Never Mess Up Another Shot

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could not agree more! I planed a nigh shot in Rome before I traveled there, I forgot to turn off auto ISO for my long exposure.
 
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I don't have THAT problem... I have the problem where tomorrow I ASSUME that yesterday I put the camera back into the settings I want for tomorrow. So I need to adjust your tip to the first shot of the day as well as all subsequent shots. Checking my first shot in the LCD usually wakes me up. :rolleyes:
 
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Steve said:
If there's one habit you should try to get into, it's looking at your settings each and every time the viewfinder comes to your eye. So many times in the excitement of the moment, we bring the camera to our eye and start shooting away, only later to realize we have the wrong shutter speed, F/stop, ISO, or Exposure Compensation set.

The solution?

Get into the habit of glancing at those settings in the viewfinder each and every time you bring the camera to your eye. I'm not gonna lie, it's tough, but it's worth the effort. The best advice may be to keep a camera handy where you work or while yours relaxing at night. Pick it up and look at the settings over and over. Eventually, it'll become habit and even in the heat of the moment you'll remember to look.
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Exposure Compensation is the setting I keep forgetting about. As the old slogan went I "Set it and forget it".
 
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Shooting in Manual, Auto ISO, with Aperture wide open for BIF but forgetting to change to the faster SS after previously taking a Landscape photo with SS set to a slower setting.
 
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Howard5252 said:
Exposure Compensation is the setting I keep forgetting about. As the old slogan went I "Set it and forget it".
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That's a common one. I've tried to train myself to always return exposure comp to my preferred setting (changes with camera body but often 0 or +.3) just after shooting a sequence where I used it. That get's tougher when the light and scene requires using exposure comp for extended periods but I've gotten better about remembering to reset the comp setting once the particular shooting that required it has finished. But I still mess this one up from time to time and Steve's great advice that launched this thread is probably the most important thing.
 
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One I ran into just the other day was somehow bumping my AF mode from AF-C to AF-S by accident. The current mode is definitely visible in the top panel LCD but it's pretty subtle. Took me a bit to figure out why my AF didn't seem to be tracking my subject's small head movements.

I got great advice from someone years ago. They basically recommended touching every white button on a Nikon DSLR before any important shooting. Basically it just means a pre-shoot checklist that runs down all the major mode adjusting buttons on the camera. The context was more for commercial portrait sessions but the same really applies to any shooting situation you care about. Now I just have to remember to do it every time I head out for the day :)
 
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I also remember reading that a good habit to get into is to re-set to "basic" or "startup" settings which could be as 'gbodave' suggests, User Setting 1 or 2. [e.g.: lowest 'standard' ISO, Auto WB, and 'medium' shutter speed and f-stop] Just my 2¢
 
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The best part of this forum is discovering that I am not the only doofus out there. In the old days I used to carry two Nikons, one always loaded with Tri-X 400 and the other normally loaded with Kodachrome 64 or even 25. Got them mixed up one day in the heat of battle. Results were not pretty.
 
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Steve said:
If I'm going to make a mistake, that's usually where I do it too. I'm good about checking the normal settings, but in M + Auto ISO you don't see the amount of exp comp showing on the sidebar, just the little +/- icon. When I'm in a hurry, I sometimes miss it...
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Steve's suggestion to check the camera settings shown in the viewfinder before shooting is one of his most valuable teachings and it has saved me many times. As an alternative to the viewfinder information, on the D850 (and ? other Nikons) you can press the info button on the back of the camera. This gives more information and is more easily read. In M + Auto ISO this gives more information than the viewfinder.

Of course, looking at the LCD on the back of the camera takes one's eye off the viewfinder and I would suggest doing this before you plan to shoot.

Bill
 
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The problem I encounter is when hand holding the Nikon my thumb will inadvertently adjust the back dial changing my shutter speed. I have gotten pretty consistent with checking the settings when first hitting the field. But can get a shock after moving around for awhile and raising the rig and have the first burst a waste with an improper SS.
 
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Steve said:
If there's one habit you should try to get into, it's looking at your settings each and every time the viewfinder comes to your eye. So many times in the excitement of the moment, we bring the camera to our eye and start shooting away, only later to realize we have the wrong shutter speed, F/stop, ISO, or Exposure Compensation set.

The solution?

Get into the habit of glancing at those settings in the viewfinder each and every time you bring the camera to your eye. I'm not gonna lie, it's tough, but it's worth the effort. The best advice may be to keep a camera handy where you work or while yours relaxing at night. Pick it up and look at the settings over and over. Eventually, it'll become habit and even in the heat of the moment you'll remember to look.
Click to expand...
Especially good advice with the advent of EVF which I've grown very accustomed to very quickly on my Z6, and then when I grab my DSLR my brain is for the immediate term at least stuck on 'what I see is what I get for compensation!'
 
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I don't know Steve, the settings seemed right and yet, somehow, this shot still seems "Messed Up". I don't mean to keep harping on this theme, but I think I'm gonna need some more tips.
20190723-_DSC7341.jpg
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Steve said:
If there's one habit you should try to get into, it's looking at your settings each and every time the viewfinder comes to your eye. So many times in the excitement of the moment, we bring the camera to our eye and start shooting away, only later to realize we have the wrong shutter speed, F/stop, ISO, or Exposure Compensation set.

The solution?

Get into the habit of glancing at those settings in the viewfinder each and every time you bring the camera to your eye. I'm not gonna lie, it's tough, but it's worth the effort. The best advice may be to keep a camera handy where you work or while yours relaxing at night. Pick it up and look at the settings over and over. Eventually, it'll become habit and even in the heat of the moment you'll remember to look.
Click to expand...
AMEN Steve, I have so many times regretted not setting my shutter speed properly before clicking!!!!
 
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Steve said:
If there's one habit you should try to get into, it's looking at your settings each and every time the viewfinder comes to your eye. So many times in the excitement of the moment, we bring the camera to our eye and start shooting away, only later to realize we have the wrong shutter speed, F/stop, ISO, or Exposure Compensation set.

The solution?

Get into the habit of glancing at those settings in the viewfinder each and every time you bring the camera to your eye. I'm not gonna lie, it's tough, but it's worth the effort. The best advice may be to keep a camera handy where you work or while yours relaxing at night. Pick it up and look at the settings over and over. Eventually, it'll become habit and even in the heat of the moment you'll remember to look.
Click to expand...
This is a must! One of the most important advice.
My camera was set to manual with auto ISO and a 1.3 stops + exposure compensated the last time I shot and forgot to reset it. The other day when I was out in the field, I saw a bee eater with a grasshopper in its beak. I quickly took out my camera and started to shoot. Thanks God it was backlit otherwise it would have ruined my precious shot.
 
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Hi Steve, not sure where to post this question. I have a Nikon D500 and to shoot wildlife. I have my camera color set (picture control) to standard and a friend of mine said I should also set my color to A3-M1 as well for a better print outcome.
Your input if you would please advise. Good bad or ugly.
Thanks
 
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And I especially have to remember this if my teenage photography student daughter has borrowed my Z 6 or D750. She so likes extreme settings. The Z 6 often comes back with the shutter speed set to 1/8000 and I find ISO has been adjusted to 51200 on her shots. Topaz Denoise AI has rescued a few shots, but they're not what they could be.
 
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