# Tips You Had to Learn that Nobody Taught You



## unpopular (Jul 28, 2011)

What are some of the helpful tips that you had to figure out, but nobody ever bothered to teach you? These can be either artistic or technical.

For me, it would have to be how to familiarize yourself with camera latitude. The way I did it was to take a photo of a light fixture, increasing exposure until the bulb over exposed, and then decreasing exposure until it under exposed. Doing this, I had a better notion of how my camera handles hilights, because I tend to meter off the hilights, this was very useful information.


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## KmH (Jul 28, 2011)

Never piss into the wind. Doh!

Why do you meter the highlights?


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## kundalini (Jul 28, 2011)

Don't step on Superman's cape.


It only took a couple of times, but remove the lens cover before you start shooting.


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## spacefuzz (Jul 28, 2011)

That people opinions are just thier opinions, and that shouldnt keep you from going out to shoot.


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## imagemaker46 (Jul 28, 2011)

When standing on the sidelines shooting professional football pay attention to everything, don't let anyone stand behind you, backing up quickly can help prevent a great deal of pain.  I've seen too many photographers learn this the hard way.  Hockey pucks and baseballs arrive a lot faster when you don't pay attention.


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## flea77 (Jul 28, 2011)

In sports, when the ball is in play (or javelin, etc etc) and the players/refs are looking at you, RUN!

Allan


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## MissCream (Jul 28, 2011)

Don't keep shooting whatever you are shooting with the intent of fixing something that is wrong in PP, fix it during the shoot... May seem obvious but when I first started I always felt so rushed I wouldn't take the time to fix the little things.


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## oldmacman (Jul 28, 2011)

Actually listening to critique and implementing good advice into your work. I guess that's a way of saying develop thick skin because it will help your photography. If you can look back in a month and see improvement, that's a good thing.


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## amberandhercamera (Jul 28, 2011)

Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.


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## unpopular (Aug 1, 2011)

KmH said:


> Why do you meter the highlights?


When I first started taking digital photos, I was never quite sure how to expose. I went back and asked some of my past mentors and college professors, but I never quite got a satisfactory answer. While with film exposure techniques are pretty well established, digital photographers often are confused about where to meter from. As a result, the spot meter is often neglected or under-utilized. My first approach was to treat it like b/w zone system, thinking of curves as development time, but then I started learning more about the advantages of "exposure to the right of the histogram". This technique encourages the photographer to over expose as much as possible, and then compensate in post. The technique provides as much light as possible to enter the sensor such that useful information is more likely to drown out noise. As a result, I slowly started approaching digital photography more like color slide film.


Certainly I could meter at the mid-tones and expose uncompensated, or I could expose at the shadows and stop down three times. However, if I did that, the exposure might be "good", at least according to the histogram, but the data would not necessarily be. Depending on the scene, such an exposure might be a bit noisier and less flexible as a result of decreased signal to noise ratio, especially in the shadows. Overall S/NR would decrease than if I increased exposure. This is why many photographers "expose to the right".

Because I know my camera can handle hilights four and two thirds stops above meter without blowing out, placing hilights at EV +4.6 ensure that the exposure is pushed as far as possible to the right of the histogram without blowing out. Consistently, even one third stop more exposure will result in blown out hilights. 

Likewise, because zones IIX through IX are placed at the outer limits of my camera's latitude, any shadows at this point that block up would be beyond my equipment's capability. I could provide more exposure to obtain greater shadow detail, but doing so the hilights would then blow out. The only solution would be to take multiple exposures and combine them.

(I'm sometimes not so great at explaining this stuff, if you have any questions, feel free to PM me)


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## mishele (Aug 1, 2011)

You don't always need a plan when you are going out to shoot!! Just go!! Great things can happen!!


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## KmH (Aug 1, 2011)

amberandhercamera said:


> Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.


Fighter pilots call it situational awareness:

&#x202a;Wedding Photographer Falls Into Water Fountain&#x202c;&rlm; - YouTube

Know your venue.........


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## Compaq (Aug 1, 2011)

Discover that the thing on one of the tripod legs weren't something used to measure the correct size of the tool used to tighten the knobs on the legs, but the tool itself.


