Nikon d40 checklist

[ILovePlaya]

Was wondering if you use a sort of
check list every time you take pictures.
Know it would depend on what the conditions
are and wether tou are inside or not.
Thank's in advance, Craig.

 

[mrodgers]

Yes I do. I have my checklist burned into my mind so I don't forget anything.

My Checklist:

Camera in hand?

Check!

Take picture!

 

[Sarin]

Yes I do. I have my checklist burned into my mind so I don't forget anything.

My Checklist:

Camera in hand?

Check!

Take picture!

Taken the lens cap off?

D'oh

 

[mrodgers]

Hmm, thought I was doing something wrong. Perhaps I need to revise my checklist and have it written down instead of trying to keep it in memory to make sure I go through it....

LOL

 

[MikeBcos]

Make it a habit to set everything back to your defaults as soon as you have finished shooting, that's what I do.

And don't forget to actually switch the camera on, neither of the other posters in this thread seem to have remembered that.

 

[mrodgers]

Make it a habit to set everything back to your defaults as soon as you have finished shooting, that's what I do.

And don't forget to actually switch the camera on, neither of the other posters in this thread seem to have remembered that.

Sheesh, my checklist keeps getting bigger and bigger. Dang you more experienced people....

ISO settings, very important to check the ISO, at least for me. The shutter and aperture I play with all the time, but ISO usually stays the same through out using the camera at a particular time. I don't know how many times I've gone outside and forgot to turn the ISO down or vice versa for going inside.

I do have to check the aperture often though. I shoot either manual or aperture priority and my nose hits the button for stopping down the Aperture. With a camera like mine, I have to have it on the widest aperture most of the time and I'll catch it sometimes after my nose stops it down to it's smallest. But that doesn't have anything to do with a D40 (or any dSLR I think) because you need a button and the dial, right? I just have a button.

 

[epp_b]

I like to look at my photos more as paintings as in: if I were a painter, would this photo be interesting enough to paint?

Painting is an art entirely of imagination. If painting is your thing, it's difficult to paint a bad picture (unless you have no imagination ) because you have complete control over the lighting, composition, etc. But even a good photographer can take boring pictures because you have to wait for just the right moment to subtract what you don't want in your composition.

 

[MikeBcos]

Sheesh, my checklist keeps getting bigger and bigger. Dang you more experienced people....

ISO settings, very important to check the ISO, at least for me.

I agree, ISO is the one setting I may move that I have made a habit of resetting to auto as soon as I am done. I keep it on auto so I can just grab the camera and grab a shot, I'll only change it for a specific purpose then switch it right back again.

For the same reason I use P as my default mode, I can grab the camera and grab a shot. More often than not I'll use A, S or sometimes M for a particular reason but as soon as I am done with that series of shots I switch back to P.

White balance I never touch, it's on Auto, the camera has never got it wrong yet so I don't see the point in changing it.

And yeah, that on switch is kinda handy, you can't even pop up the flash on the D40 without it on!

 

[pm63]

If you have a D40, get into the habit of glossing over the info screen on the back every time you turn on the camera. After a while, it'll instantly pop every time out at you if something's amiss (e.g. WB, AF settings and especially ISO). Get used to returning your camera back to its default settings every time you turn it off.

 

[PatrickHMS]

Make sure you have the correct lens in the camera for what you are planning to shoot.

Make sure you have a fresh enough battery.

...don't fergit the film....

 

[tirediron]

I have a little label on the back of all my digital bodies: "ISO/QUAL/WB" to remind me to check the three most imporant factors each time I pick it up.

 

[ShutterSpeed]

my checklist.
I usually have a good idea of what i want to shoot specifically, where I want to go to get it, and maybe from what angle. But seriously, for me, most of it is figuring it out with the bare eye. Trying to see something. Finding the right angle. I'm an artistic type of photograph, so pieces of chopped logs is interesting to me, but so are powerlines. While I like beautiful scenery with grandeur images to shoot, my location doesn't have much to see - so, any good shot I get, has to be artistic. Due to time constraints, I usually only get a chance to do night photography. So, in my head, i'm trying to figure out with the current amount of light, what type of shutter speed should I set? But, trial and error usually perfects it.

That's my process...and I take LOTS of pictures of the same object so I can choose from all, to get the best one. Last night, I went to take a picture for the current photo competition, and I took 5-10 pictures from each different angle, making slight adjustments each time, until i liked what the display showed. (Modern digital photography is a miracle for this)

Those are my steps in a checklist.