Beginner Image Capturing Workflow

cebrooker

cebrooker

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Name
Charles
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I am very much a beginner in terms of ability, I have read so much but yet it hasn't translated into taking good photographs! I keep forgetting something and then realise what I have done wrong after the event. I want to make a little laminated sheet with all of the steps I need and go through them when I am taking pictures.

Please could people assist with their thought processes?

Thanks,

Charles
 
For me, i sometimes forget to change settings from previous use, such as switching back to RAW after using jpeg, meter modes and af drive.
When it comes to actually taking the shot, make sure you look around the view finder. To make sure you've got everything in the shot you wanted or remove things you don't want. Go a bit wider than you think. This will allow you to crop a bit.
 
I suspect each person will have a slightly different sequence - and for more experienced photographers many (if not most or all) of the steps will be subconscious things they just do, rather than having a mental 'tick list'.

With digital we have the huge advantage that we can easily take 5 or 10 variations on the shot, with instant feedback on whether it was 'right' or not. Take advantage of that - always review your shots, check the histogram, etc. , and try with different apertures, shutter speeds, a little wider, a step or two to the left, etc - as you take more shots, hopefully the things that work for you will start to become automatic, and your success rate increase.
 
That's the problem, I haven't got into a system yet. Like a new driver changing gear!
 
I don't really think too much about it anymore which reading this made me think ... I'm sure I may do some things differently as most is really subconscious now but this is a rough outline (not necessarily in any specific order) fwiw

The most important thing for me, though, even before I pick the camera up, is to have an idea of what it is I want to achieve, be it a landscape, seascape, still life or portrait (or whatever). Even when I just get out of the house with the camera I still have an objective in mind, otherwise it becomes an exercise in hot and hope.

Before the shoot:
  • Check camera and set to desired mode (Aperture by default, Manual otherwise for me - you may differ)
  • Check camera WB is set as desired (Auto or specific colour temp)
  • Check ISO is set at base and if used set Auto ISO range etc (I don't use Auto as I hate it ;))
  • Check recording mode (raw or jpeg or raw + jpeg) and check quality and compression settings if needed
  • Check batteries are charged (1 in camera and at least 1 spare)
  • Check cards are formatted and I have enough
  • Check lenses are in the bag
  • Check I've got any filters I may use
  • Check speedlight if needed and batteries (including a spare set)
  • Check tripod if needed
  • Ensure I have the right clothing etc for the nature of the shoot (including torches/hats/food etc)
At the Shoot:
  • Determine shooting position etc
  • Assess light quality and direction - or set the lights up if in a studio
  • Evaluate the shot and
    • decide if shooting in Aperture or manual
    • decide aperture/shutter speed/iso as appropriate
    • decide if WB needs setting
    • test shot and review
  • Repeat above until happy - this may involve moving your position or changing the lighting/positioning or filters as appropriate
  • Check the histogram and blinkies throughout the shoot and adjust settings as appropriate
  • Check the images for composition, adequately sharp and acceptable exposure - do this as you shoot to start with, not necessarily each image, but constant evaluation will help
  • If using a tripod, make sure the camera is level and the 'pod is stable
After the shoot:
  • Ingest into your favourite PP prog - renaming files to something sensible
  • Add keywords
  • If necessary backup any images
  • Select and cull
  • Process to suit
  • Print/display/share
Above all enjoy it.

You will find you progress quicker by putting one or two images up for critique and remembering that the crit isn't personal! These are my views on critique https://www.talkphotography.co.uk/threads/critique-giving-receiving.648356/
 
The more you use the camera, the more it becomes second nature. The same as with your analogy of changing gears in a car.
 
I keep it simple for *most* stuff. Technically I try to keep ISO as low as possible while having a reasonable shutter speed. Outside of that, I look for something that I like and then just fiddle about looking through the view finder to try to help me capture it. Normally I leave the camera in aperture priority auto and let it sort out exposure *unless* I need to take over. Aperture is generally selected to give me plenty of depth of field unless I need to change it.

Basically look for the image and let the camera sort itself out most of the time.
 
cebrooker said:
That's the problem, I haven't got into a system yet. Like a new driver changing gear!
Click to expand...
To follow the analogy.

You can either sit back and relax in your modern car, use auto lights, wipers, navigation aids etc, and just concentrate on with getting where you want to go.

or you can struggle with toe and heel braking, keeping the engine round its sweet spot, and drive the racing line.

Some people get a great deal of pleasure from the latter, and some photographers get a great deal of pleasure out of the process, whilst many of us concentrate on the simplest method of getting the end result we want.
 
Is your camera digital? Maybe life was simpler in analogue days? In other ways, things are easier now.

A digital camera will have default settings for various things. Some you might choose to alter. But for general work, I'd stick with auto white balance, at least. And up the ISO rating when the light gets dim.

Exposure? Again, for general work, you might do well to choose aperture-priority auto as your basic mode. You might vary this with an exposure compensation dial according to results or experience, for each shot. Or you could go manual. But read up about the exposure triangle! Most definitely, learn to appraise the recording of highlights and the shadows - the extremes of tone within any given frame.