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## tom beard (Aug 1, 2011)

Thirty years ago, I was invited to shoot with an important professional photographer.  We shot many frames and he taught me a lot.  It was like a one student master class.  When I got home, I rewound the film, opened the camera back.  There was no film there.  I had forgotten to load the camera!  He later asked me how my photos came out.  I had to tell him the truth.  Now, thirty years later, when ever I pick up my camera to start a shoot, I get red-faced again.  Tom Beard


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## helloyo53 (Aug 1, 2011)

Make sure to change the WB setting according to the light around you (if you are not shooting RAW). I've made the mistake of shooting in tungsten one day then going outside a different day, and, using the same WB at tungsten, taking some pictures. Needless to say, the photos looked like an LSD trip (not that I would know what one is like).


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## unpopular (Aug 1, 2011)

^^^ I am not totally convinced that optical CC filters are totally out either. Even RAW files have to compensate, and my suspicion is that they do so destructively ... Just a hunch, tho.


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## frisii (Aug 1, 2011)

unpopular said:


> ^^^ I am not totally convinced that optical CC filters are totally out either. Even RAW files have to compensate, and my suspicion is that they do so destructively ... Just a hunch, tho.



I'm with you, Quasimodo... CC and gradual color filters for me too.


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## Sw1tchFX (Aug 1, 2011)

tom beard said:


> Thirty years ago, I was invited to shoot with an important professional photographer.  We shot many frames and he taught me a lot.  It was like a one student master class.  When I got home, I rewound the film, opened the camera back.  There was no film there.  I had forgotten to load the camera!  He later asked me how my photos came out.  I had to tell him the truth.  Now, thirty years later, when ever I pick up my camera to start a shoot, I get red-faced again.  Tom Beard



OH NO!!!!!!!!!!




People skills. You can't teach people skills.


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## WesternGuy (Aug 1, 2011)

Shoot something the first time you see it - you won't get a second chance, for example, I was out driving around in the "back country" one day and saw this cat walking along the railings on a farm fence and I thought...just another farm cat, what I neglected to see, until I was well past the scene and looked in the rear view mirror, was that all the cows in the pen were watching it - would have made a great shot...

and patience...if you are shooting wildlife and landscapes you have to have a lot of patience - patience to wait for the wildlife to do something interesting, if they ever do and for landscapes - patience to wait until the light (sun) and clouds (if any) are right...sometimes you can come back...my 0.02¢...

Cheers,


WesternGuy


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## joealcantar (Aug 1, 2011)

Get a camera strap that will hold 2 CF Cards to do the job.  In case you hike a trail and go to find out you have no card/cards.  Learned it from someone else and could not see myself doing it.  
-
Shoot well, Joe


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## Derrel (Aug 1, 2011)

Learning how to "work through" a shot, or a sequence, or an entire session. Knowing when to move on, and when to keep plugging away until you've "got it" is something one has to learn on his or her own.


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## Quentin_Moyer (Aug 2, 2011)

This might sound stupid, but I had to find out that exposure compensation didn't just magically make the picture lighter/darker.
So many blurred, overexposed photos.......


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## RauschPhotography (Aug 2, 2011)

How to stay within range of a skittish subject! I've always been one step too close!


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## Village Idiot (Aug 2, 2011)

KmH said:


> amberandhercamera said:
> 
> 
> > Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.
> ...



Sport bike riders have it too.


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## Village Idiot (Aug 2, 2011)

This applies to most things in life. Don't claim and attempt to be a professional at something if you know that you can't show up and deliver, regardless of whether or not the conditions favor you.


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## Mike_E (Aug 2, 2011)

Shoot first, ask later.

Shoot a little fat in case you want a different format.

Know yourself.  Know what you like and what you don't, what you want to say.  Know what you would like to have said so you can go ahead and say it.

Go on long walks and have longer talks with yourself about what's important so that when you happen across it you'll recognize it and if you shoot first, photograph it.

The Big one:  Always, always, pet the cat because you never know if you'll see it again.


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## gwlaw99 (Aug 2, 2011)

unpopular said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > Why do you meter the highlights?
> ...



I thought I knew how to properly expose once I learned the zone system, but just read an article on luminous landscape saying the exact same thing about exposing to the right.  I am going to try it.


