Stupid things you should already know

Thoie

I'm not a particularly good photographer - I end up with the odd nice shot generally through pure luck rather than skill. But I like photography, and reading about it. So here's one thing from me that I realised the other day, and it's something I should have being doing already. Anyone have any other tidbits to offer?

Before taking a photo, look around. That's the general advice you get in a lot of places. And I'm good at looking around - just always at my own eye height. I also seem to have a default position of looking at the thing in my field of vision that's furthest away. So the other day, I was having a cigarette and looking at a particularly nice sun rise over hills and framing the picture in my head - had looked around, thought "that's the spot" etc. The cigarette distracted me, I looked down at it, and as I was raising my eyes back to "the spot" I notice the following between me and the sunrise:

Some wasteland, with a pylon, rubbish, and broken metal fencing.
A motorway.
Some unappealing apartments and housing estates.
A warehouse, with giant ugly signs.
A few more dull houses.
THEN the hill with the nice sunrise.

If I'd taken the photo then, I'd probably have included some or all of those, and then had to crop them out later, instead of thinking "I wouldn't start from here at all at all".


So someone please tell me something they're equally stupid about so I don't feel ridiculous!

melekalikimaka

dont cut musicians instruments or bodies...and mic stands are awful in photos

and converting to black and white to cover up a rotten capture isn't something one should do... I used to til i relaised its the worst thing ya can do

smelltheglove

melekalikimaka wrote: »

dont cut musicians instruments or bodies...and mic stands are awful in photos

and converting to black and white to cover up a rotten capture isn't something one should do... I used to til i relaised its the worst thing ya can do

right there with you, the only time i convert to black and white now is to make a boring band look interesting or if it is a really good shot worth converting. I think a lot of black and white pictures are cover ups of mistakes, not all just a lot, gig wise.

I have to take a lot of time for framing as with my weird eyesight and stigmatism I dont often see the full frame and what I see as centered is not centre at all:o

Oh sometimes when taking kid shots I see the beauty of the kid and miss the dirt on their faces:O:O:O then I have to photoshop the dirt out afterwards.

ThOnda

Keep your gear safe. Close your bag, close your pockets, don't keep something only in your hand...
You never know when you trip over something. And you don't feel everybody's hands trying to pick-pocket your gear.

Calina

You must be very antsy about that 5D, ThOnda.

Stupid things:

1) take the lens cap off before trying to shoot. You get a better light meter reading with it.

2) bring something to clean the front of the lens.

3) Do not lend someone else the head of your tripod.

CabanSail

Load film into the camera before taking shots & make sure it's connected to the wind up spool.


It has happened to me, once I assumed I had film in the camera & went out shooting. The other I loaded the film & tried to get the extra frame by not winding one on. None of them wound on. Missed some great shots both times, well in my mind I did anyway.

ThOnda

Oh yes. Check, if the film is loaded correctly or if you have memory card in your camera. Half day clicking not being bothered by amount of taken shots - priceless

Buzz Lightyear

CabanSail wrote: »

Load film into the camera before taking shots & make sure it's connected to the wind up spool.

Oooh yea. I remember shooting at a wedding (as a guest) and knowing I had a few shots left at the end of the roll, so I was concious of the last few shots ...... which just kept going on with a 36exp roll ???
Yep it was only then I noticed the far end of the spool was stationary and then when I opened up the feckin can that I found out ......

You try to only make that mistake once.

TJM

If your camera doesn't show ISO in the viewfinder then make sure you check it before you start to shoot. (Ever looked back on shots in broad daylight and wondered why they're a noisy 1600? I have.)

When you bring your tripod, make sure the mounting plate isn't at home on the other camera. (Doh!)

nilhg

Bring your tripod when you go in the car.....


Bring your tripod when you leave the car to go shoot.... Too late when you are a mile down the woods.:(

ThOnda

One thing I have learned recently - pressing the INFO button everytime I get the camera from the bag. Just to see what are current settings.

John

Have a spare charged battery in your bag.

Borderfox

ISO/ISO/ISO I havent made that mistake in a long time

Sleepy

One of the first lessons I've learnt since getting an SLR - set your focus point back to auto after using it at a manual setting. Otherwise you lose the ability to get a quick snapshot when one of the kids does something cute

Borderfox

Borderfox wrote: »

ISO/ISO/ISO I havent made that mistake in a long time

What?

Bui

Even easier to overlook than ISO - exposure compensation.

Also spare batteries for your flash.

Thirdfox

Normally I'm on auto ISO...

but 1600 in broad daylight has happened to me before
and the lens cap on camera (more than once!) - I try to have a fluid motion nowadays that removes the cap as I bring the camera up to eyelevel...

mixing and matching your filters in their holders so that you thought you brought the CP but find out it's the IR one instead

Asiaprod

Buy UV filters for all your lenses. A damaged filter is cheaper to replace than a damaged lens:(

Fionn

turn off inappropriate IS when your lens is mounted on a tripod (unless it's able to sense when it's mounted)!!
and yeah the ISO has caught me a few times thank, god for neat image! so yes ISO/ISO/ISO write it on yer hand!!

good plan that ThOnda - check settings and equipment prior to the shoot.

Shiny

ISO - Accidentally shooting at 3200/1600 during the day.

Accidentally changing the Diopter and freaking out when I look
through the view finder to find everything blurred!!! :eek:

Bringing the tripod but forgetting the mounting plate.:o

AnCatDubh

lower aperture value = maximum aperture rating of lens = larger opening in lens = more light = better bokeh = faster shutter speeds = better in low light = shallower depth of field = more tricky to get a manual focus exactly right = more weight in lens = more expensive €€€€€

Buzz Lightyear

Yep I to have been caught out with the wrong ISO, leaving me with more grain than quality - however we all live and learn.

As for the auld bringing the tripod and leaving the mount at home - do what I do invest in a second mount for the film camera and leave both mounts permantly attached to each camera. It hasn't failed yet.

Mycroft H

Thought I had three fantastic shots of two goldfinchs sitting side by side on a branch.....

Looking in the viewfinder i noticed i was getting really high shutter speeds but kept on shooting..... On looking back on my shots today i realised that i'd left it in iso 3200.....
I wasnt too happy lol.

Another ting i sometimes do is leave it in manual focus and shoot expecting it to be in af

gandalf

ISO is the one that normally catches me out along with when I change the AF focus point and forget to change it back.

njburke

Yep, I've been caught more than once by everything mentioned so far, guess thats the learning curve.
One mistake that still burns, is an indoor family get together where the preflashes caused all the subjects to blink, I ended up with a bunch of shots where the inlaws were are all mid blink, most unflattering.

Anyway the way I since found to get round that issue is to use the flash lock feature. Set the AE/AF L button to flash lock (FV lock) and the flash fires and is metered.
It works well, but hey I'm no one trick pony so if anyone else can suggest an alternate method I'll give that a try.

Niall