Photographers Repertoire:

[Ady]

Ady: when shooting under constant, non changing lighting conditions, you need not review every shot. Once you have set up your equipment you only need to frame and shoot, providing the light does not change. Once you change Aperture, Shutter, ISO or WB you need to review. Only the most experienced of professionals will know the exact outcome of every setting that is changed.

Hi Andre,

I can't remember ever having a commercial job where I WAS shooting under constant, non changing lighting conditions.

I wouldn't consider myself to be 'the most experienced of professionals' but I do have a very good understanding of my kit and an understanding of how it behaves in a range of environments. The key for myself was to develop an understanding of how to interpret the exposure level meter (on each of my bodies), taking into account the metering mode in use and the type of scene. I also have a enough understanding of the aperture and shutter settings I will need for each shot to dial them in (to the point where they are close enough) almost without thinking. I'm not saying its easy or that I always get it right, but it is very rare that I end up with a critical shot that's not workable.

I tend to use AWB and auto ISO (limited to an appropriate maximum) so it's only aperture and shutter that I'm constantly changing; I will also change metering mode, AF mode and drive mode during a shoot but less frequently. On that note, its worth learning where ALL the controls are and how they work, that way you can change everything from WB to AF and drive modes without having to lower the camera from your eye.

Obviously the understanding I have of my kit and how it behaves is built on taking tens of thousands of shots for clients.

All that said I am not taking fine art or studio based shots, almost all of my work is commercial and of a type where perfection isn't necessary (in fact trying to achieve perfection is generally a handicap). Good enough is just that and a typical commercial client is rarely happy to pay for more than good enough, what would be the point?

I would agree that if one is shooting static/controllable/repeatable scenes then it absolutely makes sense to review and re-shoot several times to hone in on the perfect shot. However (and I doubt I'm alone in this) almost all of the photography I do is in scenarios where there is little or no option to either control or repeat the scene, you have to anticipate, make your settings choices based on experience, and shoot. If you didn't catch the scene well enough there's little point in worrying about it because its gone, just make sure you learn from the failures so you don't make the same mistake next time.

Cheers,
Ady

[rpcrowe]

And sometimes you realize you left your camera on bracketing or manual focus which confuses the whole issue

Oh, my goodness not me I have never ever made a mistake in shooting! If you believe that, I have a wonderful bridge over entrance to the San Francisco Bay that I will sell you for a very low price By the way, the bridge is made of gold...

When I first used exposure bracketing on my Canon DSLR camera for HDR shooing, I did not know that the default setting is for the camera to revert to non-bracketing if it is turned off and then turned back on. Anyway, I replaced my battery while shooting deep in Carlsbad Caverns, New Mexico and proceeded to shoot the three exposures for each image thereafter at the exact same exposure.

It is easy enough to remedy that in the camera menu settings, IF you know that it needs to be remedied.

[AB26]

Oh, my goodness not me I have never ever made a mistake in shooting!

And did I not forget I was shooting in continuous AF and when the focus assist lamp did not come on later in the evening I was a little confused. Check the buttons!! I say. Why did I not check the buttons? That little hidden button on the front of a Nikon that says C/S/M - STUPID!!!!!!!

We never make mistakes Richard, never!!!

[Ron Schelldorf]

Much of my work is commercial event photography and often once you have started there is little time for consideration of the mechanics of shooting or even reviewing what you've shot. The second you take your eye of the scene something will happen that everyone will want to see the photos of. So once set up and ready to go it's a case of trying to 'be everywhere and see everything' so you can anticipate the where and when that things worth shooting are going to occur. There's often little or no time to review, recompose, or do much of anything, you get the shot (or not) and then you're on to the next.

