I shot in excess of 80+ images before I captured this shot of a hay rake outside of Juda, Wisconsin.

Diane Arbus, one of the most controversial and influential photographers in American history once said, “It’s important to take bad pictures. It’s the bad ones that have to do with what you’ve never done before. They can make you recognize something you hadn’t seen in a way that will make you recognize it when you see it again.” Wise words from someone who was largely self-taught.

Far too often I see photographers (amateurs and pros alike) using digital cameras with super small memory cards. I call these people “camera rich and memory poor.” They spent all of their money on fancy digital cameras but skimp on the high cost of memory card. In some ways this is understandable. I recently purchased a SanDisk 64GB Extreme Pro CompactFlash card that I swear set me back more than my first dSLR camera. Some of the higher capacity CF and SD cards are sure to cost as much or more than some point-and-shoot cameras, too. But why go through the hassle of purchasing a camera, and or lugging it around, if you aren’t equipped with the most essential accessory every digital photographer needs…memory?

Many of these same photographers make matters even worse; they seldom download their images at all. When it’s time to shoot they become an impromptu photo editor, deleting photographs (née memories) to make room for new ones. What is the purpose of having a camera to capture memories and create beautiful photographs if you never have a chance to look at them large on a computer screen? Do you really think that tiny LCD on the back of your camera is telling you everything? Is it really telling you anything?

When you buy only one small memory card (I personally own dozens), you are limiting yourself when it comes time to shoot. Work your subject. Use different settings. Ask your subjects to change their pose. Shoot from different angles; even angles others might find ridiculous. Take many photographs. Load up that memory card. Take a look at the photograph above. It has appeared in Madison’s Capital Times, Britain’s What Digital Camera magazine, and countless other publications. I took 80+ photographs of that same hay rake outside of Juda, Wisconsin before I captured the best image…and I didn’t even know which was going to be the best image until I got back home and could look at them all blown up on my computer monitor.

Obviously there was a reason you decided to pull out your camera and take that photograph in the first place. Something caught your eye or something noteworthy was about to take place. Something in that part of your brain must have clicked on and said “this will make a good photo.” Perhaps it was the same part of your brain that tells you a magazine ad looks nice, or a shirt in the store looks really cool, or a piece of art would look really great hanging on the wall. If you only take one photograph, and if you have limited space on your memory card, you are only hampering yourself and your ability to capture quality images.

Remember…one of the benefits of owning a digital camera, regardless of its quality or type, is its ability to capture images without the cost and hassle of developing film. Take advantage of that feature! And with the Christmas season now upon us, many of you will be out looking for a new camera. If you are, please do yourself a favor. Get the biggest memory card your budget will allow. You can thank me later.