What were you thininging

mysteryscribe · Jul 7, 2006

So now that there is a digital revolution tell me this, when you shoot a picture what is your plan for it.

Now I suppose you want an explaination to...

Okay all my photo life or career, such as it was, I shot images knowing they would be prints one day. Always shot them knowing they will need some cropping here or there so leave a little on the edges of a 35mm negative ect.

So now that you are not necessarily shooting everything for prints what do you think. Do you shoot differently say for a wedding or portrait or do you shoot everything the same and hope for the best. I'm curious since I cant break my old habits good or bad.

Iron Flatline · Jul 8, 2006

I shoot the way I always did, just more so. I'm less concerned about film and development costs, so I'm more willing to fire away. Other than that I still try to meter, compose and expose the right way.

markc · Jul 8, 2006

My shooting habit haven't changed much since my film days either. I'll shoot like I did when I was doing a wedding and the film/dev costs were covered. I'll usually check the LCD after a couple of shots in a new lighting situation, just to make sure I didn't forget to adjust for it (like changing the ISO), or go through them during a lull, but as far as intent goes, that hasn't changed. I usually have a final print in mind, unless I'm just doing a snapshot for an item I'm putting on eBay.

I personally don't see digital and film as being that different, at least not the way I use them. I've modeled my digital workflow after the darkroom. For me, shooting slides requires more of a mental adjustement than switching back and forth between neg film and digital.

Sharkbait · Jul 8, 2006

Shoot wide, crop down.

magicmonkey · Jul 8, 2006

I always try and get my shots as close as possible to what I want them to finish up life as to cut down on post processing and because I think it's a good habit to be in, doesn't stop me failing miserably quite a lot though!

zedin · Jul 8, 2006

I would say my shooting habits haven't changed much. I still shoot conservatively with digital since I was always watching film/development costs when I did film. I am annoyed if I don't get at least 25% of my shots worth keeping. About the only change I have seen is I am more willing to experiment with areas/subjects that I am not all that good shooting yet (like people and urban) since it isn't cost prohibative anymore to try something new.

rmh159 · Jul 12, 2006

I've only ever shot digital (sort of newb-esque still) and nothing against film but I just don't have any curiosity to get into it.

I'd say 50% of my shots are for prints while the other 50% are for posting on my webpage. I don't think anything makes a photo look better than a nice print and frame but my question would be since we ARE shooting digital and we're more freely snapping shots... what would you do with all of the prints? Do you all just print out everything and keep tons of albums? Do you have entire walls covered in frames? That's probably the only reason I don't print more... not quite sure what to do with the prints.

craig · Jul 14, 2006

Everything I shoot is geared for print. I use the internet for file transfers and quick proofs. I shot a web project and it was a breeze because you can technically get away with a lot. Plus the files were small so that was handy. Basically my thought process and workflow are the same as the ol' film days. It is just that digi is very convenient. Dare I say liberating? These days it is all about the 90 second photo lab.

markc · Jul 14, 2006

I don't always print everything I work on, but it's all worked on with the idea of printing in mind. I never know when I might want to. I also have a pretty low rate of what I think are keepers compared to a lot of people. I get pretty picky about what I consider my current "printables". When I had my house, I had several hanging there, I've given them away as gifts, used them for TFP exchanges for models, hung in galleries for sale and for shows, etc. Not everything gets used that way, but as I grow, I tend to retire older images.

panzershreck · Jul 14, 2006

i shoot exactly how i want it to turn out, i rarely ever crop, but if something is in the way, and there's no way around it, i'll just go with what i can get

simply speaking i don't think about it, i don't really have a plan, instead i just shoot away, and later on might say "hey, this might look better cropped here, or maybe a little more contrast", but usually what i shoot is what i stick with

oh right... i still shoot only film, which is what i learned on, sometimes i use a digital P&S

LaFoto · Jul 14, 2006

With a digital SLR I have become more daring at last, and a lot more willing to test out things and ultimately gain control over my camera than what I used to do for years and years with the film SLR - just because making a mistake is no longer as costly as it was back then. So now I not only finally use my DSLR in full manual mode, but I at long last also apply only that mode to my (nowadays rare but not yet extinct) film SLR photography. (When I use the Leica - on very rare occasions, I must admit

- I have to go "all manual", of course).

The change I feel in me is the desire for "instant gratification" so that I found myself looking at the back of my film SLR after many a photo taken, only to mentally slap my forehead and say to myself "Oh, you silly, this is film!"

As to what usually is on my mind when I take a photo these days (says who has never done any professional photography before, though I have covered events for family or friends before, but those "jobs" were unpaid jobs, save that one...) is: will it become a frame that I will be happy to show on TPF?

So to put it more generally: I plan for a possible "showing" of each and every frame.
Not that my plans always work out. Very much to the contrary. But with each photo I at least try to create something that others might like to look at and that others would appreciate, too. And if only a 1% of the total outcome can meet my own expectations, at least I am having them and try to work so I may meet my own expectations.

I hope my answer is understandable, I am so struggling with my typing these days (see Snapshots and Bloopers, Ouch, poor pinky to see why), I can hardly concentrate on WHAT I say these days...)