As a result my checklist tends to be a bit more fundamental:

• Camera bodies and lenses tested and primary functions verified
• Battery levels checked and spares in my pockets
• Cards reading and writing OK, capacities noted and spares in my pockets
• Flashes tested and spare batteries in my pockets
• Filters, flash modifiers and any other accessories checked
• Scout the venue and work out a best compromise for default settings, save those to the C modes.
• Take a few final test shots, with colour/grey card in potential target sites if appropriate
• Take some deep breaths and try not to get too carried along with whatever is happening.

After that is a case of relying on past experience, being very familiar with the equipment and being perfectly happy to look like a fool as you run around, jump up and down, lay in the middle of the floor (or the road on at least one occasion*) or whatever else it takes to get the shot.

*If you are going to lay in the middle of the road always have a spotter with you!

Cheers,
Ady

Hi Geoff:

I share your frustration and made a list similar to yours. I like yours better. With ten years experience and quality equipment, I still forget to do my checklist. Great stuff.
Thanks
Ron

[kambakhsh]

how can I find out that my exposure is correct?

[Bobobird]

My biggest mistake was rushing off to a location only to find that I had left the camera at home.

Andre - I see you have that covered in the more comprehensive list.

[Colin Southern]

Having made so many stupid mistakes and messing up shots by not thinking before shooting I compiled this repertoire for myself in an attempt to increase the keepers and minimise the delete’s.

Do you have a “ritual” you perform before shooting?

Photographers Repertoire:
1.) Look: Look at the scene before you.
2.) See: See the light, the mood, the moment, the image, the picture.
3.) Compose: Apply the guidelines of composition in your mind.
4.) Visualise: Focal point, depth of field, motion.
5.) Camera: Switch on the camera.
6.) Check: White Balance, Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO.
7.) Frame: Look trough the viewfinder and frame your composition.
8.) Expose: Make sure the exposure is correct.
9.) Focus: Keep the focal point sharp in focus.
10.) Shoot: Capture the image you visualised.
11.) Review: Make sure you captured what you visualised. If it is not what you imagined, adjust settings and go back to #7.

Any ideas to add to the list?

Pretty much the same, but not formalised like that. I'm just consciously aware that I need to THINK.

In my flying days, THE busiest thing / thing you most have to think about is engine-out drills when flying twin-engine aircraft; it gets REAL busy for a minute or two ... and on a shoot I'm often pretty much just as busy. Perhaps not the same peak intensity, but definitely for longer; from aperture / iso / shutterspeed to focus - motion effect - creative interpretation - changing light levels etc etc etc.

[Colin Southern]

how can I find out that my exposure is correct?

Kambiz,

Welcome to CiC.

You really need to start a new thread for this type of question -- it's a big topic.

[Jeff S]

Someone mentioned charging batteries at the front of the list (if I understood the comment correctly). I have a habit of always recharging batteries and downloading my cards right after the shoot so they are always ready when I need them. I carry two batteries and four 16GB UDMA7 cards with me at all times. (I'm not a heavy gear user. I probably average one or two opportunities to make photographs per week. My job involves a minor amount of simple photography and I like to get out for landscape shooting on the weekend.)

[dabhand]

Andre - I'd add a sorta 1a - after looking at the scene in front of you, do a 360 of the scene around you - there just might be another / better shooting opportunity or perhaps more importantly there may be something you need to be really aware of before becoming engrossed in capturing the image eg: incoming tide, bull (bovine or elephant), traffic, herds of schoolchildren etc.

[connaughtgreen]

hi mike loved the glass shots

[ianlake]

After updating the firmware on your camera some if not all settings are likely to have been reset to default.

[duneshot]

My old Boy Scout days only two words were required "be prepared".

[chauncey]

I do envy those that can accomplish all that, squeeze the shutter and...voila, have that great shot!
For with me it takes shooting tethered and fiddling with "everything" to come up with a decent image.

[Timar]

An alternative approach:

1) Shoot, shoot, shoot
2) Look at the results
3) Analyze what went wrong with most photos
4) Pick out the rare gems where you accidentally did everything right and remember the situation
5) Repeat - the more often you iterate this loop, the more gems you are going to find and the more the "accidentally" will finally turn into an "intuitively".

