SKP PhotoTips - Tracking Your Progress

The more you get out there and shoot, the better your photos will be, right?  Practice makes perfect...  But have you ever looked at a photo you took and wondered what magic you performed to produce something that fantastic?  There's a lot to remember when you're starting out and it'll be a while before selecting the best settings to achieve the affect you want becomes second nature.

In the meantime, what can you do to help your progress?  You can look at your photos and see how your photography is maturing over time, but even that's of no use if you don't understand what you're doing to produce better results.

One way to keep track of the technical side of your work is to use a checklist.  There are plenty of sites on the internet that can give you ideas for what to record.  I liked the look of this one (HERE) and adapted it to my needs.  The preparation for every photo shoot I do includes completing one of these before I head out the door, whether it's for a client or my own personal work.

Some of the basic information you'll want to note includes:

• Camera Mode: are you shooting in Auto, Aperture Priority, Shutter Priority or Manual?
• What lens did you use?
• ISO setting
• Aperture (f-Stop)
• Shutter speed
• Focus: auto or manual?
• Light source: e.g. natural or studio?
• White balance
• Did you use a tripod?

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list of what you might want to record.  Think about what you want to improve on and include it.  Also, add a section for notes and results - give yourself a grade on how the shoot went.  How could you have done better?  What pleased you about the shoot? The main thing is to experiment and learn what works for you.