Then there are options for focussing ...

All the above are in the technical arena of 'correct' focus and exposure. I'm not trying to overwhelm you, but there's also the cultural arena, which includes the 'look' of a photograph, and even its 'meaning'. In the best photographs, these two arenas conspire together ...

Look at light, and how it falls on things. Start to think about aperture and depth of field, and how that sits within the picture-space. You don't have to cram lots of stuff into a picture and have it all sharp! Take your time - it's a journey, and nobody's timing you. Remember that it can be fun. And who knows where it might lead? And most definitely, devour other people's photographs. The means by which they achieved them will be mysterious at first, but the look of them can feed back into your loop ...

I know that I've gone beyond your brief of workflow ... but it's all relevant.
 
cebrooker said:
That's the problem, I haven't got into a system yet. Like a new driver changing gear!
Click to expand...

The driving analogy is a good one - lots of things to think about, hands and feet etc. But it quickly becomes instinctive, you just need to practise.

Try taking 20 different pictures every day (not 20 shots of the same thing). Mix it up - close-ups and distance, moving subjects, indoors and outdoors, a couple after dark. Then go through them all and compare against your check-list, note where you went wrong and read up if you're not sure. Or ask on here (y)

At the end of the week, you'll be well on the way to nailing the basics.
 
As with most of the above - just practise and lots of it becomes second nature.

However a few things to get used to checking, so they become second nature:

Subject: Feet not cut off (I still forget this...), no background distractions such as twigs or lamp posts coming out of people's heads. A lot of people do a quick visual sweep around their subject to check nothing odd is in frame.

Camera: White balance and ISO. Assuming you're checking aperture and shutter speed anyway - White balance can ruin a shot if you forget to change it back from a previous setting, and ISO might not be ideal for what you want to shoot.

Having said this, make the most of digital - take a shot, look at it, correct as necessary! There ain't no harm in "chimping"
 
Thank you all, this has been really helpful. Especially the idea of taking 20 shots a day. Combining that with Paul's checklist should get me on the way!
 
cebrooker said:
Thank you all, this has been really helpful. Especially the idea of taking 20 shots a day. Combining that with Paul's checklist should get me on the way!
Click to expand...

Nothing beats building up your experience.
You need to get your self so familiar with using a camera that you don't have to think about it. a simplified check list can help to start with, but it will soon become a hindrance. It will be something else that gets in the way of both seeing and acting.

Every thing should become as thoughtless as walking or picking something up. But all the time you should be aware of changes. It is these changes that that trigger the need to take an action of some kind.

Nearly everything except final focus can be sorted long before a shot is taken. You should keep your camera set up for what you are doing and the conditions you find your self at all times, so that when the occasion presents itself you can focus and shoot.

Correct exposure only changes when the light changes not with the subject. This is a lesson learned by those that have used an incident light meter. Cameras meter by measuring the reflected light, which will change with even minor shifts in view. Interestingly Incident meters always give correct exposures, cameras sometimes do. (Though many of todays photographers would dispute that, as they have never used an incident meter.)

It also helps to imagine, as you are walking around, that you need to photograph every thing you see, and think about what you would need to do to get a perfect shot.......
 
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sk66 said:
I would dispute that, and I have used an incident meter... a lot.
But the basic premise is fine, exposure changes with the light.
Click to expand...

Not sure what you are disputing... You are clearly not one of the many who have not used an incident meter.
Even then, most that have only use them for flash.
 
Familiarity with the camera is important. I'm rare in these parts in that I've been using the same camera since 2009 and my newer body is nigh on identical in operation so there's less thinking involved.
But I also lean heavily on the auto exposure and auto ISO to enable me to concentrate on composing the image and capturing the moment, otherwise I suffer from paralysis by analysis and end up with nowt. Experience helps here too, as over time, I know when to intervene and put it in manual or whatever.
What I will do though is brainstorm ideas before I go anywhere in terms of what I want, locations, ideas and equipment. I'll jot these down as an aide memoire and stick it in my pocket to consult later, more as a starting point than a definitive roadmap.
It all depends on what you're shooting of course and my approach may not work for you!
 
Terrywoodenpic said:
Not sure what you are disputing... You are clearly not one of the many who have not used an incident meter.
Even then, most that have only use them for flash.
Click to expand...
I said I have used them... What I am disputing is the idea that you take a reading, set the camera to whatever it says, and you are all set. It can work that way, particularly with film, but it's not typical. Plus there are many situations where "point the dome at the camera" doesn't work well.

It doesn't matter what you use. What matters is that you know how to use it in various situations, and how to offset it to get what you want.
 
sk66 said:
I said I have used them... What I am disputing is the idea that you take a reading, set the camera to whatever it says, and you are all set. It can work that way, particularly with film, but it's not typical. Plus there are many situations where "point the dome at the camera" doesn't work well.

It doesn't matter what you use. What matters is that you know how to use it in various situations, and how to offset it to get what you want.
Click to expand...

This is not the place to go into all the why's how's and wherefores of using incident meters in these days of didital.
Especially now that one can use manual exposure and have a real time view of the potential capture on the EVS.
It is all so easy.
 
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