what cheat sheets do you carry?

<p>i'm thinking about loading my ipod with some of my favorite images which may be some of my own plus some from others. not necessarily to exactly duplicate them, but to jog my memory as to why i like them so i can produce something silimar (nice angle, nice lighting, composition, use of stairs, use of fountain, etc.). in my bag i also have a table with recommended shutter speeds for stopping different types of action. i think i've got that one memorized but it's still in my bag. i also have my list of "must have" wedding shots just to make sure i don't forget. i also keep my camera and flash instruction manuals in my bag as a reference just in case i need it. even the best quarterbacks in the nfl wear a cheat sheet of plays written under their wristband! i'm wondering what reference materials or cheat sheets do others carry with them?</p>

<p>None.</p>

<p>maybe i should have said, "what do you carry" or "what did you use to carry"</p>

<p>Nothing really. I check out the location, meet with the couple so I get an impression of lighting condidions, backgrounds, facial features/best angles (when meeting w/client) etc., go over their list of "must have's" and then just do what I do. Any type of cheat sheet or "oh wait, I don't know this one by heart so let me check it real quick" would drive me nuts and seriously distract from what I'm doing - taking photos of their wedding. What do you need the camera/flash manual for? Apart from the fact that you should know your equipment, have you thought about the impression you leave on people when the person they PAY to shoot their wedding is reading up on how to change their settings????</p>

<p>Thats actually a good idea Danzel, I never would have though of that.</p>

<p>If I manage to get a chance to check out the venue prior to the wedding day I'll take a note pad and include info like s/speed, aperture, iso, flash power etc. for different areas... not that I refer to it much if ever, it's just comforting to know I have it there and that I can use it if my brain happens to fry or something. I find this particularly good for indoor places like high roofed churches etc. so you know where you can bounce a flash to have it work properly and things like that.</p>

<p>But the ipod with the pictures is a cool idea, especially if you find yourself out on location and know the sort of shot you want but can't quite remember the look that made you like it so much.</p>

<p>Hey may i could get one of those quarterback arm things that flips open and have it right there on my arm... that is not a bad idea at all. Save walking around with pieces of paper in your back pocket. Good for the family photos lists as well.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>kat, i'm not suggesting pulling out cheat sheets in the middle of shooting. there's always downtime such as bathroom breaks, dinner, etc. where you can change a flash or camera custom function setting (don't tell me you have all the custom functions memorized!), or look at some other photos to inspire something new and different. another example, i have the 40d and never used the live view mode but once had a situation where i thought it would be handy and quickly figured out how to use it because i had the manual with me.</p>

<blockquote>

<p>What do you need the camera/flash manual for?</p>

</blockquote>

<p>I was shooting something once (not a wedding) when I somehow turned the bracketing on, since I never use this feature I got a little flustered trying to turn it off. The manual came in handy.<br>

And I don't see anything wrong with having a little laminated card of poses as a memory jogger.</p>

<blockquote>

<p> (don't tell me you have all the custom functions memorized!)</p>

 

</blockquote>

<p>I can locate the ones I need to use quickly and know what they do based on the text that appears on the camera. Can I recite the function number and all options from memory? No. Can I change the custom functions without the manual? Yes.</p>

<p>If this had been posted in any forum *other* than the wedding one, I'd concur it's a good idea to keep manuals and cheatsheets handy. </p>

<p>If you are not absolutely comfortable with your equipment so that at the very least, you know how to return it to the settings with which your familiar, then you should think about practicing at events other than weddings.</p>

<p>Eric</p>

<p>It is not about memorizing settings. It is about knowing your equipment, knowing your lighting, knowing people, poses ... knowing your stuff ... knowing what you do by heart. If you have to memorize something, you haven't internalized it. That comes with time, effort, trial & error and practice. And more practice.<br>

Quote "in my bag i also have a table with recommended shutter speeds for stopping different types of action." ??? This makes it sound like you're flying by the seat of your pants. Why not take the time to play around with your camera, heck, even in the bathroom - try freezing the water coming out of the faucet, make it softer etc. Take photos until everybody around you is sick of you and your camera but at the end of the day, you'll just feel so much more comfortable knowing what you're doing.</p>

<p>kat, for some reason you're viewing cheat sheets/reference material as a sign of inexperience. i view it as a safety net. you can leave your manuals at home. but mine are staying with me ;-)</p>

<p>A safety net is having two sets of backup equipment. I'm afraid taking the manual with you for reference during bathroom breaks, and peeking at a pocket guide of exposure combinations is not a safety net. At best it's a crutch. At worst it betrays a lack of camera skills and expertise. Speaking for myself, if I felt I needed a cheat sheet, the very last thing I'd ever be doing is photographing someone's wedding.</p>

<p>I keep a shot list with me but I only use it during the formals. I also keep a contact sheet of poses that I'd like to try out.</p>

<p>I bring the Lookbook. Most often it stays in the bag the whole time, but occasionally a couple just isn't getting what I'm asking them to do. A picture is worth a thousand words. If they get to see the Lookbook they often ask me to do a couple poses they've picked out of it that they like.</p>

