Vacation Photo Strategy?

[Manfred M]

I also agree with that. However, none of that refutes the idea that a high level of automation is ideal for photographers of a certain skill and interest profile that is very different from yours and mine.

I quite agree with your view Mike. I just feel that a photographer use the same tools and techniques he / she is comfortable with, regardless of the shooting environment. A shooter that relies on a high level of automation will do so at home and on vacation, while one that wants more control will do so, again, regardless of location.

[Glenn NK]

I will sometimes go with aperture priority, but manual is more common. Back-button focus, continuous AF (AF/MF selector switches are taped down on my lenses), matrix metering, high-speed continuous drive, and max-resolution raw almost never change. Sometimes I used auto white balance, sometimes I set temperature and green/magenta shift manually. Camera settings can definitely speed you up a little, but I find that dialing in exposure compensation in assisted modes takes roughly as much time as choosing settings in manual mode. So with practice, I don't think the speed difference is particularly great. Regardless of your mode, it's a good idea to think about your settings every time you change environments (moving from indoors to out, cloud cover, portrait vs. landscape, etc.).

Moving fast is great, but don't be afraid to insist on stopping for a while if you see a great shot.

Basically it seems you are saying, "know your craft and know your gear". With this mastered, your vacation and travel images will be done at the same level - very good or better.

Once one has these essentials under control, all images will have similar quality (barring a screw up which happens to all of us). If in a hurry, you may not have the same level of composition, but technically the images will be fine.

Glenn

[Manfred M]

Basically it seems you are saying, "know your craft and know your gear". With this mastered, your vacation and travel images will be done at the same level - very good or better.

Once one has these essentials under control, all images will have similar quality (barring a screw up which happens to all of us). If in a hurry, you may not have the same level of composition, but technically the images will be fine.

Glenn

Not quite Glenn; while I quite agree with what you say, I'm really trying to suggest that your photo skills (technical with the camera as well as your compositional ones) don't change when one heads out on vacation.

[Mike Buckley]

A shooter that relies on a high level of automation will do so at home and on vacation, while one that wants more control will do so, again, regardless of location.

That's true for me and apparently you but not for everyone, at least based on posts I have read over the years. Some people have reported that they will use less automated functions while not vacationing even though they will use the more automated functions while vacationing. Those people apparently perceive that it takes more time to use the less automated functions.

While I would agree that using less automated functions requires more time in certain specific situations, I think that's probably not true in most situations. When a photographer decides to use the more automated functions thinking that doing so takes less time, my theory is that that's usually because the photographer isn't yet in command of the less automated functions and has to think more about them, make more mistakes, take the time to correct them, etc., etc. You and I have become so used to using the less automated functions that using them requires no more time than using the more automated functions.

Ironically, I never learned the most automated functions on any of my digital cameras, so it would actually take more time for me to figure out how to use them than using the less automated functions. I honestly don't know what the "P" mode means on any of them except that I would guess that it doesn't mean "perfect," "photo," or "picture."

If I can make just one suggestion, stop posting in this thread and get back out on vacation capturing more photos!

[PaoloMtl]

Hey there Ken, it might be useful for you to explore the user settings on your camera. If I'm right, you have U1, U2, U3 on your dial. My D7000 has two of these settings not three but I usually set them in advance of a trip or event. For instance, my last trip I set up U1 to my favorite sunshine settings (spot autofocus, aperture priority, iso 100, matrix metering, etc...). This way, no matter what, I could always flip back to my "usual" and not miss the shot. I set up U2 for "fast action" (birds mostly) with iso 800, shutter priority, continuous autofocus... Anyway, you get the point. On my camera, you simply set up what you like then go into the menu, find the user settings and save. I found this very useful to me and it gave me confidence in knowing exactly what I was dialing in. After a while, I knew the settings by heart and was able to make quick adjustments without even thinking. I do suggest, as many have already said, to practice in advance of the trip. Makes it much more enjoyable. Another tip... Nikon has an app for downloading your manuals. As a newbie, this was a great help and gave me much to do on the flight. Hope this helps.

[loosecanon]

I would say now that the most useful accessory is a hand held GPS which will enable you to produce a gpx file of where you have been. This is then linked to the photographs taken and there you are, images with a label saying where they were taken in next to no time. For travel photography its the end of trying to recall where you were when each shot was taken.

[Manfred M]

I would say now that the most useful accessory is a hand held GPS which will enable you to produce a gpx file of where you have been. This is then linked to the photographs taken and there you are, images with a label saying where they were taken in next to no time. For travel photography its the end of trying to recall where you were when each shot was taken.

Or get the GPS-1 unit for Nikon that logs the GPS data to the image file directly.

[Manfred M]

That's true for me and apparently you but not for everyone, at least based on posts I have read over the years. Some people have reported that they will use less automated functions while not vacationing even though they will use the more automated functions while vacationing. Those people apparently perceive that it takes more time to use the less automated functions.

While I would agree that using less automated functions requires more time in certain specific situations, I think that's probably not true in most situations. When a photographer decides to use the more automated functions thinking that doing so takes less time, my theory is that that's usually because the photographer isn't yet in command of the less automated functions and has to think more about them, make more mistakes, take the time to correct them, etc., etc. You and I have become so used to using the less automated functions that using them requires no more time than using the more automated functions.

