Canon: My Security Blanket Check List

Submitted by Syv Ritch on 9. February 2011 - 6:33

There are two type of 10 years experience:

* 10 times 1 year experience and
* 1 time 10 years experience

You want to work with the latter…

─ Dan Sanderson

I have lot of experience. The question is what's experience? Experience is learning from my mistakes so I don't make them again. Or

Bang your head on the keyboard. When it's painful enough, you'll remember your mistake.

— Syv Ritch

I've learned that most of my mistakes came from a change that I forgot about and realize it too late. After every error in the book and a few more that I've managed, I've done myself a list. When I go back to the office and prepare for the next job I reset my equipment. It's almost like a security blanket for the small kids. I should be able to do that on the fly.

Here's my list. These are my base settings.

  1. Cameras powered off.
  2. Empty memory card. New job → empty card.
  3. Check the battery setting, if more than 1,500 photos taken on that battery → recharge. I now get up to 3,000 photos per charge.
  4. Check the spare battery. If I recharge the camera battery, the spare goes in the camera and the other battery gets charged.
  5. Flash powered off.
  6. Replace flash batteries with the spare batteries.
  7. Recharge/condition the batteries that were in the flash. These batteries will become the spares.
  8. Verify on all the lenses that the IS is ON.
  9. Verify on all the lenses that the AF is ON.
  10. A quick air-blow on the lens.
  11. Main camera with the 70-200, the backup with the 17-55
  12. Set cameras to Aperture Priority.

  13. On the Q screen:

    • ISO: 400
    • Zone AF
    • f/stop: fully open with whatever lens is on. My default lens is the 70-200L IS f/4.
    • Evaluative metering
    • Exposure compensation set to 0
    • White Balance set to daylight
    • Raw
    • Drive mode: High
    • AF Mode: AI Servo

This gives me the opportunity to give a quick check to almost everything. And finally:

  1. A small notebook with a pen
  2. Business cards

Don't forget that if you have any problem. I just say:

We need to do it again

Then start shooting.

My other secret is that I rarely do just one session with my customers. I almost always do 2 sessions! Why?

  1. If there's a problem, I can always to do another photo shoot.
  2. Most of my customers are not professional models. At the beginning of the second session, when they see the results of the first session, they relax and the results are usually even better!