Mental Checklists Prior To Shooting...

[sallydouglas]

<p>Hi Everyone...<br>

As part of my study course, I have been asked to describe my thought process prior to taking a photo...<br>

My method at present is I see something interesting and shoot it, and basically hope for the best!... (I am fairly certain great photographers dont use this method!!...)<br>

I would really appreciate some advice as to what other photographers <strong>think </strong> about before they take a shot... What mental checklists do you all go through, both technically and creativity wise, and how do you think about the final image prior to shooting it?...<br>

At this point in time, my creativity is under developed and more or less caged up somewhere inside of me... I am working hard to bring it out, but am having trouble...I have spent so many years being an accountant!!!...<br>

Thanks in advance...<br>

Sally...</p>

[miko_okin]

<p>I find that just before I take the picture I ask myself, what would be the typical photograph that people will take ,then I find every other way to snap the photo besides the 'typical' way.So for example,an old house or building ,people will take the picture of it straight on so I think to myself I want every picture I take to be completely different(o.k,maybe 1 straight on),like from the side, up close,the stairs,the doors,from totally different angles.Hope this helps.</p>

[Matt Laur]

<p>This is a deceptively complex topic. Before going any further, here, it's important to recognize that people shooting sports are going to have a wildly different set of circumstance and priorities than someone shooting insect macros, weddings, nocturnal landscapes, architectural interiors, hot food ... you get the idea. You don't really hint at what sort of photography is talking to you, but a quick peek at your portfolio suggests you're not (so far!) the haul-the-tripod-out-into-the-swamp or the arrange-a-dozen-strobes-to-light-the-baroque-cabinetry type. So...<br /><br />The first (and sometimes the only) thing on my checklist is: <em>why</em> am I about to take this photograph? Because when you can answer that question, it immediately helps to inform your decisions about everything from ISO, shutter speed and aperture to focal length, working distance, composition, and light.<br /><br />And of course, the more you shoot certain sorts of subject matter, the more that the technical issues fade to the background, and you can concentrate on what you're trying to communicate.<br /><br />So, I ask myself things like:<br /><br />Do I need to freeze motion, or show motion? (this goes to shutter speed, aperture, and ISO)<br /><br />Do I need to isolate the subject from the background, or keep them both in focus? (this goes to aperture, distance, and focal length of lens)<br /><br />Do I need a sliver of the background, directly behind my subject - or do I want to place the subject in a wide, informative setting (this goes to focal length and working distance, and perhaps aperture choice)<br /><br />How do I want to relate to the subject? Should I be above? At eye level? Crouching down? How does changing that point of view change what I'm communicating about the subject?<br /><br />What's the light doing? Am I casting shadows in a useful way, or an unflattering/annoying way? Is the light contributing to the atmosphere I wish to convey?<br /><br />Do I need to add to or modify the light in some way? What equipment will I need to do that - or can I just grab an aluminum platter from the waiter, to use as reflector? <br /><br />Am I wrestling with mixed light sources that will cause odd color temperature problem? Is something brown being hideously lit by light that's reflected off of something green?<br /><br />Is my horizon straight? Am I within the shutter speed range that allows me to hand hold? If not, do I have a support, or a VR lens, and will it help or hurt me to use it?<br /><br />Is there a light source that's going to cause lens flare, ghosts, or glare?<br /><br />In trying to get a better angle, am I about to back into someone more important than I am and wish I had better insurance?<br /><br />How are my batteries? How are my storage cards? Am I recording files in the right format? Have I remembered to disable bracketing, or exposure compensation, or other gotchas? Am I in the right AF mode for what I'm about to do?<br /><br />What's in the background? Am I including or excluding the right things? Is my subject doing what I need him/her/it to do?<br /><br />And of course: one more time... <em>why</em> am I about to make this photograph?</p>

[James G. Dainis]

First I check to make sure their are no disturbing elements in the frame such as a "No parking" sign off to the side or lamp post growing out of the subjects head or candy wrapper on the ground etc.

 

Then I adjust for the camera meter being "fooled" by either too much bright in the scene (lot of sky or snow) or too much dark (black cat on coal pile).

 

Finally, I adjust the composition starting with the rule of thirds.