Although this proposition is somewhat tongue-in-cheek, I think it is just as valid as the original repertoire. Planing everything ahead may work for static subjects like landscape or architectural photography, but even then lightning may change from one second to the other, suddently turning a bland scene into a fascinating play of light. Mechanically follow the steps from the repertoire and you will likely miss the magic moment. Moreover, humans are best in learning from mistakes. Trying to avoid making any mistakes from the start means disregarding the greatest opportunity to learn. In the end, most of the steps from the repertoire should be condensed into a photographers intuition and take only fractions of seconds to apply, without even wasting a conscious thought about them - so that you are free to capture the elusive magic of the moment. I believe, like for any other form of art, there is something to great photos that escapes rational analysis, something unfathomable. Over-rationalizing the process of taking photos may leave you blind towards that dimension where the muses reside.

[Adzman808]

As a noob to this forum, I'll stick my little opinion in...

Now I did a bit skim read the preceding pages, so perhaps this has been covered, but...

Try and think about what shot you want, before you leave the house... IMO you're more likely to come home with a keeper if you set out with an idea... It's like being an artist... You don't sit down and think 'what should I paint today' you think I want to make a picture of ____

And in complete contrast to that!

If you do like to go out and walk about and see what you see

(And I often do that!)

Always look behind you from time to time, I don't mean that in a paranoid way, but looking back at where you've just arrived from offers a completely different perspective and sometimes offers a view that might have passed you by

Re equipment prep...

I have a little ritual that EVERYTHING has to end up back in the bag, in its correct place, set to (my) standard settings when I'm done for the day... Sure I re-check the next time I go out, but I find it easier to do at the of a shoot, and personally I'm more likely to forget to check all my settings at the start than remember to reset them at the end. When the shots are on the computer and the card is going back in the body, that's the trigger I've set in my little brain to say 'and reset the camera for next time'

[rtbaum]

Good advice, Adam. I usually preplan my shoots, but as I am primarily a bird and flower guy...nature rarely cooperates as I have planned. I am always on the lookout for targets of opportunity. Oddly, it is usually the unexpected that make the memorable shots.

[just me]

As a noob to this forum, I'll stick my little opinion in...

Now I did a bit skim read the preceding pages, so perhaps this has been covered, but...

Try and think about what shot you want, before you leave the house... IMO you're more likely to come home with a keeper if you set out with an idea... It's like being an artist... You don't sit down and think 'what should I paint today' you think I want to make a picture of ____

And in complete contrast to that!

If you do like to go out and walk about and see what you see

(And I often do that!)

Always look behind you from time to time, I don't mean that in a paranoid way, but looking back at where you've just arrived from offers a completely different perspective and sometimes offers a view that might have passed you by

Re equipment prep...

I have a little ritual that EVERYTHING has to end up back in the bag, in its correct place, set to (my) standard settings when I'm done for the day... Sure I re-check the next time I go out, but I find it easier to do at the of a shoot, and personally I'm more likely to forget to check all my settings at the start than remember to reset them at the end. When the shots are on the computer and the card is going back in the body, that's the trigger I've set in my little brain to say 'and reset the camera for next time'

Adam...... what you wrote above that's why your photos on your Flickr website are just so interesting.......you notice so often motives, where others just walking past.......and I am learning from your attitude, because lately I try to have my eyes everywhere.....not always lucky to spot something, but.........

Omi-Griddi......

[rpcrowe]

I have a few more pointers that are quite valuable...

Know WHERE you will shoot and how to get there... Plan and map the location...

Give yourself enough time so that when things happen (AND THEY WILL) to delay you, you will still be there in plenty of time to shoot what you want to shoot...

If you shooting location is in a city that has parking meters or self-pay parking lots, ensure you have the right change or bills to feed the meter or deposit the fee for parking.

THIS IS MY GUARANTEE: If you are not there you will not get good (or any) shots