So what's your shooting routine?

Plugus Maximus

Plugus Maximus

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I'm really only just starting off in this old camera malarky and as I am slowly learning all the multitude of variables and options I was wondering what people's routines are?

Let me clarify ... what goes through your head from the moment you pick up a camera to the moment you press the shutter? Do people religiously think "image size, ISO, white balance, shutter speed, aperature" and work through settings in a sequence or does it all happen naturally at once without forethought?

As a learner I struggle to recall all the possible settings which will make the picture good and fanny about by trial an error for ages before I get it sussed. For example it took me awhile to get any pics of the fireworks until I sussed I had to take it off auto focus. Perhaps if I could learn a routine it might make things easier until it all comes naturally.
 
Try the sunny f16 rule if out on a sunny day. Set aperture to f:16 and your iso and shutter the same so if iso is 100 set your shutter to 1/100 if iso is 400 set the shutter to 1/400. It's a good starting place to play with manual setting ;)
 
Thanks for the tip. Any others?
 
When I'm checking and packing the gear I go through all the usual, batteries charged, cards formatted, etc. but I also set the cameras to some sensible settings for ISO, WB, etc. which is a bit redundant but a good safety net.

Prior to shooting I'll check the light, decide on an ISO setting and then take readings for the lightest and darkest areas and make a mental note of the difference. When I'm shooting I'll adjust shutter/aperture as the light varies from lightest to darkest but this is almost subconscious rather than something I'm aware of. For example on Saturday I was shooting still for a DVD a local band is producing. Then wanted shots of them playing but also some wide shots showing the audience. For the band I needed around ISO 800, 1/250s @ f/2. For the audience I needed ISO1600, 1/125s @ f/2 (another 2 stops) so every time I turned the camera on them I upped the ISO and dropped the shutter speed or just the shutter speed when I shot the audience with the band OOF in the background and so on.

I find knowing the limits of the exposure is quicker than trying to meter and compensate for each shot esp. when the lighting is consistent and with a bit of practice you'll find most shots are right on the money which saves a lot of work in post as well :thumbs:

Of course there are exceptions when you need to vary the settings but spotting those only really comes with experience and learning from your mistakes. The trick is learning to make good mistakes ;)
 
I always sketch what I'm looking for before I even leave the house (unless I'm on a documentary assignment).

For example, if I want to take a portrait outdoors with harsh sunlight, I'll wait until I've got a sunny day, draw what i want to achieve and then use it as a template for the shot.

For me the most important routine is as follows:

1: Framing
2: Depth of Field

If you know how you want it to look, and you know how much of the photo you want in focus then the Shutter speed, ISO and aperture pretty much choose themselves. Obviously this doesn't apply to everything....
 
The first thing I generally think of is what kind of shot am I most likley to be getting?
A portrait of something I might have a little time to get right? or freezing the action of something which you might see once or twice a year then its gone..

I know my kit well enough so I can change pretty much all the shooting settings I need to in a few seconds without moving from the viewfinder, which I find is pretty important with wildlife as things can go from relativley calm to madness in an instant.

I guess the first things that go through my mind in an equipment aspect are:

1.> Whats the minimum ISO I can get away with

2.> Do I need to stop down to control depth of field, the nose is in focus but will the eyes be in focus? for this I use dof preview if I have time.. <not often>

3.> Is the shutter speed high enough to get a nice sharp shot? do I want any fancy effect like motion blur of the background, if this is the case I may want to use shutter priority @ 1/30 - 1/125 as opposed to aperture priority?

4.> Can I trust the meter? most DSLRs are known to slightly underexpose, do I compensate and push it 1/3 2/3rds of a stop? is the subject backlit or dark?

5.> Portrait of landscape? depending on the orientation of the subject, can I quickly rotate my camera and lens on the tripod without scaring the subject or missing the shot, could I have anticipated this beforehand?


I guess it all comes down to practise, settings and technical stuff are always in your mind as you shoot, depite trying to be creative at the same time.
 
1 shoot
2 chimp :eek:
3 curse :bang:
4 adjust something :bonk:
5 goto step 1
 
mmcp42 said:
1 shoot
2 chimp :eek:
3 curse :bang:
4 adjust something :bonk:
5 goto step 1
Click to expand...

:lol::lol::lol:



:shrug: Why am I laughing? I could 'ave written that

Had I been a bit quicker:D
 
I have my cameras set to the same settings in the bag, so that the starting point always consistant. I then adjust the cameras, based on the situation i'm shooting.
 
Very much depends on what I'm doing - when I'm working at speedway I have a pretty set routine. Arrive, say hello to a few folk, dump the bag out on the centre and grab the camera with 24-70mm attached. It will be set to ISO 400 in the darker months, ISO200 in the middle of the season. Aperture at 5.6 ready for portrait stuff or candids in and around the pits. If I've arrived late or am in a hurry for some other reason then I don't mind admitting I set it to "P" and let Canon do the work - at least that way I can be assured of getting the results and frankly in the setting I'm working the results will be none too different from what I get using AV anyway! Then once the parade is over, the portrait stuff and mascot pics are done I have about two or three minutes to grab the bag, head up to the first bend and change lenses over to the 70-200mm before the dust starts flying! Again during the lighter months I'll start on ISO 200 or thereabouts, AV, run with that until the shutter speeds drop too low then adjust the ISO to maintain a shutter speed of above 1/160th ideally. Once I need to use flash then it's over to manual settings.

For general stuff I adopt the same routine as a few others in that when I'm checking the kit I also set the camera to some fail-safe settings at the same time - ISO 200, AV, Aperture f8, that sort of thing. When we're away we also try to make sure that one body has a long lens on, and the other has a more general purpose one - to hopefully cover any eventuality. Of course, it never does! :lol:
 
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