[jpo3136b]

<p>

 

<p>As you ask, I sometimes remember this one photo I saw when I was a teenager; it was in a book written by Ian Bradshaw.</p>

<p>Across the back pockets of a pair of blue jeans worn by an attractive woman, they had stitched the words, "Stop. Think." Oh, yeah. Stop. Think.</p>

<p>If you stop and think about anything at all you might increase your chances of managing yourself. I've got a couple of patterns I use, mix and match: <br>

-look at the scene and measure out with my hands what size of focal length I desire. This helps to improve composition; it's often better than composing and re-framing through the viewfinder. <br>

-once you've picked the shot, put the camera right there; this will help with tripod work, and anything else related to stability. Just as you would pick where to put the camera, pick where to put lights, strobes, lamps; don't just put them in the general area; put them in the exact spot you thought they should be.<br>

-think of the controls on the camera in the same pattern the light enters; filters, focus, aperture, shutter, sensitivity. This can smooth out some of the math checks.</p>

<p>So, I guess the pattern would be: subject, scene support, on-camera checks. </p>

<p>It's not a complete list, but if you set any kind of pattern, you're more likely to get ahead with coaching yourself. I recommend a notebook to write down some setup info after each photo. I forget a lot of that stuff if I do not write it down. Write down or sketch out what you were thinking when you made the photo; when you review the photo later, this can help you to identify some problems. </p>

<p>Standardization is the key to troubleshooting sometimes.</p>

 

</p>

[SCL]

<p>Tough question. Skipping the philosophical, I would say my process goes something like this: Does it matter if my horizon should be horizontal; What is the ideal exposure and should I deviate from it; Have I properly set my shutter speed and aperture (if in manual mode);, Can I get the shot I want without a tripod; If using a rangefinder...did I remove the lens cap, If using a DSLR/SLR did I turn on the camera (if not manual); Do I need to bracket my exposures; Should I attempt another shot from a different vantage point? You might laugh at a few of these, but this last summer I happened on a parade and in my haste to capture a couple of antique tractors in the parade, I forgot to take my lens cap off my rangefinder...I do best when I stick to a plan!</p>

[marcaubin]

<p>John, you wrote something that caught my eye: "look at the scene and measure out with my hands what size of focal length I desire." Sounds like a very handy (sorry) trick. Could you elaborate?</p>

[bob_bill]

<p>Not sure about using hands, but using a viewing card of black cardboard or spare foamcore with a 24 x36 mm opening when viewed through with one eye, the distance the card is from the eye approximates the mm of the view given by a lens for full frame. Can mark the mm of your lenses across the top of card . Helpful to see the possible selections of all in front of us with the camera and camera can remain safely in bag. Jimmy Katz taught me to keep the camera and lens in the bag when moving about outdoors. Last weeks face plant in the dark reminded my why. Nothing broken, me or d700/70-200. It can be surprising how many shots that could be overlooked without the card. It is easily "zoomed" by moving it closer or further from the eye. Someone on a previous post mentioned how the human eye is designed to see movement of approaching threats at the edges so isnt as sharp there, and precisely see the threats in the center of the eye once it is detected, hence the reason we often miss that distracting object at the edge of the frame. They seem more obvious in the viewing card then in the view finder for me. Most importantly, it keeps my itchy trigger finger at bay and forces me to consider the shot.</p>

[rick_jones5]

<p>It is very easy to include too much in a photograph. I try to simplify as much as possible and that usually means moving closer to the subject or at least exploring a closer viewpoint. Distracting elements can go unnoticed if the frame is not examined very carefully - especially along the edges. A distraction could be a trash can, a piece of paper or a small portion of sky which could be eliminated with careful framing. A tripod slows me down and helps me look and think more carefully.</p>

[william l. palminteri]

<blockquote>

<p ><a href="../photodb/user?user_id=5582195"><em>Sally Douglas</em></a><em> </em><a href="../member-status-icons"><em><img title="Subscriber" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/sub1.gif" alt="" /><img title="Frequent poster" src="http://static.photo.net/v3graphics/member-status-icons/1roll.gif" alt="" /></em></a><em>, Oct 20, 2009; 06:52 p.m.</em></p>

<p ><em>Hi Everyone...<br />As part of my study course, I have been asked to describe my thought process prior to taking a photo...<br />My method at present is I see something interesting and shoot it, and basically hope for the best!... (I am fairly certain great photographers dont use this method!!...)</em></p>

</blockquote>

<p >Sally, that's exactly what great artists do, that's the process. Eye training is everything.<br>

The more you "analyze" the shot, the more you suck the life out of it.<br>

The "hope for the best" component is not part of the equation, their instincts know what's good and what's not long before they take pen to paper, brush to canvas, or film to camera.</p>

<p>Trust me on this.</p>

<p ><em><strong>"When I have to think about it, I know the picture is wrong... My instinct about painting says, "If you don't think about it, it's right." As soon as you have to decide and choose, it's wrong. And the more you decide about, the more wrong it gets." Andy Warhol</strong></em></p>

<p ><em></em></p>

<p > </p>

<p > </p>

<p >Bill P. </p>

[gary_watson]

<p>Simple. Remember this one: CBE</p>

<p>Composition, background, exposure.</p>

[mark_drutz]