Ironically, I never learned the most automated functions on any of my digital cameras, so it would actually take more time for me to figure out how to use them than using the less automated functions. I honestly don't know what the "P" mode means on any of them except that I would guess that it doesn't mean "perfect," "photo," or "picture."

If I can make just one suggestion, stop posting in this thread and get back out on vacation capturing more photos!

Mike - all that this indicates to me is that some people are less confident of their camera skills when in a stressful situation (for instance, when on vacation) than they are in a more familiar situation. I think you are quite right that the underlying reason / rationale is that they do not understand their camera as well as they think. I guess I am a relatively simple photographer, and use fairly basic camera functions for autofocus and metering. In many ways I am still a film photograher at heart...

[Mike Buckley]

I guess I am a relatively simple photographer, and use fairly basic camera functions for autofocus and metering.

Me too. It was only a year or so ago after 30 years of photography that I finally stopped using my normal automated signature, which said, "Still trying to master the ON button."

[William W]

. . .On a vacation trip, moving rather too quickly from place to place (either within a city or between locations), the time of day, photo opportunities and allowed time to stop are limited therefore it may be appropriate to pre-set camera controls so as not to miss a good shot. . . My camera is a Nikon P7700; so an "advanced" point-and-shoot.

If you feel uncomfortable managing the camera under the pressure of time and want the pre-sets to use for that camera, then I suggest you use:

> Program Mode (P)

> Multi Area AF

> Auto White Balance

> Manual ISO -
400 for daylight;
1600 for dawn and dusk;
3200 for bright outdoors & street night-time and indoors bright;
6400 for dark indoors


WW

Addendum:

The reason I suggest NOT to use Auto ISO, is, (that if I nailed the specs on your camera correctly) you have a very limited range of Auto ISO (many of those P&S do).
I don’t think that setting the ISO manually should be all that much of a too onerous job: but if you think you might forget to do that, then just stick a reminder note on the back of the camera. (I am not joking).

[Mike Buckley]

if you think you might forget to do that, then just stick a reminder note on the back of the camera. (I am not joking).

Seriously, that really is a great idea. I think it would be really cool if camera manufacturers would build a note pad into the camera that you could configure to display a particular reminder every time you turn on the camera.

Before taking up digital photography, I didn't do the daily photography that I do now and tended to make mistakes while traveling. My equivalent of the reminder note was my wife. Every time we got out of the car, she would helpfully remind me to make sure the camera was set to aperture priority and the correct ASA (this was before it was called ISO). When I made the change to digital photography, she added Auto ISO and White Balance to that list. Now that she is into photography and has less experience than me, I remind her about all of those things plus the need to use or remove her polarizer.

[William W]

On the camera backs of some film cameras there is a slot to slide in the cardboard end of the film box, so one knows what film is in each camera body.

I am not to proud or ego centred to stick notes on the back of my cameras and flash heads and I carry my Shot Diary with me ALL the time, in my camera bag.

For weddings I always carried a cheat sheet of the names of key people and how they were related and/or what they did for the Wedding.

As for one example it was important for me to know if a relative made the cake: if Aunty Mable made the cake then I would always get a photo of Aunty Mable and her cake - and I would go over to Aunty Mable and address her: " Hi Aunty Mable - my name is Bill . . ."

***

I think it would be really cool if camera manufacturers would build a note pad into the camera that you could configure to display a particular reminder every time you turn on the camera.

Consider having a RESTING POSITION for all your Photography Tools.

If you do that, whenever you pick them up they will ALWAYS be in that resting position.



WW

[Disles1]

Seriously, that really is a great idea. I think it would be really cool if camera manufacturers would build a note pad into the camera that you could configure to display a particular reminder every time you turn on the camera.

Before taking up digital photography, I didn't do the daily photography that I do now and tended to make mistakes while traveling. My equivalent of the reminder note was my wife. Every time we got out of the car, she would helpfully remind me to make sure the camera was set to aperture priority and the correct ASA (this was before it was called ISO). When I made the change to digital photography, she added Auto ISO and White Balance to that list. Now that she is into photography and has less experience than me, I remind her about all of those things plus the need to use or remove her polarizer.

Actually my old film camera did have a small frame on the back - it was intended to hold the film package end - which could be used for notes.

[Disles1]

Hello everyone and thank you for the suggestions and the discussion. I agree with those who mentioned that the best way to take pictures is to know your camera. I purchased the Nikon P7700 (rather than an automatic point-and-shoot) so I could have some photographic control and my question, in retrospect, seems to say that I'm not comfortable with having that control.

So, I've been reading several books on digital photography (including an extended manual) most by Michael Freeman and have been experimenting - and getting accustomed to the controls - taking photos. I'm getting closer to the confidence I need to go into the deep end.

I have a supplemental question if I may. I currently only have Nikon's ViewNX 2 program to convert RAW images and can't afford expensive software, so I'm wondering if you can suggest an alternative to ViewNX? I don't need workflow help since I'm not time constrained.