Wrong Lens, Wrong Settings, Bad Timing

[ScootersDaddy]

Man I hate it when an opportunity comes up to capture something interesting and I end up blowing it. How many times have you grabbed a camera in haste and snapped some quick pics only to realize that you had your settings wrong or you should have grabbed a different lens that you actually had with you? Hopefully I will get better in time but I find that in the heat of the moment I sometimes mess up simply because I don't have time to think through what I am doing.

[cdifoto]

You'll never be able to capture everything your eyes see. There's no point in stressing over it.

[Markitos]

To me, that is part of the joy of photography--enjoying those moments that are epic and can't be captured because you don't have a camera, or the right lens at the right time. It makes capturing another great moment all the more fun.

[KatzNK9]

Sigh, I know the frustation. I'm just learning where the features are on my new XSi so the answer is quite often. I feel your pain.

[ScootersDaddy]

I hear you on the challenges but I'm talking about like last Sunday when I went to an open house at this incredible farm in the hills of western MA. This lady has the most amazing gardens I have seen in my life. The weather was dodgy and so I got some shots in here and there in between bouts of showers. I thought I had the right lenses for the task at hand (17-55 F 2.8 IS and 10-22) and would have been fine had I not forgotten to change my Av settings from 2.8 to more like 8-12 for those nice sweeping landscape shots. So I got a crappy shallow depth of field for what could have been gorgeous views of the gardens. I just plain forgot to put on the 10-22 until the end of the shoot but by then it was raining. Some of the closeups were OK though.

[jgrussell]

Originally Posted by ScootersDaddy

Man I hate it when an opportunity comes up to capture something interesting and I end up blowing it. How many times have you grabbed a camera in haste and snapped some quick pics only to realize that you had your settings wrong or you should have grabbed a different lens that you actually had with you? Hopefully I will get better in time but I find that in the heat of the moment I sometimes mess up simply because I don't have time to think through what I am doing.

Tell me about it... I blew the helicopter fly-by at this year's Inauguration -- had the 'copter framed beautifully between two flags... and had the Tv and Av all wrong for the shot. Sigh...

What I've done since then (and actually starting January 1) is shoot -- something, anything -- every day (see the blog in my sig below) to get more comfortable with the camera and its controls and, in time and with luck, fewer blown opportunities.

[shayneyasinski]

for me I found that I would forget every thing I knew at moments of a good photo opportunity but now I can say that I am a little more calm and will shoot a winner on the first try.
I will also try to leave my camera in av mode and 2.8 or whatever is lowest so if I do see a good shot I don't blow it with a manual setting I was using at night.

[Markitos]

Originally Posted by jgrussell

Tell me about it... I blew the helicopter fly-by at this year's Inauguration -- had the 'copter framed beautifully between two flags... and had the Tv and Av all wrong for the shot. Sigh...

What I've done since then (and actually starting January 1) is shoot -- something, anything -- every day (see the blog in my sig below) to get more comfortable with the camera and its controls and, in time and with luck, fewer blown opportunities.

I did a photo a day project in 2008 and it was both great and excruciating. It definitely gets you intimate with your gear, though, forces you to bring it with you, keeps you thinking creatively, and definitely promotes other good photographic habits.

That said, I am glad to not have the pressure this year!

[DarenM]

Worst blunder of my life goes back some 30 years, shooting a wedding with a Canon FT QL, flash burned up 30 minutes before wedding, borrowed a flash from a professional who lived in the small community, thought i was all set, shot the wedding sent in film for development..they came back blank, I have forgotten to set my film speed on "X" so flash did not sync. Remember those days? Fortunately, the wedding did not last a year. And then yesterday..forgot to change my ISO from 1000 to 400, thank goodness for new habit of shooting in raw................

[shayneyasinski]

I borrowed my camera to a friend that shoots soccer and she shot all the pics at iso 1250 and with flash!!

she said they were fine but would not show me....

[SteveNC]

Yep, I feel your pain. Needed higher shutter speed and smaller aperture for more DOF. Not to mention better timing, better framing. I saw Bambi from my window and ran like heck to get a few shots... no time to think and I don't trust the Av and Tv modes.

[Akeldama]

I can guarantee without fail the moment I find something interesting to shoot I will know exactly which lens to use.

It'll be the one sat on my desk back home.

[chauncey]

Does nobody here have a functioning crystal ball, Canon promised me one but never delivered.

[ScootersDaddy]

C'mon Steve, that's actually a pretty good shot.

[Mosca]

Wrong lens, that's bad luck; there isn't always time to change lenses.

Wrong settings, that's bad photography. Part of the skill set we develop includes being thorough in checking those settings, and learning how to adjust them quickly.

Yes, I've done it countless times. I recently stumbled across a gathering of radio controlled float plane enthusiasts, and shot 300 frames at +2 ec.