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No Peeking
Do you peek too much? I sometimes do.
One of the amazing luxuries of photography in the digital age is the instant gratification we get by immediately viewing the shot you just took on the back of the cameras’ preview screen. This feature is definitely more a blessing than a curse, but it can have some negative effects.
The fact is, it’s great for making sure your exposures are in the right place by checking the histogram for clipping and adjusting accordingly. And it feels great to confirm that you’ve nailed that fleeting moment (though sometimes you can’t really be sure it’s tack sharp on the small screen). It’s also a great ice-breaker in many shooting situations.
But in my own work, I’ve seen it hurt me as well. The thing is, concentration is so important and I’ve seen too many photographers staring at the back of the camera when something very visual was happening in front of them, as have I.
I want to be able to know that all is well technically, and then get back to the business of really paying attention and concentrating, working the scene and making minor composition adjustments as well as triggering the shutter at the right moment. For me, this means being completely comfortable with the camera as a tool and then forgetting about it while concentrating on the subject.
Photo: George Barya
Ice Breaker or Deal Breaker?
I know that showing the images on the back of the camera can be a great way to relax your subject and get them involved in the shoot. With much of the work I do however, I find it can be more of a hindrance than a help.
It can ruin the flow of the shoot and I often find the rhythm of a particular shooting session is important to establish, with many of the best pictures coming toward the end after working my way through a series of different vantage points, moving around the scene to get to the place that works best. It requires my full concentration.
This is why I try and keep my peeking to a minimum and concentrate of the shoot itself.
On a recent trip to Rwanda, I found myself selfishly trying to hide the fact that every image I take magically appears on the back of the camera, because once that secret is out, people understandably want to see. This is particularly true for children, and it makes it hard, if not impossible to continue shooting uninterrupted afterwards.
So once I’ve peeked at the beginning of the session to insure all is well technically, I like to wait for Aperture to show me in full screen glory how I did on the shoot, rather than over-previewing in the field.
Do you peek too much?
Sometimes, yeah. Most of the times it's to check focus when in low light.
What helps is to turn automatic preview off. It's less distracting and save battery life.
I was thinking a similar thing last week - that the "free" nature of digital photos (once you've got the camera) and the screen on the back was making me just take lots of photos without thinking about what I was taking. My plan was to spend time with the preview off, and force my brain to visualise the photo I am taking, or wanting to take. I'm hoping this will be both fun and help improve my photos
(and I may go back to using a fixed 28mm lens for a bit to help really focus on the photo, not the tools)
I guess I'm of the inclination that sees it both ways. I spent a good amount of time de-training myself from chimping. Having gotten as far along in that as I care to go (I shoot a lot of concerts, so the rapidly changing light requires me to leave the preview on, because I never know when I'll have to check it... ever tried shooting into strobe-lights?). Plus when shooting strangers, it can alleviate some of their concern, but also create concern too, so you have to know when to let people know they can see, and when they can't.
Thanks for such an interesting post - I never thought about the distraction that the LCD might become - I tend to think about it as valuable tool that verifies acceptable exposure range, while there is still time to fix it (i.e., re-shoot). So, YES, I peek, but mostly at the histogram, as sharpness in almost impossible to judge without too much fussing.
Since my interest is predominantly in macro, there is no pressure to share photos with my photo's subjects :).