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## ghache (Aug 2, 2011)

I had a maternity session this weekend, i did 15+- shots and noticed the red DEMO on my lcd. I lost 2-3 good shots. i always format my cards while packing for a shoot and make sure i have all my cards. but was in a hurry so i didnt both slots were empty.. its never going to happen again trust me.


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## 480sparky (Aug 2, 2011)

I figured out a long time ago that images never turn out the way I remember the scene to be.


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## theothercoolhandluke (Aug 2, 2011)

amberandhercamera said:


> Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.


  I did pretty much the same thing in the ice and snow, but it was only in front of one person.  Thankfully, I kept from ruining the camera, and other than a week or so of pain, I was alright too.


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## theothercoolhandluke (Aug 2, 2011)

joealcantar said:


> Get a camera strap that will hold 2 CF Cards to do the job.  In case you hike a trail and go to find out you have no card/cards.  Learned it from someone else and could not see myself doing it.
> -
> Shoot well, Joe


  Also, make sure you have a spare battery in case you end up taking more photos than you planned for.


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## meyerweb (Aug 3, 2011)

KmH said:


> amberandhercamera said:
> 
> 
> > Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.
> ...



Geez, even ignoring the fountain trick, I would have killed the photographer at my wedding if he had been that in-my-face and that obtrusive. And I would have expected to be fired if I had shot weddings that way, back when I actually did weddings. In my day, we were expected to be as close to invisible as possible.  I would never, ever have been that close to the couple as they came down the isle. That's what long, fast lenses are for.

Is that (except for the fountain) typical of the way wedding photographers work these days?


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## MissCream (Aug 3, 2011)

KmH said:


> amberandhercamera said:
> 
> 
> > Remember to look behind you when backing up to get the "right" shot. Especially when you are near a set of cement stairs. Whole wedding party watched as I fell backwards down 5-6 steps. Managed to hold my camera safe... The rest of my body not so much.
> ...



I don't know about anyone else but my camera would not have been in the water that long, my head would be under with my arms sticking straight up with my gear in hand...


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## invisible (Mar 24, 2012)

Do your own thing, no matter what. Regardless of criticism (positive or negative), photo-happiness will follow.


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## chuasam (Mar 24, 2012)

mishele said:


> You don't always need a plan when you are going out to shoot!! Just go!! Great things can happen!!


That really depends on what you are shooting. Quite often a plan really is important.


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## OscarWilde (Mar 24, 2012)

MissCream said:


> KmH said:
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> > amberandhercamera said:
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Agreed! My favorite part actually is when the guy grabs his camera and is like strangling him with the strap  The guy was a real sport for trying to save the camera, but he didn't really need to try and kill the poor guy!


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## Josh66 (Mar 24, 2012)

OscarWilde said:


> MissCream said:
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> > KmH said:
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I seem to remember reading somewhere that both cameras & lenses survived the dip.


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## OscarWilde (Mar 24, 2012)

O|||||||O said:


> I seem to remember reading somewhere that both cameras & lenses survived the dip.



How about the photogs career? I can't imagine the bride was very.... sympathetic... that he ruined her walk down the aisle


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## Josh66 (Mar 24, 2012)

OscarWilde said:


> O|||||||O said:
> 
> 
> > I seem to remember reading somewhere that both cameras & lenses survived the dip.
> ...


Who cares about the bride?  :lmao:


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## table1349 (Mar 25, 2012)

1.  Shut your pie hole and open your ears.

2.  Never squat on your spurs. 

3. Any idiot can read, comprehension is a sign of learning.


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## pgriz (Mar 25, 2012)

Slow down.  

_Let the brain catch up with your finger.  Probably the single biggest difference between snapshootery and goodimagery.  
_
Anticipate and prepare.

_The next biggest difference between goodimagery and greatimagery.
_
and echoing gryphonslair99's #1:  Relate to your people before you relate to the camera.


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## Derrel (Mar 25, 2012)

The "mistakes" and "failures" teach one more than the "successes". Reviewing one's BAD photographic efforts is the way to learn how to get things right.


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## pgriz (Mar 25, 2012)

Derrel said:


> The "mistakes" and "failures" teach one more than the "successes". Reviewing one's BAD photographic efforts is the way to learn how to get things right.



