Don't you hate it when...

[GeneralBenson]

Chimping is also great to confirm if you got the shot you were looking for. If there's a certain shot you're trying to get, and you think you got it, check the screen to confirm and move on. No need to waste time taking more if you got it already.

 

[jenn76]

You've gone to an event (such as a corporate day at the races for work), and have taken shots all day including portraits, group shots, candid shots, etc. etc.

Then when they see the result and are blown away they say....

"I've got to get one of those cameras".

Now, I know that this is a compliment, even indirect, so I am flattered.
However I can't help but feel the Camera has been given more credit than the person taking the photos.

I know my point is a bit whiney, but what about situations you've just gone GRRRR at?

Oh, I have a good story about that! My cousin (who is 40 and old enough to know better, but a complete idiot) decided that since I was a photographer, she would be one too. So she asked her boyfriend to buy her a DSLR for her Christmas gift last year. Mind you, she wouldn't even know what that stands for. So he got her a Canon Rebel (I shoot with a 20D), and within the next few weeks, I started getting calls with stupid questions like "How do I get the pictures off the card?" Are you kidding me? i don't have time to teach you this crap since you decided to get an SLR instead of a P&S! Read your manual! And speaking of manual, I'm sure that setting will never be used on that camera! GRRRR!!!

 

[maulrat]

Haha. What what is more annoying is this: Taking a shot then your subject runs to you and nearly pulls the camera off from around your neck and says, "Let me see"! I get so irritated. Grrrrrrr.

 

[TBAM]

I must admit, I chimp at times.

Though, it is more in the case of:
- Take photo
- Glance at picture review / histogram to see if ok, if looks ok, leave it at that.
- If photo looks a bit sketchy or the histogram peaks at points that i'm not too keen about i'll zoom in, check the focus and whether points are too blown out, or too underexposed, so that I can adjust my settings from there.

I do that, mainly because - It's better to learn on the fly, than take a crap-load of shots and realise all of them are buggered and you could have changed one simple setting to correct the problem if you'd spent 1 second just double checking your settings.

I also, like showing the subjects the LCD after a picture (or the best one after a series of pictures), because it usually gets them interested and I get comments like "I'll have to get copies of that off you". It's good promotion, especially if they may not know you, or know the person you're shooting for and may not be told the internet address for the shots.

Also, it piques their interest up-front and gets them eager. Otherwise they may care less about the photos you took, as they have no idea what they are like.

A good example of (perhaps only common sense) where people think the camera does the majority of the work, is the other day at said corporate race day. I took photos of the horses running by, essentially got my settings set up before hand, waited for them to round the bend onto the straight and just held the shutter down as they went past. Following the pack. Got some really good shots.

I gave the camera to a friend's missus, as she is interested in purchasing a dSLR and told her to have a go with it. She tried taking photos of the horses the next time around - She stood still and didn't focus the camera, didn't follow the pack or horses along and just shot at a point in the track, then was surprised that when she tried to take a photo, the horses had actually passed and she missed the entire pack and now only had a few underexposed shots of the ground.

For most people though, they just can't understand the way a camera works, they don't comprehend what the sensor does, or what film does, and how a photo is made. Therefor, they don't understand shutter, aperture and ISO. When you give people a go on the dSLR, they put it on Auto and get happy snaps like a point and shoot, but with better images due to the depth of field created, and then think that it's easy to be a photographer.

Ahh, well. You have to take solice in that if they liked the shots, regardless of who they give credit to, you know the credit is really yours, and if they liked the shots, you've done a good job.

 

[manaheim]

I look at a lot of my shots in a professional situation because I cannot risk being off. I very rarely am, but sometimes there are certain elements in the room I'm shooting that can cause hot spots on the walls and ceilings that I want to avoid, and I only take 2-3 shots per spot in each room, so I wind up having to check at least 1/3 of the time.

When not shooting on site, or when shooting events with people, I very rarely check more than occasionally when I know the light has gotten particularly weird.

As far as the comment about the cam... yeah, I get it occasionally too. It's irksome, but what are you going to do. Saying "It's not all in the camera" sounds obnoxious... though I thought I might try something like "You know, it's not all in the camera, it's really in the wrist..." (and then some kind of odd flourish to make it semi-slapsticky) just to see if I could make people realize that what they said was really very silly.

 

[Josh66]

I usually just say "Yeah, it's pretty good" to the whole "nice camera" thing.
I generally try to keep that conversation as short as possible.

Chimping - I would if I could (broken LCD on one body, the other is film).

The thing that pisses me off the most is when you forget to bring something. I almost always forget something. Usually it's something small that I can do without, like a notebook (the paper kind - not a computer) or a USB cable. Sometimes it's something that I actually need, like a tripod or film.

 

[chrisburke]

i hate it when the subjects of a portrait session are... well.. ugly... i find it hard to make a nice photo out of ugly people.. could be just me though??

 

[jenn76]

I hear ya with the ugly thing. I try to just focus on technical issues, and maybe a tad extra post-processing.

Hey manaheim... with the new photo... must be playing with your snoot again, huh?

 

[chrisburke]

hey jen, thats a nice lookin logo you go there on your website ... check out my site, i also created it in iWeb www.chrisburkephotography.com

 

[manaheim]

Hey manaheim... with the new photo... must be playing with your snoot again, huh?

Snoot? Snoot??? I'm sorry, but I do not know of what you speak. Please explain to me this concept of a "snoot".

 

[TBAM]

Chris / Jen , I just checked out your websites, and loved your work. However, I do think I could give you a little help with your logos especially for adapting them to various print media.

I'll post some examples of my work later tonight, if you are interested. I have quite a lot of experience with print and web design and am trying to (gradually) develop my professional portfolio.

 

[jenn76]

TBAM,
yeah, I made my logo on "Pages" on my mac. I have no experience or software for that sorta thing, but I also have no money for it, so that's why it's not pretty. :mrgreen:

 

[TBAM]

It's not bad, great concept! It's when you want to adapt that logo to be printed, or reapropriated somewhere else that it can get difficult.

I'd be willing to do a free job, for the permission to use the work in my portfolio.

Would you be interested?

I'm in Australia, so the work would obviously be digital. It would include a re-design in a vector based format, rendered format, and a letterhead if you so desire.

What do ya think?

 

[jenn76]

Free is definitely within my budget, so I say "I do!". Thanks for the offer! And you can dump what I have. i just didn't have the software to do anything else. I give you creative license.

 

[jenn76]

I am NOT in Australia, so it's like 130am here. I gotta get to bed, but I'll check in with you tomorrow... thanks again!

~j