the process

[freehuey]

I just went on my first major trip (Joshua Tree National Park in California) with my first DSLR (Nikon D5000). I had a lot of fun with both the photography and the trip in general.

Here's what I was wondering: What is your process when on vacation for taking pictures? More specifically:

1. I had difficulty remembering to change some of my settings as I went from setting to setting. For example, I discovered after day 1 that my white balance was on incandescent from when I was shooting indoors, so that may affect the colors from those shots. Then I forgot to take off the polarizer when we went to eat in the restaurant. Then I forgot to bring the ISO back down when we went out the next day. How do make sure everything is set correctly? And if you're shooting RAW like I was, how much is fixable post-production?

2. If you're with people who do not find their eye behind a viewfinder as often as you do, how do you interact with them? Do you find yourselves instructing them to pose, or rushing through your hobby a bit so you don't piss off everyone, or what? I could have made our hike an hour longer if I stopped everywhere and made sure everything was perfect...

Thanks!

[CiiVii]

One of my instructors said he switched his camera to P mode whenever he turns it off, that way if he wants to catch a snapshot (or if he hands it to someone else,) all he has to do is turn it on and most likely a decent photo will result. Other people reset the camera each time they turn it on. Me, I forget, make some mistakes, and slowly slowly learn to check everything each time I turn the camera on. I don't really recommend my method

One thing I screwed up A LOT was white balance settings. Auto WB, at least on my camera, is really good or close to really good so I think it's best to leave it on that or do custom wb and forget the "sunny, cloudy, incandescant..." settings. They screw up more than they fix, IMO.

[freehuey]

Thanks CiiVii! I ended up using a lot of Aperture priority mode, but switching to P or Auto. that much I could keep track of. but the ISO would still be a problem in P. I guess I just to keep shooting and get to know my camera and what I need.

I just noticed 40 Q's I ask myself before hitting the shutter on the front page. That pretty much sums up how I feel sometimes when going on a shoot –*like I'm always forgetting something because there is too much to consider.

What about the second question: what's your interaction with friends and family like when you have your camera with you?