<p>I try to keep three things in mind: content, composition, and light.</p>

<p>Content: What interests me about this subject? What should I include? What should I emphasize? What should I leave out?</p>

<p>Composition: How should I compose the picture to bring out what interested me enough to take the picture?</p>

<p>Light: Does the light help the composition or hurt it? Can I alter the light now or in postprocessing to help the composition? If the light is bad, does it ruin the picture?</p>

<p>Painting is an art of inclusion. The painter has complete control. He/she can include whatever he/she wants. Photography is an art of inclusion and exclusion. We look at a scene and have to decide what to include, what to emphasize, and what to leave out. The other questions are technical which you'll learn over time. It sounds like a lot to keep in mind, but after a while it comes naturally. A great baseball player was asked what he thinks about when he's batting. He said, "I see the ball and I hit it".</p>

<p> </p>

[jpo3136b]

 

<p><strong>Using hands to estimate field of view: </strong>You probably have seen someone in a movie or TV show acting as a director, using his hands at arms length to estimate how wide or narrow a shot would be. I think there is a Canon ad that shows something similar using fingers and hands to form a rectangle.</p>

<p>The procedure is simple. With my hand at arm's length (elbows locked), I stick out a fist with my little finger and thumb extended to form a handspan. Use this to mark off an imaginary spot to the left and right of the handspan. Now look at that spot through a normal lens on a 35mm camera or DSLR. Chances are one handspan will be about the width of a horizontal angle of view at "normal." </p>

<p>If I have one handspan that looks like it would encompass the width of what I want to frame, I will use a normal lens. If I have two handspans, then I use a wide angle. Four handspans, extreme wide angle. Four fingers wide or less, (the width of the palm of my hand with the fingers stuck out, not a handspan), then I will use telephoto. Three or four fingers wide will often be at about 200mm on a 35mm camera. </p>

<p>This is just a modification of using a viewing card, except that it's easier to use your hands because you can just move them as you please (provided you are in good health). </p>

<p>Using this method, you can begin to approximate what you want to see in the viewfinder before you raise the camera to your face. The world is large and filled with details and objects; sometimes a good photo is about what you want to include, or exclude. I lean towards exclusion; the less you have in the picture, sometimes the easier to build a stronger composition; depends; but, I favor exclusion as a trend. </p>

<p>Starting out by using your hands to estimate framing and composition of the photo can promote visualization. Sometimes I get into a rut about keeping the camera to my face, and then looking around with it; this is a reactionary method of composition; tripping the shutter when you 'find' a moment of good composition. </p>

<p>There's nothing wrong with that, in and of itself; but framing up a scene with your hands can promote deliberate composition. It's also good in situations where there are multiple photographers working on the same scene. Showing with your hands, you may tell someone, "Okay, here's the shot." </p>

 

 

[marcaubin]

<p>I apologize for getting a bit off topic, but I thought that John's trick was pretty cool, so I looked on the net for some illustrated measurements and couldn't find any. So I measured out the min/max focal lengths of the lenses I use most often on a crop body (1.6 crop factor) thinking that they could be of use to others. Note that my hands aren't very big. </p><div></div>

[danturcotte]

<p>Nearly all of my "good" shots have been along the lines of accidents; I'm definitely of the " shoot and hope for the best" school, at least for now.</p>

<p>All of the above comments have, already, proved immensely useful to me. It's given me a lot to think about and I'm sure it will make my photgraphy that much closer to what I want it to be.</p>

<p>I'm not sure it these responses answer the OP's question, but they have answered mine (and I didn't even know I had them until I read this post.) Thank you all very much.</p>

[johnw63]

<p>I think the " Why am I taking this picture ? " is a good first one. My second is something like " What about this shot caught my attention in the first place ? " , then " Is it good, just as it is, or do I need to get in closer and simplify the shot, or back up and put it more in the scene ? "</p>

<p>Then, once I think I have the fram filled the way I want, I go to ideas on shutter and aperture that affect the shot. Like some one above posted, " Background sharp or blury ? " and " Freeze any motion of let it blur ? "</p>

<p>Of course I don't KNOW how many times I kick myself for NOT getting the horizon OUT of the middle of the frame ! Yes, there are times when being centered is just fine, but for the stuff I have shot, it's the quickest way to get a boring image ! I changed the finder screen in my camera, to have the grid lines, so I could check for level and to force myself to think about the horizon.</p>

<p>Now, the thing is, as these questions become automatic, you stop asking them and just do what you need. I suspect we still need to examine the shot for issues around the endge of the picture. I hate getting a cool race car shot, with an Port-O-Potty in the background when I get the film back.</p>

<p> </p>