The Habit of Cognizance
While much of
what is presented in this section may seem to be common sense, in the
excitement of the photographic moment, we oftentimes forget or neglect
to exercise common sense.Photographic cognizance simply means that after taking a shot, you look at it in the preview to check on the following:
1 - Do you have good focus?
2 - Is there any over or under exposure?
3 - Is your subject in an appealing position within the frame?
4 - Are there any distractions which can be avoided or removed from the scene?
5 - Are there other shooting angles, zoom levels, or camera settings which might improve the shot?
If you develop the habit of analyzing your shots in the preview, then you'll do it automatically each time and be able to make corrections and adjustments at the venue. With this habit, you'll never again get back home only to discover regrets . . . I should have done this, or, I could have done that.
So preview all of your shots, even if you don't think you need to, because if you do, it will become a habit and you'll never have post-shoot regrets.
Most cameras allow you to set the amount of time a preview will display after the shot is taken. So you can set that to 5 seconds, which gives you plenty of time to do a quick analysis, and if you need more time, simply switch to preview mode for in-depth analysis.
For example, in the photo below, I was shooting the Passion Flower inside a greenhouse and that white blob you see in the upper right of the frame is a window. If I had inspected this shot in the preview, I would have noticed the blown out area and I could then have shifted my shooting angle to avoid it.
