Can someone help with tips for new Digital Operator?
Ive recently started working as a digital operator and have some questions hoping someone can help with.
When a photographer is shooting rapidly sometimes have trouble checking focus on whats coming in. I usually use the focus window on the left in the tools bar. Is this a quick way to do it? Ive noticed some digis use the loupe tool and was wondering if this is a better option.
also how vocal and how much feedback should i be giving the photographer , obviously if focus drops out but wondering what general things i should be looking out for on shoots
and any other tips that would make me a more helpful digi would love to hear ! thanks for any help
When a photographer is shooting rapidly sometimes have trouble checking focus on whats coming in. I usually use the focus window on the left in the tools bar. Is this a quick way to do it? Ive noticed some digis use the loupe tool and was wondering if this is a better option.
also how vocal and how much feedback should i be giving the photographer , obviously if focus drops out but wondering what general things i should be looking out for on shoots
and any other tips that would make me a more helpful digi would love to hear ! thanks for any help
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In my experience when photographs are being shot at a very high rate of speed the previews do not load quick enough to accurately access focus before the next fuzzy preview appears on the screen, so theres not much you can do. If the photographer asks just tell him/her their coming in to fast. In some cases having the focus window open can slow down the rate at which pictures load so you may not want to always have that on, or at least run some tests to see if it is slowing down the intake on your machine. Also if more than 200-300 pictures are in a session capture folder intake sometimes slows way down, you might want to switch to a new folder then move them all back to the same folder afterwards, or not.
As far as being vocal, if focus is off for a shot or two and then it comes back I wouldn't worry to much but I'd keep an eye on it and if it was happening periodically I'd mention to watch their focus. If it happens for 3 or more shots in a row definitely speak up. If the exposure is off, the photographer is not leaving enough time for the strobes to recycle, theres motion blur, the camera settings change, the camera disconnects, etc, say something.
Anything technical is on you to keep an eye on. Know how to operate and troubleshooting your software and hardware.
Creative and compositional elements you probably wouldn't mention unless you had a good relationship with the photographer but if something is distracting in the frame or you notice something out of place let them know.
Be mindful of the client as well, take showers, eat breath mints, try not to fart, leave good pictures on the screen whenever you can. Check with the photographer first but delete obviously bad pictures. Don't let the client know of technical problems if they don't need to know about them. If the client mentions something they like let the photographer know.
Be friendly.0 -
it is very simple talk open to the people you are working with and ask what they prefer. I like to keep the flow and check only during breaks or when I move to a new subject but I aspect that my assisted stops me immediately when I accidentally change the camera settings. when shooting with strobes it is easy to oversee a wrong shutter speed and get slightly blurred images. I would also give the focus mask a try not for checking accurat focus but to easy see tendencies. 0 -
NN103450 wrote:
Ive recently started working as a digital operator and have some questions hoping someone can help with.
When a photographer is shooting rapidly sometimes have trouble checking focus on whats coming in. I usually use the focus window on the left in the tools bar. Is this a quick way to do it? Ive noticed some digis use the loupe tool and was wondering if this is a better option.
also how vocal and how much feedback should i be giving the photographer , obviously if focus drops out but wondering what general things i should be looking out for on shoots
and any other tips that would make me a more helpful digi would love to hear ! thanks for any help
- Use your compare variant as a quick way to 'lock' a shot on your screen and check it's focus.
- Create shortcuts to 'pause' and 'unpause' moving to the latest capture
- Increase your system specs to render faster
- Tell your photographer they're outpacing the strobe for a few seconds of breathing room
- Use the loupe if you care to, it's slow, too small, doesn't retain your default size and renders about as quick as the Focus window anyway.0 -
I use the loupe on the compare variant window. that way the images keep loading full frame in the other window and I can scan around the image on the compare variant side.
I find having the focus window open all the time slows down the preview creation and might even be the cause of crushes.
In studio I'll even close the tools tab (apple+T) as the creation of the histogram slows things a fraction aswell.0
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