Actually he is giving it when you purchase this class
Anyway, I'm planning to watch it, and I hope that it will be better than some of previous CL classes.
Just started watching. He says he doesn't allow the guys on his crew to chimp at all. I've heard previously that he will actually tape over the LCDs of those on his crew in order to prevent chimping!
Says he dresses Ninja all-black: black suit, black shirt, black trousers.
His ideas about Program mode are interesting... I can see his point but it would be odd shooting that way since I shoot all manual... I may have to try it out.
ryan21 wrote:
His ideas about Program mode are interesting... I can see his point but it would be odd shooting that way since I shoot all manual... I may have to try it out.
Right now I'm all manual, as well. I'm very intrigued about his Program mode ideas. I'm thinking about trying it out.
One possible "issue" for me in pulling it off is I'm a back-button focuser. Not sure off the top of my head how things would work out using Joe's technique of locking exposure with one of the back buttons when I use the back button for focus.
Saw Joe speak last year at Mystic and his talk was amazing... both inspirational and and technical with good bits of practical advice.
He spoke about his "USE P Mode" method and displayed actual images where he felt the use of P-Mode and his ability to override the automation when needed allowed him to get "THE" shot in the moment where normal use of manual might not have allowed him to do so... from a speed perspective.
The interesting thing about that portion of the talk was that he said that 99% of people that hear him speak... remember/comprehend the "use P Mode" part and they fail to grasp the bigger concept that he's trying to teach, and that is, "you should know your camera backwards, forwards and sideways in all modes, so that you can take advantage of ALL of its capabilities and know all of its limitations to ensure that you can do your job correctly."
i usually hear chimping chastised by 30-something hobbyist wedding guests who brought their film camera and are still hanging onto that one photo they developed of their ex-girlfriend in college where shes laying on the grass.
P(rogram) mode basically lets the camera decide both the aperture and shutter speed for a given scene and your current metering mode. In this mode, usually your primary dial changes between different shutter speed/aperture combinations that will still yield the same metered result.
AFAIK, there are a few tricks you can use. You can use spot metering to force the camera to evaluate the scene's exposure based on whatever you're metering in the center. You can then lock the meter so it attempts to recreate same exposure value on a different scene.
There are a few advantages to this - mainly speed. If you can't change your exposure quickly in manual mode, this may help you catch moments you'll otherwise miss. However, it does force you to learn something completely different - learning to think like your camera and evaluate neutral 18% grey like your camera would. If you can learn to think like your camera, I can see this working out. It's not a 100% intuitive process though IMO and takes a fair amount of time and practice to get the hang of.
I've shot with a few methods:
1. Auto ISO + A/S/M modes.
2. Program mode + exposure locking.
3. Manual.
Personally, I've settled on manual. I don't really like having to remember what my camera thinks for every situation and changing settings without me expressly changing them - it's just another thing I'll have to remember going from situation to situation.
It's not a bad thing to try different methods though. I'm sure not everyone is 100% comfortable in manual, and there ARE situations where I'll use an auto mode for purely speed concerns. Use what gets you the shot consistently, and understand what you're doing!
[edit]
Joe's philosophy on where to lock exposure to override the camera's meter is to simply practice and know the light. Hm. That seems ... prone to error, but in all fairness, no more error prone than learning to simply dial in manual exposure quickly.
selece wrote:
Joe's philosophy on where to lock exposure to override the camera's meter is to simply practice and know the light. Hm. That seems ... prone to error
Joe did say it took him "a couple years" to figure out the technique; it's something a person would have to practice at a lot.
I love what Joe said about not making photography a commodity. I really took note with that idea. The fact is we really should be trying to make everything we do an "experience" for our customers.
Sergio Mottola wrote:
i usually hear chimping chastised by 30-something hobbyist wedding guests who brought their film camera and are still hanging onto that one photo they developed of their ex-girlfriend in college where shes laying on the grass.
I can't tell you how many times, when I shot for other studios, the second photographer chimping after every shot was the major cause of tossing out many of my shots - because he'd stand there looking at the back of his camera instead of getting out of the way and moving on to the next shot, missing all those moments instead.
TheGE wrote:
I can't tell you how many times, when I shot for other studios, the second photographer chimping after every shot was the major cause of tossing out many of my shots - because he'd stand there looking at the back of his camera instead of getting out of the way and moving on to the next shot, missing all those moments instead.
i don't like the idea that every second of the whole day needs to be documented. the way he talks about his "crew", it sounds like a spray and pray proposition. for being so ready at all times, i don't find his moments to be especially compelling. he is better at translating a scene than capturing moments.
It is hard to tell the quality of the work from the web but these groups shots aren't that pleasing. I have seen far better ceremony work here... maybe it is because he is in the "teaching" mode. I dunno.
