Slow down

jcdeboever · Nov 3, 2018

I am looking for suggestions on methods of slowing things down. I did a shoot today but there were 10 people but 4 or 5 were being photographed. I suddenly became confused as I am a slow shooter. There was a great deal of commotion, I got caught up in that and forgot my mono approach. I pulled it off but it bothered me that I couldn't react in a reasonable manner.

ac12 · Nov 3, 2018

Write a shooting script.
I will sometimes do that when I think I will get overwhelmed.
Example doing a group photo, I can forget to do simple stuff, because of the distraction of getting all the people in position, and I don't do group pix often.

short in front, tall in back
alternate people in rows, so that I can see them
balance the picture left/right

Overread · Nov 3, 2018

A few thoughts:

1) Practice makes it easier. Yep nothing beats practice, once you've done 10 shoots with 10 people you'll fast pick up your own methods, many of which might not even be things you really realise that you're doing. You'll also get better at prioritizing, controlling and going with the flow as you already have some idea of what is likely to take place.

2) Relax. Even if it means taking a breather/break part way through. Sometimes just a few moments to let things relax can really help out. It helps you just have a moment where you've not got to worry or focus on anything. IT might be it gives you time just to organise things and check what you have done and have yet to do and what might be needed etc... Plan for these breaks and build them into shoots, esp if they are longer events.
Like I said it doesn't have to be long gaps, but it is a moment to pause

3) Food and fatigue. Make sure you're well fed and rested before a shoot, a good meal (but not so large it leaves you lethargic) and rest can work wonders. Similarly fatigue will hurt your photography and make things all the more stressful and difficult.
Fatigue also goes further than just a good nights sleep; your pose, your shooting position, your camera etc... All these things can increase or lower your fatigue. If you've got a lot of shooting in one spot you might use a tripod - sure you can handhold for hours without issue, but a tripod just takes some of the strain away from you. That lowers the fatigue and gives you more energy to work with.
A few walks/runs/weights/exercise helps a lot too!

4) As ac12 said, write a plan if you're worried about forgetting things. Doesn't matter if its high detail or just notes - whatever works for you. It can help you remember to do certain poses, to watch for the light at certain times (eg if the sun is shifting angles and you want certain shots at times/places); it can even let you double check what settings/mode you need/use for a shot etc.... There is no shame in these - sure expeirenced pros of 30 years mostly don't need them, but unless you're doing this every day of a working week chances are you will forget things if you don't write them down AND consult those writings.

Heck I know that I have forgotten and rediscovered things, esp with editing, that I once did as standard practice. Getting lazy and skipping steps makes is so easy to then forget that that step ever took place.

5) And again, practice and experience. The more you do the easier it will all become.

dennybeall · Nov 3, 2018

"Write a plan." sounds like a daunting task, and it can be, but if you just do a Bullet Point list it can be done in just a few minutes. One or two words per bullet point will clue you to what you want to do. You can do it on a single half page and mark each point as it gets done.

ac12 · Nov 3, 2018

Some other stuff for your list.

On some cameras you can set a new folder for a shoot. Do it to keep your pictures more organized.

And the dumb things like

Reset the camera back to "standard" after the shoot.
- If you use auto bracketing, turn it OFF after you finish a shoot
- If you shoot JPG normally, and shoot RAW for the shoot, remember to change back to JPG.
- Set WhiteBalance back to your normal setting.
- Set any Exposure Compensation back to 0 (zero).

I or one of the students in my yearbook class has been burned by camera left in the prior configuration.

As was mentioned, practice.
Family and friends are a great way to get in practice, and they get free pix.

jcdeboever · Nov 4, 2018

ac12 said:
Write a shooting script.
I will sometimes do that when I think I will get overwhelmed.
Example doing a group photo, I can forget to do simple stuff, because of the distraction of getting all the people in position, and I don't do group pix often.

short in front, tall in back

alternate people in rows, so that I can see them

balance the picture left/right

Overread said:
A few thoughts:

1) Practice makes it easier. Yep nothing beats practice, once you've done 10 shoots with 10 people you'll fast pick up your own methods, many of which might not even be things you really realise that you're doing. You'll also get better at prioritizing, controlling and going with the flow as you already have some idea of what is likely to take place.

2) Relax. Even if it means taking a breather/break part way through. Sometimes just a few moments to let things relax can really help out. It helps you just have a moment where you've not got to worry or focus on anything. IT might be it gives you time just to organise things and check what you have done and have yet to do and what might be needed etc... Plan for these breaks and build them into shoots, esp if they are longer events.
Like I said it doesn't have to be long gaps, but it is a moment to pause

3) Food and fatigue. Make sure you're well fed and rested before a shoot, a good meal (but not so large it leaves you lethargic) and rest can work wonders. Similarly fatigue will hurt your photography and make things all the more stressful and difficult.
Fatigue also goes further than just a good nights sleep; your pose, your shooting position, your camera etc... All these things can increase or lower your fatigue. If you've got a lot of shooting in one spot you might use a tripod - sure you can handhold for hours without issue, but a tripod just takes some of the strain away from you. That lowers the fatigue and gives you more energy to work with.
A few walks/runs/weights/exercise helps a lot too!

4) As ac12 said, write a plan if you're worried about forgetting things. Doesn't matter if its high detail or just notes - whatever works for you. It can help you remember to do certain poses, to watch for the light at certain times (eg if the sun is shifting angles and you want certain shots at times/places); it can even let you double check what settings/mode you need/use for a shot etc.... There is no shame in these - sure expeirenced pros of 30 years mostly don't need them, but unless you're doing this every day of a working week chances are you will forget things if you don't write them down AND consult those writings.

Heck I know that I have forgotten and rediscovered things, esp with editing, that I once did as standard practice. Getting lazy and skipping steps makes is so easy to then forget that that step ever took place.

5) And again, practice and experience. The more you do the easier it will all become.

dennybeall said:
"Write a plan." sounds like a daunting task, and it can be, but if you just do a Bullet Point list it can be done in just a few minutes. One or two words per bullet point will clue you to what you want to do. You can do it on a single half page and mark each point as it gets done.

ac12 said:
Some other stuff for your list.

On some cameras you can set a new folder for a shoot. Do it to keep your pictures more organized.

And the dumb things like

Reset the camera back to "standard" after the shoot.

If you use auto bracketing, turn it OFF after you finish a shoot

If you shoot JPG normally, and shoot RAW for the shoot, remember to change back to JPG.

Set WhiteBalance back to your normal setting.

Set any Exposure Compensation back to 0 (zero).

I or one of the students in my yearbook class has been burned by camera left in the prior configuration.

As was mentioned, practice.
Family and friends are a great way to get in practice, and they get free pix.

Thanks, some good points in here. I was having issues like making adjustments in the camera, on the fly. It was like I forgot how to use my camera in a few moments. Really strange feeling. I am normally real good at things under pressure (life events) and usually rise. I guess photography is different. I had no problem in the planning and what needed to be done, it all got done but felt like a fumbling idiot when it came to getting the shot off correctly exposed, framed, etc. I guess its experience, which I have little of. I don't usually review pics as I go so that was different, that may have thrown me off a little.

I didn't take payment for this shoot but family agreed for me to use their teenage daughter as a practice model for a few sessions when I get my new camera in a few weeks. I did manage to look at some images and I did get some good ones. Trying out Capture One, geez, that is daunting.