Need help on learning to shoot full manual...

Roach711 wrote in post #3977623
The Internet gives me access to a boatload of tutorials and the ability to see other's photos for instruction and inspiration but that information would be useless if I didn't already know how to properly use the camera itself.

I was actually thinking more along the lines of the effect film had on your composition techniques and such.

I mean, I'd think that with film, the expense and inconvenience would really force you to think hard about how to compose your shot before taking it. I can see how that wouldn't work too well for shots where you have to capture "the moment" (where said moment is fleeting) but I'd think it would work very well indeed for situations that allow you to take your time. I suppose how many situations of each type you tend to encounter depends on the type of shooting you do, but that's just speculation on my part.

In any case, where I'm going with this is that film would discourage the "spray and pray" approach, where you basically take shots of everything in the hope that some of them will be really good, as opposed to a more controlled approach to shooting.

I expect to take a photography class at the local community college this spring and it'll likely be a film class. So hopefully I'll get to find this out for myself. Should be interesting.

kcbrown wrote in post #3977825
In any case, where I'm going with this is that film would discourage the "spray and pray" approach, where you basically take shots of everything in the hope that some of them will be really good, as opposed to a more controlled approach to shooting.

Hi,

'Spray and pray' is most often referred to as a technology more often used by sports shooters who have a hard time to capture the right moment when 'something' is happening. Not much different from the 'good old days' when sports photographers would pre-focus their Canon EOS 1 RT to the exact place where the runner or skier will soon be and then press the trigger to shoot 10 pictures in the second when he passes by.

Best regards,
Andy

Andy_T wrote in post #3980229
'Spray and pray' is most often referred to as a technology more often used by sports shooters who have a hard time to capture the right moment when 'something' is happening. Not much different from the 'good old days' when sports photographers would pre-focus their Canon EOS 1 RT to the exact place where the runner or skier will soon be and then press the trigger to shoot 10 pictures in the second when he passes by.

I was wondering if there was a "formal definition" of that term. Thanks!

I don't know what term would best be used for what I was referring to, but either way, it seems to me that digital makes it so easy to shoot that it's tempting to shoot pretty much everything in the hopes that something will end up looking good, whereas film makes that impractical.

I try not to do that. I try to take my time when composing the shot and such. Of course, my results are still probably pretty bad.

But those results are due to my lack of experience and lack of training, I expect (I have no idea how much innate talent is required for this)...

Man this thread has blown up and has covered juss more than using manual! this is GREAT!

kcbrown wrote in post #3980591
I don't know what term would best be used for what I was referring to, but either way, it seems to me that digital makes it so easy to shoot that it's tempting to shoot pretty much everything in the hopes that something will end up looking good, whereas film makes that impractical.

It's the monkey principle. A million monkeys at a million typewriters* for a million years will eventually produce the entire works of Shakespeare.


* Typewriter: an early computer terminal

-js

Just read this book. I did, and I still occasionally refer to it when I need that refreshment of the "Photography Triangle/Tripod"

kcbrown wrote in post #3977825
In any case, where I'm going with this is that film would discourage the "spray and pray" approach, where you basically take shots of everything in the hope that some of them will be really good, as opposed to a more controlled approach to shooting.

I generaly I agree with you. The more familiar I am with my equipment the better my results, but our current level of automation tends to discourage that familiarity.

I shoot some football games for my nephew and spray and pray has gotten me some good shots that I wouldn't have been able to anticipate, much less capture, otherwise. The action is so fast that by the time I press the shutter button the moment has passed. I also shoot motorsports where I typically scout my shot and set up for it in a much more deliberate manner. The difference is that the action is way less predictable in the football game than in the motorcycle race and my approach is different for each.

The main mistake a lot of shooters make is to put the emphasis on the equipment, not on the shot. I made this mistake when I converted to digital from a Canon A1. I focused more on the equipment than the shot and my results suffered. I was able to take tons more shots essentially for free but I was getting nothing worth printing. When I finally stopped being impressed with the technology and got back to basics I started getting good shots again.