Why Do You Tell People Not To "Chimp"?

Ballistics · Apr 5, 2013

Overread said:
There is a line between chimping too much and not chimping enough.

Beginners are likely to chimp too often and to also chimp badly (ei review without much thought or even without the histogram showing etc.... In addition they are likely to get into a habbit, shoot-chimp; shoot-chimp etc..... constantly. As a result this can hamper their learning (they get more focused on the chimping than on the shooting before the shot). As such I can understand discouraging people from chimping too often and to also reinforce this by teaching them how to review a photo in the best possible way so that when they do chimp they know what they are looking for.

Outright saying "Don't chimp" is probably bad advice for someone self learning as the greater amount of time between shooting and review is going to hamper their ability to prevent getting into bad shooting habits. Sure there were times when you couldn't chimp, back then you had polariods, external light meters reading ambient not reflected light and chances are you also made a LOT of mistakes - vast amounts of film lost to poor exposure and rescued in the editing labs (either by yourself or the technician at the store).

I don't know if you can chimp too much. If you are looking at the screen without knowing what you are looking at, then chimping in general is a waste of time. But for a beginner, who is learning the fundamentals of photography, chimping could be a fantastic learning(and teaching) tool.

peter27 · Apr 5, 2013

I don't like to chimp; I find it fogs the film.

bentcountershaft · Apr 5, 2013

I chimp a lot. Especially in the beginning of a shoot. If the light stays consistent and I'm shooting something other than people then I'll quit after I'm dialed in. But with people I'm always checking to make sure everyone's eyes are open and things like that.

Tony S · Apr 5, 2013

I like a good chimp. Chimps are funny. It makes for a good photo project to shoot people chimping since we almost all do it. So chimp away, I will.

Ballistics · Apr 5, 2013

I will add that I'm never looking down when I chimp. I pull my eye from the viewfinder far enough to view the screen and then bring it back and shoot.

JacaRanda · Apr 5, 2013

Does Chump + Wimp = Chimp?

kathyt · Apr 5, 2013

I could not agree more. Your LCD screen is a wealth of knowledge. I have to know if I am in a good place, and then I will continue on. I don't rely on my histogram to tell me everything, but you better believe it gets me pretty darn close. Oh, and I love my blinkies. (I think it is called enable your highlights on Canon.)
Rotanimod, we know you love to chimp. Your profile pics says so.

Derrel · Apr 5, 2013

I think maybe you have a somewhat off-base definition of what "chimping" means. Chimping is not simply reviewing photos on the LCD screen at an event...it is something much,much worse, and more detrimental. The term involves compulsive, immediate reviewing, and lots of "Ooh! Ohh! Ohh! Lookit, lookit! See what I got??? Isn't that a great shot!"

Chimping is one thing. Reviewing shots, and reviewing histograms is another thing entirely.

Chimping is stupid, and annoying. Reviewing exposures, reviewing histograms, is another matter entirely.

[video]http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_feature/chimping/[/video]

and here is part 2. SportsShooter.com - Chimping EXPOSED! (Part 2)

The above site and above videos is where the definition of chimping actually CAME from.

Overread · Apr 5, 2013

Ballistics said:
I don't know if you can chimp too much. If you are looking at the screen without knowing what you are looking at, then chimping in general is a waste of time. But for a beginner, who is learning the fundamentals of photography, chimping could be a fantastic learning(and teaching) tool.

Checking the shots on the LCD (esp with the histogram showing) is indeed a very powerful tool which is why I don't agree with the approach to "never" ever chimping at shots. That said I do think that one can over chimp. You can easily end up so that you have to review every single shot - each and every one. If you end up like that you:

1) Lack confidence in your camera and yourself to get the shot - this is important as people need personal confidence in order to be able to trust and indeed enjoy themselves when shooting

2) Reduced shooting speed - you'll miss shots, often key shots if you're breaking your shooting to chimp

3) Increased fatigue/reduced quality of shooting posture - if you're always flitting the camera up and down you're going to affect your shooting posture and you'll much more quickly tire and this impede the quality of latter shots.

Ballistics · Apr 5, 2013

The term involves compulsive, immediate reviewing,

Which I said in the OP.

and lots of "Ooh! Ohh! Ohh! Lookit, lookit! See what I got??? Isn't that a great shot!"

Not according to your video. Sure, a guy talks about sharing your shots, but they are showing people sitting alone reviewing there LCD saying "Look! They're chimping!"
A bit contradictory.

Edit: They even interview photographers and the only thing they refer to about chimping, is reviewing their shots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimping

Derrel · Apr 5, 2013

Ballistics said:
I don't know if you can chimp too much. If you are looking at the screen without knowing what you are looking at, then chimping in general is a waste of time. But for a beginner, who is learning the fundamentals of photography, chimping could be a fantastic learning(and teaching) tool.

Just purely for laughs, let's use an old device to see how that line of thinking holds up, shall we?

Let's substitute the word masturbate for the word chimp, mmkay???

I don't know if you can ______ too much. If you are looking at the screen without knowing what you are looking at, then _________ing in general is a waste of time. But for a beginner, who is learning the fundamentals of photography, _________ing could be a fantastic learning(and teaching) tool.

Huh....

kathyt · Apr 5, 2013

Derrel said:
I think maybe you have a somewhat off-base definition of what "chimping" means. Chimping is not simply reviewing photos on the LCD screen at an event...it is something much,much worse, and more detrimental. The term involves compulsive, immediate reviewing, and lots of "Ooh! Ohh! Ohh! Lookit, lookit! See what I got??? Isn't that a great shot!"

Chimping is one thing. Reviewing shots, and reviewing histograms is another thing entirely.

Chimping is stupid, and annoying. Reviewing exposures, reviewing histograms, is another matter entirely.

[video]http://www.sportsshooter.com/special_feature/chimping/[/video]

and here is part 2. SportsShooter.com - Chimping EXPOSED! (Part 2)

The above site and above videos is where the definition of chimping actually CAME from.

I do all of the above, and then some. Especially the ooooh, awwws, and ohhhhh. If you watch me shoot, it is kinda like watching a crowd of people see an amazing fireworks display. I am a certified chimp.