I've deliberately made this question vague because, in our photo workshops, people have all sorts of questions dealing with distance. Questions like, what is hyperfocal distance, how far will a flash travel, how deep is the depth of field with a particular lens or with a macro lens, etc. etc. Fortunately, there are several great accessories that you can use to determine many of these distances.
I've written about the Foto-Sharp products in the past, and Foto-Sharp also offers a HF card. It's slightly larger than a credit card, but would fit into most wallets or any pocket in a gadget bag or vest. Foto-Sharp offers a whole range of distance cards, including one for Macro and the corresponding working distances and depths of field. Did you know the approximate working distance required for a 400mm lens is 2'7"! Nobody I know shoots macro with a 400, but it's interesting trivia that might be applicable if you needed the working distance. Obtaining that image size, 1:1, might require 300mm or more of extension but again, it could be done.
Foto-Sharp also has a card for making the correct exposure compensations for multiple exposures -- up to 16 shots; effective flash ranges for various guide number flashes (did you know that at f8, a flash rated at 120 -- the typical true GN of a Nikon SB or Canon EX flash, that the effective flash rangeis only 15 feet! If you understand the inverse square law, something we teach in our Advanced Nature Photo Course that we'll be offering next year, you'd also be able to infer that at 30 feet your flash would be effective only at f4 -- and that's pushing it, really, on both counts. Foto-Sharp has cards on Composition and Design Elements in Composition. An example, if you're trying to convey "Pride, Dignity,m or Power" it's suggested you use Vertical Framing and Lines, while if you were conveying "Loneliness or Solitude" you'd choose monochromatic elements. Sharp edges are more dominant and powerful than smooth edges, rough textures more dominant than smooth, and so on. The cards make a little book in themselves that could be useful for folks in the field, especially newcomers and beginners trying to advance their photo skills wuickly.
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