Sorry I don't memorize my settings

[mmezest1997]

I have a co-worker that has been into photography much longer than I have (I bought my camera in August). Every time he looks at my pictures, he wants to know what my camera settings were. I tell him that I don't know that stuff off the top of my head, but I can find out at home and let him know later. I think he gets upset that I can't spout the information off the top of my head.

Am I the only one not memorizing my settings for each picture? Is it normal to know what my settings were just by looking at the picture? Seems to me that you can achieve the same look by manipulating settings - at least we can do that in radiology because it's all about give and take (raise x and lower y to get z OR lower p and raise q to get z, but it turns out the same).

Maybe I'm just slow and still learning how to use my camera without memorizing settings...

What about you? Can you identify your settings just by looking at your photos?

So why not just rattle off some random settings and see if Mr. Anoying goes away?

"Why, I'm glad you asked, that particular photo was shot with a Nikon D3000 using a Tamron 70-300 lens, the focal length was 137mm, and I was stopped down to f4.8, my ISO was set at 100 which made my shutter speed a bit tenuous at 1/100th, so I leaned on a tree and used a ziploc bag full of peanut butter I happened to be carrying for even more stability. Why, do you like it?"

Just take the politician's approach - when in doubt, babble it out!

Nope - I don't know what the settings were. But I'm afraid my skill level is not much beyond yours!

[zona5101]

precisely? Nope. Kinda sorta in general, yes. And what I mean is, I can tell what I was trying to achieve and on certain shots I may have had the lens "wide open" or used a shutter to stop action and guesstimates but, not: "this was 1/250 @ f5.6"

But when looking at the pic, depending on the tool you use you can display the settings...that answers his questions and gets you used to correlating settings to particular features of the image.

[nickbedford]

Well I know my usage patterns (given my limited lenses) so I could guess based on that but no you're Perfectly Normal™.

Maybe he's envious of your work. He shouldn't have to ask really, if he's any good himself. He should be able to surmise at least some guesses of the shot settings by looking at it.

[dbevisjr]

No. You are not the only one who doesn't memorize the settings for every shot. Way back in the days of film shooting I tried to remember f-stop, shutter speed and aperture for the available light but after a while it just started blurring together. The next time he asks just rattle off some settings but try to make them wrong for the photo and see what he says. If he says "ok" he's just a poser. If he asks if you are sure he might actually have an idea.

[theosus]

Originally Posted by Bakeys

So why not just rattle off some random settings and see if Mr. Anoying goes away?
"Why, I'm glad you asked, that particular photo was shot with a Nikon D3000 using a Tamron 70-300 lens, the focal length was 137mm, and I was stopped down to f4.8, my ISO was set at 100 which made my shutter speed a bit tenuous at 1/100th, so I leaned on a tree and used a ziploc bag full of peanut butter I happened to be carrying for even more stability. Why, do you like it?"

Reminds me of a joke: A man is in a balloon floating slowly over a golf course. He yells down to a golfer. "Where am I!" the golfer yells back, "You're in a balloon, at an altitude of about 1500 feet, 300 feet above the ground. You are floating northwest at less than 2 miles per hour. I see you have no ballast left, so you either need to fire the burner or prepare to land".
The balloonist replies rather smartly, "you must be a republican, you gave me a lot of useless information that's technically correct, but doesn't solve my problem."

The golfer replies; "You must be a democrat, you got yourself where you are with no idea how you got here, no idea where you are going, using a lot of hot air, and now, because I can't solve your problem, somehow the whole affair is my fault."

It sounds like you can tell your friend exactly what settings you are using, but hes probably going to blink stupidly and wonder why he cant take good pictures like you, even though he knows the numbers.

[nickbedford]

Originally Posted by theosus

but hes probably going to blink stupidly and wonder why he cant take good pictures like you, even though he knows the numbers.

Quoted for truth.

[curelightwounds]

Who the hell does that?

For me it's, "I push buttons until the viewfinder says I'm good."

[Reed]

You can always take your clue from the Panasonic commercial,

Panisonic Commercial (gripe)

[sk66]

Originally Posted by zona5101

precisely? Nope. Kinda sorta in general, yes. And what I mean is, I can tell what I was trying to achieve and on certain shots I may have had the lens "wide open" or used a shutter to stop action and guesstimates but, not: "this was 1/250 @ f5.6"

+1
When looking at an image I've taken, it's subject, quality and character (blur/no blur/ speed of subject/lighting/ etc etc) and knowing my gear/ typical gear choices, I can usually "ballpark" the settings pretty damn close, but not because I remember them.