<p>a safety net is something you don't intend on using, but if you need it, you're sure glad it's there. i don't have backup gear because i intend on using it. i never intend on breaking an off camera shoe cord but when i do i'm sure glad i had a backup cord ;-) i don't plan to run out of fresh ideas for posing, but if i do i'm sure glad my ipod was full of some creative and fun poses to grab a quick sneak peak at ;-) i consider it backing up your brain memory just like we backup our gear. i'm sure everyone is different on what memory joggers they may need at times, especially those like me who are part timers and not a full time photographer. that's why i posted the question. the intent was not "who is taking cheat sheets to learn on the job".</p>

<p>i don't take any with me either.<br />I do agree whole heartedly with Kat.<br />If your at a photo shoot, you're being paid to shoot, not to learn about your equipment, or the event, OR subject you are shooting!</p>

<p>We bring a shot list that our brides answer on our ShootQ system. That's it. </p>

<p>I carry a bellows extension factor cheat sheet in the case with my LF gear for those close up shots. Other than that, no, nothing really.</p>

<p>Has anyone ever had an error message show up they weren't familiar with? It was nice having my manual in my car so I could do a quick check and quickly fix the problem. Did the client ever know? Nope. Did I look any less professional? Nope. I don't think Danzel is talking about learning to use a camera during a wedding (at least I hope not!) But more like a surgeon's library of medical text books in his office or the data base of reference material available to the pilot from air control.</p>

<p>Besides my manual, other reference material I usually bring along: Lookbook, my own photo ideas (printed out 12/sheet - like my own lookbook, but an ipod would be even better), copy of the contract, info list (includes names, addresses, phone #s, special requests from the couple, times, etc.) and any notes I've made about the site, the couple, photo ideas. Most of this info is reviewed in the days before the wedding, at the rehearsal and on the way to the site on the day of. Rarely do I pull ANY of it out during the actual wedding, but it is comforting to know it's there and my assistant really appreciates having all the info she might need handy. </p>

<p>All that being said, I'm a compulsive list maker. Making lists, writing it down and reading it helps me commit it to memory. Not everyone is like that. I'm guessing Kat is more of a tactile learner which may be why she has a hard time seeing how having lists & "cheat sheets" around could be beneficial. In the end, if clients are happy with both the photographer and the photos, neither way is WRONG, just different. </p>

<p>I'm not quite getting this arguement.</p>

<p>Let's see, if I make a note to myself, I don't know what I'm doing? </p>

<p>I KNOW that I know what I'm doing, and don't believe for one minute that making a note, so I remember something important, means I don't.</p>

<p>I recently ferretted out how to set my Sony flashes for slave work ... it was so freakin' complicated that I wrote out remedial notes to myself on what button to push at what time in what sequence and for how long ... once I do it a bunch of times I'll toss the note.</p>

<p>I have a yellow sticky on one of my MF cameras because I remove the battery when not in use ... the note reminds me to put it back in before firing the camera or it WILL lock up. I can never remember how to unlock it either ... so I have a note on how to do that in case I miss the yellow sticky ... LOL!<br>

Different strokes for different folks.</p>

<p> </p>

<p>Other than a manual which I have yet to look at while in the "field", If I go on a trip, I carry a printout of sunrise/set, moonrise/set times along with the azimuth for the particular location I will be at. Of course I need a compass with that but I can set up, say for a moonrise, in advance. Never have owned a damn watch I can trust, but a cell phone provides that information.</p>

<p>thanks marc, talitha, and kerry for adding to the points and sharing more examples. no one, in any profession (doctors, engineers, pilots included), can say they are 100% prepared for 100% of the things they may encounter. more experience means less unprepared encounters, and better instincts in those rare encounters. but if you have the time to create some quick reference charts for those things you may need why not make it easy on yourself. If you have the time to look at it you do. If you don’t you have no choice but to trust your instincts. as talitha points out, these "notes to self" are transparent to the client anyway. and as marc points out, eventually you may not need them and they end up in the circular file. that is until you end up trying something else new and create notes for it!</p>

<p>There're in my head. In the real world you only have time for four settings...ISO, WB, aperture and speed. If you use auto WB, auto ISO, you are back to 1950, or earlier, figuring out the other two. The meter does that. So who needs a cheat sheet.</p>

<p>never mind that...<br>

If i see my airline pilot looking over a manual on how to fly a particular aircraft.....i'm outa there!!!!!!!!!</p>

<p>It's a fair question Danzel C. My answer would be no.</p>

<p>If I hired you to be either my assistant second wedding photographer or more importantly, to photograph <strong>my</strong> wedding, I would expect you to know your equipment and to be naturally creative and original without having to resort to references.</p>

<p>In the event of equipment malfunction, it would be expected that the wedding photographer has backup equipment and the corresponding manuals locked in the trunk of his/her vehicle. With a fast paced wedding schedule from the bride's house to the church to the park to the banquet hall, and with unpredicatble wedding guests, I would have no patience waiting for a photographer having to resort to "cheat sheets" in an attempt to capture the next important image.</p>

<p>Except for the odd washroom break or two, there are generally no breaks for the wedding photographer. The photographer is expected to be there at the snap of the client's finger.</p>

<p>Nothing for film, the camera manual for digital. That's cheating?</p>