I have recently discovered that taking the same subject in varying conditions can result in some very interesting effects and many different views. Two images in different conditions can result in a very different message, even if the subject is identical.

I once heard of a person who regularly took pictures of the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge, every morning on their way to work. Over the year they build up a feel of the building in all seasons. Its almost like time lapse photography.

I have been starting to take regular pictures around my local village, particularly down by the river as it offers lots of opportunities for reflections (another favourite subject of mine). I am starting to gather pictures that have many different moods, changing lighting, changing weather and can sometimes look totally different.

Pictures across the changing seasons can also be interesting, possibly to be used for a calendar (watch this space!). This is another reason for always keeping your camera with you, places that you visit regularly can be wonderful for building up a portfolio, on the way to work, school or just around where you live. If it’s close to home it all gives you a chance to plan the sort of shot that you want to achieve and then get there when the weather is just right.

Here are some photographs that I have taken locally, the same shot, but looking totally different.

Whether or not to take in RAW is something that seems to draw lots of debate, or at least has in the past. A good place to start would be an explaination of what “taking in RAW” is.

RAW is a format that saves all the information recorded by the camera sensor, before any processing takes place. It can be thought of as similar to a negative in film photography. Using this file type allows you to go back afterwards and change the white balance or any other camera setting (except the aperture, ISO, shutter speed and focus, obviously) afterwards to create the effect that you want.

Not all cameras are able to take in RAW, most compacts cannot, but most DSLRs should be able to.The main disadvantage is the file size of a typical picture is many times larger than a JPEG (the file normally saved in), and you have to post process the images using special software before you can look at your pictures. So in some cases it can slow down your workload, and in cases where you don’t generally like to change your images artificially it may not be worth using RAW. However other photographers swear by the extra flexibility.