I had an idea of what my photo was going to be this morning, but nature had other plans. Bright pink clouds to the north caused me to change my shooting location and shot composition in a moment’s notice.
Even when you plan things out, often the timing and circumstances happen differently than you had expected, and you have to be able to make adjustments. But that doesn’t mean you can just “wing it”.
Improvisation is not the same as winging it. Being able to improvise means you are so prepared that even when things don’t happen according to plan, you are able to make adjustments and still get positive results. You are only able to do this BECAUSE you were prepared and had a plan in the first place. Otherwise, you are at the mercy of chance, which may work out randomly once in a while when you get lucky, but is not a sustainable strategy for success in the long term.