40 Questions I ask myself before hitting the Shutter Release

[comycus]

This was a reader's contribution to DPS which I think pretty much sums up the thought process of what goes through the mind of a photographer before he takes the shot.

1. 
   
   
2. What mode do I want to shoot in? Manual, AP, SP, Auto or a pre-programed mode?
   
3. If I’m using a pre-set, what F-Stop or Shutter Speed am I going to use?
   
4. What format do I want to shoot in RAW or jpeg?
   
5. What’s my ISO? Is it fast/slow enough?
   
6. Too grainy for the shot?
   
7. What White Balance am I set on?
   
8. Do I need to set custom White Balance?
   
9. Did I bring my 18% Grey Card?
   
10. What Metering Mode should I be on?
    
11. What Colour setting do I need?
    
12. Am I going to use Manual or Auto Focus?
    
13. Do I want to Bracket the shot?
    
14. Am I going to use a Flash?
    
15. And how am I going to use it?
    
16. What story am I trying to tell?
    
17. Do I need to change lenses?
    
18. If so, which one?
    
19. Am I shooting in Landscape or Portrait perspective, or even a jaunty angle?
    
20. Do I need to use a Tripod?
    
21. Will I use the Rule of Thirds or break it?
    
22. What other rules should I be following?
    
23. Are there Leading Lines I can use in the shot?
    
24. What about finding an S-curve for the leading line?
    
25. Is there any thing I can use to Frame my picture? e.g. Tree branches.
    
26. Will I change this to B&W, Sepia or something else post production?
    
27. Do I have a Focal Point?
    
28. Is my subject Moving or Stationary?
    
29. For Moving Subjects, do I want to Pan the shot, Blur the background or Blur the subject?
    
30. Is there a Pattern I can pick up on?
    
31. How’s the lighting? Are the shadows strong or weak?
    
32. Do I want to emphasize them?
    
33. Is the light too strong?
    
34. Will it wash out detail?
    
35. Is my horizon straight?
    
36. Can I get this at a better angle?
    
37. Should I wait for better lighting?
    
38. What does the light meter read?
    
39. Should I increase shutter speed or open up the aperture?
    
40. Is it in focus?
    
41. Did I just miss a great shot?
    

http://digital-photography-school.com/40-questions-i-ask-myself-before-hitting-the-shutter-release

[comycus]

Yes, at first you may think wtf! By the time I finish going through these questions, I would have wasted at least 15-20min of my time. Not to mention I could have lost the moment if I were trying to take a picture of say, the sun setting.

However, with enough practice, these questions come naturally and once it's built into your system, it would prob take you 5-10s before you hit the shutter release.

Or sometimes when you don't want to think, you just take the photos with various options and decide later which one you like. Tt's the advantage of going digital But... Let's face it. How many of us have gone on holidays and went trigger happy, taking thousands of photos only to come back and dread going through the photos? They end up unsorted, filed into our HDD collecting cobwebs. By giving our photos more thought, we take better photos, don't need to post process our photos as much, and start to enjoy photography as an art.

Just food for thought on a TGIF!

[jackywongto]

Ok I am definitely not a photographer in the making. Not in this life definitely. Had a headache when I reach qn 15.

[Ketchup]

some of these will come naturally once you start taking lots of photos.. things like lead in lines, compositions, rule of thirds, all 2nd nature.

[comycus]

some of these will come naturally once you start taking lots of photos.. things like lead in lines, compositions, rule of thirds, all 2nd nature.

Yeah... it becomes instinctive. Like when you are walking along the streets and you see a chiobu. In that split second you are already able to assess her based on her long silky smooth hair, high cheekbones, pouty lips, big sparkling eyes, curves on her body, cute tight s, long neverending legs blah blah blah.

hope I don't get warning over this... but if we can notice so much stuff in like the half a second we lay eyes on a chiobu, what's so hard about these 40 qns?

[iskay]

Ok I am definitely not a photographer in the making. Not in this life definitely. Had a headache when I reach qn 15.

This is why the AUTO setting is built into cameras today...

I normally use Aperture or Shutter priority to allow the camera to help me take care of most settings while I concentrate on composition.

Rarely do you use the manual setting unless you're in a studio and/or can control most variables.

[cdckjn]

Sometimes I do ask myself Questions, 14 and 15. Question 18 and 34 are good questiosn are we are shooting outdoors. Q 26 & 29 are interesting points to note.

[Ketchup]

Honestly, u can condense the 40 points into 10 key points and it will still cover almost everything.

[comycus]

Honestly, u can condense the 40 points into 10 key points and it will still cover almost everything.

hehe yeah tt's a good point. But I think the reader was being cheeky that if you really break it right down, you can get 40, maybe even more questions.

[Goondoo]

I think this is suppose to be a joke.

My conclusion of the article is if you think to much, you'll miss a good shot.

[peacemaker]

Yeah... it becomes instinctive. Like when you are walking along the streets and you see a chiobu. In that split second you are already able to assess her based on her long silky smooth hair, high cheekbones, pouty lips, big sparkling eyes, curves on her body, cute tight s, long neverending legs blah blah blah.

hope I don't get warning over this... but if we can notice so much stuff in like the half a second we lay eyes on a chiobu, what's so hard about these 40 qns?

Well... this is auto mode in-built in men, so quite different.