True, but only if one is open to understanding the mistakes and failures.


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## Alex_B (Mar 25, 2012)

At -40 degC keep your eyebrows and nose away from the camera ... and don't breathe while looking through the viewfinder.


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## table1349 (Mar 25, 2012)

Alex_B said:


> At -40 degC keep your eyebrows and nose away from the camera ... and don't breathe while looking through the viewfinder.



Here is a better one for you Alex.  AT -40 degC *Keep your silly ass inside!!!*


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## Alex_B (Mar 26, 2012)

gryphonslair99 said:


> Alex_B said:
> 
> 
> > At -40 degC keep your eyebrows and nose away from the camera ... and don't breathe while looking through the viewfinder.
> ...



What if silly me went there especially for photography at -40? 

What if for silly me there was no inside because he was out there with a dogsled for several days?


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## pgriz (Mar 26, 2012)

Then I think the photographer is much more dedicated to his craft compared to the majority of us.  Certainly can admire that, um, fortitude. Can't say I will volunteer to be there with you though.


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## gsgary (Mar 26, 2012)

Always set your iso back to 100 after a shoot


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## analog.universe (Mar 26, 2012)

Shoot with a tripod whenever you have the time and space, even if the light is such that you can shoot handheld.  Your compositions will thank you..


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## pgriz (Mar 26, 2012)

^^^^ True, that.


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## table1349 (Mar 26, 2012)

Alex_B said:


> gryphonslair99 said:
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> > Alex_B said:
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If silly you went out in to -40 deg C weather just to take pictures then you probably need to pay close attention to this song.  It may have meaning for you. :lmao:


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## Derrel (Mar 26, 2012)

pgriz said:


> Derrel said:
> 
> 
> > The "mistakes" and "failures" teach one more than the "successes". Reviewing one's BAD photographic efforts is the way to learn how to get things right.
> ...



Here it is, a couple of days later, and Thom Hogan has a teaching point photo and discussion today---on how one's failed shots should be LEFT IN one's files--as a data point for learning and problem-solving!! Here is his sample photo and a few paragraphs of text,discussion how failures can be used as learning devices.  https://plus.google.com/112847428408357711502/posts


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## analog.universe (Mar 26, 2012)

Derrel said:


> pgriz said:
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> > Derrel said:
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I always save my terrible shots...  It's particularly interesting to see the 6 or 7 shots right before one that I really like, makes me think maybe there should've been 9 or 10 instead.


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## unpopular (Mar 27, 2012)

You'll never be appreciated if you don't compromise.


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## bratkinson (Mar 27, 2012)

Never provide a photos to anyone that is unflattering to them or anyone else in the picture...especially to women! 

One of the advantages of taking several or even lots of photos with people in it is I get to choose which ones the world sees. Sometimes, the final decision comes down to someone in the background looking the wrong way, scratching their nose, or whatever. Some women are very hard to not photograph without a sneer or scowl, or look too fat, etc... It's better to tell 'em it didn't turn out or was poorly focused, whatever, than to embarrass them, or, worse yet, show as part of a screen presentation!

The old saying is very true...Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned (or unflattered)


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## ShutterSpeed (Mar 29, 2012)

I think that I learned that you can be patient with the shot.  But you also need to ask your model or subject to be patient with the process as well.  Many times they don't understand the process.  Communicating to a client or a model what you want or think, or that maybe you are going to try something new is invaluable.  Don't assume a client or a model understands your side of the camera.


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## Alex_B (Mar 30, 2012)

gryphonslair99 said:


> If silly you went out in to -40 deg C weather just to take pictures then you probably need to pay close attention to this song.  It may have meaning for you. :lmao:



But I call that vacation! :mrgreen:

Nearly lost two fingers though this time when changing lenses and taking the outer gloves off on a stormy day.

I have to confess I watched and listened until the very end of that video


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## Kolander (Mar 31, 2012)

Never leave your back bag _opened _on a table or a chair with lenses and/or flashes inside, close all zips allways. Expensive items just need one knock to break down.


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## xposurepro (Apr 4, 2012)

That building a successful photography business really really seriously is 80% non-photo related LOL


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