the unpredictable element means that a photographer can spend much time waiting for the animal to be in the position to provide them with the perfect shot. In the case of domestic pets, the owner and some form of distraction can help, but in the case of wild animals, much patience is required. In addition, they must be approached with caution due to their added danger element. This justifies us having animals at the top of our caution list.
Children
Photographing young children is problematic for the photographer because many of them will simply not sit still even when asked. One solution might be to have something chocolatey or sweet to hand, but then that could make a mess that results in a photograph where the child has a messy face, not to mention the time wasted waiting for them to eat it. Perhaps to have a toy rattling behind the photographer, or someone pulling a sillier face than usual, might be the best solution, in the case of toddlers and babies, at least.
Astrophotography
The challenge that exists with photographing the night sky is in how to deal with the earth’s rotation. Exposures will need to last for several seconds if they are to capture sufficient of the light from distant celestial objects. In short, the earth’s motion will interfere at long focal lengths. The answer is for the photographer to rig up a GEM (German equatorial mount) which rotates their camera to counteract the motion of the earth. It should be noted, however, that this is a very specialist area of photography, even for a professional, and not an area of photography to be entered into lightly.
Macro
To photograph subjects that are very close to the camera in any detail requires a specialist lens to be fitted to the camera, or for the camera to have one incorporated. It is an art form in that the photographer needs to adopt and master advanced attention to detail and be aware of the technicalities presented by such photography. For instance, when they are this close to an image, a wide aperture of f/2.8 may be necessary to provide the required depth of field to capture the perfect image. As a tip, if you are trying this kind of photography, you should always stabilize your camera for the shot, using for instance a tripod. It is the same as if you were taking the opposite type of shot and were zooming in on a subject some distance away. Another tip is to move your subject rather than the camera so that you take it from different angles. Also, to experiment with different backgrounds in relation to the object.
In Summary… The above must surely represent some of the most difficult subjects that a photographer is faced with. Although, still does not allow for the unpredictability of human adults at an event such as a wedding. Guests need to be assembled, and not forgotten when needed, to create the perfect wedding album. The bride and groom might be excited about getting married but the photographs still need to show this. So, there is much to think of for the photographer, in addition to working the equipment.