To Chimp, or Not to Chimp?

One of the benefits digital has given us over the film days of yore is the ability to instantly and gratuitously review our images to observe composure, exposure or whether we even like the image or not. It was such that the term chimping coined by USA Today staff photographer Robert Deutsch. Really, you'll hear both sides of the coin from the old school film aficionados who argue masses of rabid monkeys which have lost the ability to create film from pure talent alone, to those who view the moniker as simple an added tool set used to achieve the desired end product; a well exposed photograph worth keeping. However it is the latter of this that is concerned because many individuals simply discard images that appear unsatisfactory on their LCD screens, that can range from a mere inch to 3 inches and up.

While the LCD screens, especially some of the newer ones like those on the D3 and D300 are good visual aides to help determine where to go next with a photo, they should hardly be the end all to deciding whether to keep or discard a photograph. The small compressed screens can easily hide details and faults, and not always be the best judge of exposure. The LCD screen coupled with available in-camera histograms offer far better comparisons, but still, there are of no match to a dedicated monitor. Images that looked great on my 2.5 inch screen suddenly take on a whole new persona when placed on my 22" widescreen monitor. So do yourself a favor, don't delete that image, unless you are absolutely certain you completely botched it (blank screen, completely out of focus, etc). You never know when you've got a gem (or lump of coal).

Cheerish Every Moment

This image was a test photo to see if I had the exposure and light placement right. She didn't even sit still for the shot, there were a few hot spots and I was pretty sure I would delete it when I downloaded. However, upon reviewing it, I found I liked the shadows in the image. Part of art of controlling light is not just what you see, but what you don't see. The clever dance of light and shadows upon our subjects creating a beautiful balance for us to see and behold.

Near that time of year again

Another near junker. I liked that the image was far from perfect. I used to work in 3D art before I got into photography. One of the biggest downfalls to unrealistic 3D is that it can be too clean. Noise, dirt, grit. We all live in it, and as such expect to see some of it to help solidify that an item is real. Everything needs to look as though it exists in the world, and very few things in this world are perfect.