Why I Like Auto Review and Chimping

Today’s Post by Joe Farace

I like and respect Mark Toal. Not only is he a great human being, his photography is amazing. If you want insight into what goes on inside his mind when he’s making photographs, please visit Skip Cohen’s Blog and listen to Skip’s conversation with Mark that’s ostensibly about shooting infrared but quickly moves on to other interesting and insightful topics.

But, and you knew there’s a but in there somewhere, we don’t always agree on everything when it comes to the “how” of making photographs. Take his recent post ‘Auto Review and Chimping.’ He doesn’t like it, even shows you how to turn if off on your camera; I on the other hand love this feature.

I think it has to do with how I make photographs and how it’s different than Mark’s. There is a crispness and precision about his impeccably composed photographs but when you see his him in action he seems almost casual about it. I look like I’m precise but I’m not; I’m haphazard and it may have to do with how my mind works (or doesn’t.) I need Auto Review to keep me in line.

The infrared image above was shot in RAW+JPEG, with the JPEG set in Monochrome mode. I processed the RAW file to produce the image you see but that JPEG was visible in the viewfinder and because of Auto Review and gave me a black and white preview that helped me set exposure compensation at + one-third stop.

When photographing people, Auto Review gives me an instant—in the viewfinder—look at the photograph I just made. Could be the expression wasn’t just right and I want to make another shot or at a more practical level, maybe the subject blinked, always a challenge with contact lens wearers.

So what’s the right way? It’s up to you. This was never planned to be a ‘my way or the highway’ blog. All of the writers here offer their opinions on how we capture images and never, ever tell you that it’s the only way. We want you to have fun with your photography whether you use Auto Review or not.

Want to wade into the discussion? Click Contact (above) and tell us your views on Auto Review and we’ll include your comments in the next post on this subject.

PS. I will be featured on Skip Cohen’s blog talking about my car photography. I’ll post a link here when it runs—here’s the link.

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